Finally arrived in Madeira

 

Fortunately the winds had died down and it was possible to fly to Madeira.   We arrived to blue sky and sunshine .  First impressions  of Funchal was that it seemed incredibly built up and of course  quite mountainous.   Cobbled streets that wind their way up and down the hills, more yellow taxis and buses than we have seen anywhere else, folk bands playing Christmas songs in the town and very ornate if not a bit cheesey Christmas  decorations everywhere. 

 

 

The menus  are pretty much the same in every restaurant  with the speciality appearing to be scabbard fish with banana which tastes much better than it sounds all washed down with a small glass of Madeira wine.  Lunchtime  menus usually consists of sardine salad - all very tasty.

 

 

 

 

On days 2 and 3 we take buses to explore the area around Funchal. First up is the botanical gardens which all Madeira  lovers say is a must as the gardens are reportedly "out of this world". We began to wonder if we were in a different world as the gardens were definitely very pleasant with some pretty flowers but were smaller  than we had envisaged.

 

 

One of the more impressive sights was Camara de Lobos with its brightly coloured fishing boats and little streets  full of local fishermen who had clearly finished their morning fishing and were now relaxing in the local bars.
 

 

 

 From  there we ventured further up the mountain to  where the view below us was outstanding.

 

 

 

 

Another famous site is Monte which involves a scary drive up switchback narrow roads where buses frequently had to reverse to let the other one through.  This is where the famous wicker basket toboggan ride takes place. We did consider it but had more fun watching the others scream and shout as they were pushed down the winding  roads.

 

Back in central Funchal the highlights seemed to be the various model nativity scenes which attracted queues of people waiting to take a look. 
 

 

 

As night time falls in Funchal, thousands of electric lights adorn the buildings and trees to create a festive and magical feel for the town.  The bands get louder and throngs of people slowly promenade along the streets. As we got nearer to New Year's Eve we enjoyed watching the enormous cruise ships begin to dock in anticipation for the fireworks.