Well, here we are at last in Madeira – I say at last because at one point yesterday we thought we were on our way back to Stansted!!!
Let me start at the beginning……David drove us to the Radisson at Stansted where we had booked in to stay overnight Saturday as our flight was 0720 on Sunday morning. The Radisson is very comfortable and quiet despite being only 2 minutes walk away from the airport. Everything went according to plan, we even managed to get into the emergency exit seats so Tom had loads of legroom. The sunrise as we took off was spectacular – all reds and oranges with a huge red sun rising (looking back, maybe that was a portent of things to come? – “red sky in the morning” and all that?!) and it was a very smooth flight, ahead of time due to a tail wind – until we got overhead Madeira. The visibility was not good enough for us to land so we circled overhead for an hour then had to divert to Porto Santo, a small island about 15 mins flying time away. Having landed there in bright weather conditions at 1100, we were not allowed off the aircraft – so we sat for 4 hours with information being fed to us regularly from the Captain and with tempers of some of the passengers getting rather short. At one point, we were told that if we couldn’t get into Funchal within the next hour, we would have to return to Stansted as Porto Santo could not accommodate us! Two people even got their bags and left the plane and were persuaded to get back on only when threatened with arrest! Ooh, it was exciting! Several passengers were quite abusive to the crew, despite there being nothing they could do. Then we were told that if we still couldn’t get into Funchal, accommodation would be provided for us on the island then we’d be flown on tomorrow when, hopefully, the weather would be OK.
As you can imagine, sitting on the aircraft even with the air conditioning on and the front door open, it was quite warm (the weather had turned sunny) – thank goodness the toilets stood up to the prolonged use! – and the crew provided us with free drinks, it was not the most comfortable few hours in our lives. When eventually the captain gave us the welcome news that the weather conditions were OK for us to land in Madeira there was a burst of applause and relief all round. I think if we had had to fly back to Stansted, there may even have been some “rough stuff”, but that was averted and our flight was a bit bumpy but successful. On landing, there was another round of applause and the captain stood by the exit and said goodbye to everyone as we disembarked. Our eventual arrival was 3.30pm, nearly 5 hours later than planned. We could see that it had been raining heavily and there were still some very low clouds over the hills, but as we were driven to our hotel, the sun came out and it was blinding!
When you read about Madeira, you realise it’s hilly, but the reality is that there is virtually no expanse of flat ground AT ALL. The airport is about 25kms from Funchal but there is housing all the way along the route, up and down steep sided gullies as far as the eye can see. The main road winds through tunnels and across viaducts (goodness knows what the un-main roads are going to be like!). Funchal spreads out like a rising fan from the harbour.
Our hotel is about half a mile in a straight line from the sea – except that there are no straight lines here! We had a little wander after unpacking and we’ve decided that we’re either going to be very fit or very knackered after three weeks here – or both! We found a nice bar and restaurant just round the corner from the hotel, the White House – we were accosted by this very
pretty girl and tempted by a free glass of Madeira wine – I don’t know whether it was the wine or the girl who persuaded Tom!! Then we climbed the 150 steps up to the hotel entrance – we did say it was hilly! We were so tired after our long and exciting day that we were in bed by about 9.15!!
Our hotel is in what is called the “Hotel district” – an area to the west of Funchal where most of the newer hotels are situated. It’s adequate – very clean, the room is large, bathroom “compact” and kitchen area “bijou” but there is everything we need. I think the overall description of the condition would be “well-used”, but for what we paid, we can’t really complain! The public areas are very well kept, everything gleams. There is an outdoor pool with a vast lounging area around it and attached bar and café; a lovely heated indoor pool with Jacuzzi,
well-equipped gym, sauna and hairdresser; and a shop selling pc’s, souvenirs and basic provisions (tea, coffee, milk etc) at NOT rip off prices. These facilities are shared by the 3 hotels in this complex here, all Dorisol and 3 different grades and we’re obviously in the lowest. Breakfast is very good – buffet style and as much as you can eat – lovely fresh bread and fruit – plenty to fill us up for a day of walking up and down these hills. We’re meeting the tour representative at 1200, when no doubt she’ll try to tempt us into spending lots of money on organised tours, but I don’t think Tom is going to be able to cope with much in the way of being driven about – he felt a little queasy after the drive from the airport yesterday.Monday evening
We met our holiday rep who was very helpful and DIDN’T try to sell the tour packages as we’d feared. They’re there if we want them and we’ll probably go on one or two depending on Tom’s stomach!!
We’ve had a good start to our holiday with bright warm weather and we’ve walked over 5 miles today. First west and slightly uphill to the Jardim Panoramica, not very well kept but with superb views,
then down 159 steps to the Promenade, a long fairly flat walk back towards Funchal along the sea front. 
We stopped for an icecream in the Lido area, south of our hotel, where there are lovely views over a huge seawater swimming pool (empty at this time of year) and the Clube Naval. Having decided that we still had some energy left, we walked on into Funchal centre (about as far again as we’d already walked!) There was a cruise ship, the Aida Bella in the harbour, we think she’s German, and lots of passengers were returning to her, having obviously “done” Madeira today. We continued on along the Avenida do Mar as far as the Cathedral where we had a coffee in the cathedral square – hot, strong and very nice – the coffee NOT the square!Suitably refreshed, we found the Tourist Info office but it has to have the worst range of information freely available that we have ever found. There were no stands of leaflets, just a few on the 2 desks and you had to ask for the town map, the bus timetable etc which were all under the assistant’s desk. We only knew to ask for the timetable because out holiday rep had told us they were there. We weren’t offered any other information except that there was internet access at a price at Western Union just in the next street. (We found free access later in one of the many squares).
Tom then decided that we’d just wander a bit more and we ended up right at the eastern side of Funchal beside the cable car station. This goes up to Monte, 550m above the town and we ARE going on it one day when the weather is clear (by the time we’d reached the station, there was cloud again over the hills behind the town) and I can summon up the nerve! As we were on our way there, the cruise ship set off on its next stage so we managed to get some piccies as she left – there’s something about the sound of a ship’s horn that is unmatched by anything else I’ve heard, it makes me want to be on board!! (one day…)
This evening, we ate at a small café we’d passed earlier in the day – good plain food, cheap and quickly served. We got into conversation with a couple at the next table who had just arrived this morning. They now live in Shropshire having spent 10 years living and working in the Isle of Man – small world indeed! We had several beers together then we ambled back here via Joe’s bottle shop to pick up some drinks for our room. We’ve decided we don’t like hotel drinks prices although there is a happy hour from 6pm – 7pm every evening when they’re not too bad.
And so to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment