Funchal, Madeira

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Madeira is a beautiful island because, although volcanic in origin, it has a huge amount of rainfall in the mountains which makes it very fertile for all sorts of fruits and trees. Funchal, the capital, nestles in the southwest of the island and so has the best climate. Up in the hills there is a lovely Botanical Garden, which is worth a visit. It has wonderful ferns and other tropical plants from all over the world. This island has the perfect climate to grow anything. You can get there by cable car from the town if you don't have a car or coach. There is also a lovely church, Our Lady of Monte but you do have to climb quite a few steps to get to it. This is also the place where you can get in a basket and be pushed down the hill by local men in white suits at great speed. It is good fun so a must if you come here. There is a Christ the Redeemer statue near the coast which predates the one in Rio but is not as impressive. It was while we were here that some poor guy had collapsed so the Ambulance men were carrying him up the hill when one of them slipped and nearly tipped the poor guy out of the stretcher. All was well in the end, and they got him safely into the ambulance. This was the last stop on our cruise, but I am glad that we had been to this island before as it has more to offer than we saw on this brief visit.

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