Madeira Funchal
Escapade
Wed 18 Nov 2015 08:43
We left Porto Santo with glorious sunshine and not a breathe of wind. Huge pod of dolphins on the bow for about 20 minutes, a sight I never tire of! Motored the 5 hours to Madeira, although we stopped half way for a skinny dip after James through a fender and safety line out. About a mile before the entrance to the marina we saw a hamper back whale only about 20 meters from the boat...fantastic.
Quinta Do Lorde marina forms part of a huge and very stylish resort, they are all really polite and can't do enough to welcome you with everything taken care of.
Following morning we took the bus into Funchal...1.5 hours up and around the smaller towns, the island is obviously very hilly and taking the bus at least gave us the opportunity to see bore of the Island which has great flora and fauna.
Funchal was bustling and really pretty with the marina and promenade a hive of activity and an abundance of street cafes and restaurants many under the shade of huge mimosa trees.
James has always wanted to do the toboggan ride down from the top, so we took the cable car up to the top, amazing views as you would expect. The toboggan ride only took about 10 minutes but was exhilarating and well worth doing!
After a long and tiring day we got the last bus back.....maniac of a driver, james started humming the theme tune to 'The Italian Job' as we hurtled around the corners with a sheer drop off the edge.
Omitted to say earlier that we couldn't find a Madeira Courtesy Flag, so James made one during his night watch..he was extremely proud of his efforts...lol
Sent from my iPad
