Better late than never! At last a chance to finish the Madeira adventure. On our last day we went on a tour of the West of Madeira. Having packed so much into the week already we found we had no plans for Friday and decided to get out of Funchal and see a bit of the island. Great move, we had a wonderful day. We were picked up from our hotel in the morning by Bruno, great guide! It was a small group which made it really nice.
Our first stop was a short one at Camaro do Lobos, we had already been here earlier in the week, but it was nice to have another look around. Our next stop was Caro Giro where there is a glass floored observation deck overlooking a cliff. Not for the faint hearted, but the views are stunning. I am glad we got the chance to go here, Bruno told us that from the new year they will be charging entry to the observation desk. The turnstiles are already in place, so you can see they are getting ready.
Next stop was Riberia Brava (Wild River) a small costal town where we had a longer stop. Alas, it was raining lightly when we got here. But we found a café and had coffee, then went to look around the beautiful church. I wish we had longer to explore, and this is the only problem with any organised coach trip. Its a trade off, you get to see places you wouldn't otherwise visit but there is never really enough time. We liked Riberia Brava, somewhere I would like to go back too.
From here we travelled to Porto Moniz on the north west coast. Another lovely coastal town, everywhere is so pretty. It was wonderful being able to see all these places. We stopped for lunch in Seixal, a tiny little place with a restaurant and a harbour and little else. Apparently all the tour companies stop here so the restaurant was buzzing. Lunch was 3 courses and all the wine you could drink and coffee for 10euros. Excellent value and delicious food - total bargain! It was nice chatting with the other couples, all very friendly and chatty. Made for a lovely lunch. After lunch we had time to walk down to the harbour and enjoy the view, chat with the other people from the tour and walk off lunch.
Our final stop was Sao Vicente before heading back to Funchal. Luckily it only rained that one time and the rest of the day was pretty good. When we got back to the hotel, it was with sad hearts we did our packing before heading out to the Indian restaurant for dinner. We were going to sit outside but sadly it started raining (again!) so we had to carry our dinner inside.
Really cannot believe how quickly the week flew by. On Saturday after breakfast we just stayed near the hotel as we were being picked up at lunch time. We went for a walk, went to the Sunseterrace one last time and then returned to the hotel. We were soon on our way back to the airport and then homeward bound. We landed back in Gatwick around 9pm, by the time we had collected our car and driven back it was after 2am when we walked into the house. Oh my god, we were so tired. Gatwick is a nice airport, but I hope we never have to fly from there again!!
So the Madeira chapter is over, but the next chapter is soon to begin.......
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