VIRTUAL HOLIDAY DAY 2 - SATURDAY

VIRTUAL HOLIDAY DAY 2, SATURDAY

So, we woke up this morning feeling really good after a good night’s sleep after a tiring journey.  

The rooms in this hotel are excellent: spacious with two double beds, air conditioning, a good ensuite, plenty of wardrobe space including a small safe. There is a TV, wi-fi, drinks fridge, kettle with coffee, tea and milk, a sitting area and a balcony facing the gardens. I think I took a photo, yes, here it is, just as the sun was setting. I think all the rooms have balconies. There are some ever better suites available too!

Breakfast: always good. A buffet of cereals, cold meats, fruit juice, toast (do it yourself) and a range of cooked items if you fancy it. I do!  Egg, Bacon, spicy sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes. All very healthy, I tell myself.

OUT FOR THE DAY

At 10.00 the hotel runs a minibus down to the sea front (and later at 12 and 2.00) Absolutely free – and it will pick you up if you are waiting there at about 10 minutes after those times. Today we decided we would go on the open-topped bus around Funchal. It is a good way of finding out what there is to do in the town and surrounding area. It is also a good place to get sunburned as the temperature is in the mid twenties! We do the full tour which included a change of buses to a smaller one taking in the highest point of Funchal, actually they claim it is the highest point in Europe, but I do not think that can be true if you think about the Pyrenees or the Alps. Perhaps it is the highest cliff! It’s called Cabo Girao and has a walkway suspended over the cliffs – a bit like that scary one over the Grand canyon! There’s a glass floor to the look-out place on the cliff edge. Scary! Especially when you notice the cracked squares of glass.  You can see right down beneath you the shrubs growing on the cliff edge, and hundreds of feet below you the sea.

 

And so, before returning on the bus, we stopped for a bite to eat, a late-ish lunch. After which we hopped on the bus, eventually arriving back at the drop off point

in central Funchal by about 4.00. We picked up a taxi back to the hotel for a cup of tea and a piece of cake from the bar, before heading off for a swim. Which pool? There is an outside pool for the sporty types – attaching to the gym or for the more sedate among us the roof top pool which has a perspex roof to make the most of the sun. Actually we could spend hours here (we probably will) as there are sun loungers so it is a good place to swim, read, swim, read, snooze, you got the picture?

A GOOD EVENING

Back to our room to titivate ourselves before heading off to the bar for a g and t (and they know how to mix them here!) Tonight there is a pianist playing to entertain us and she is really good.  About 7 it’s time to head off to the restaurant for dinner. There is a set meal which has two or three alternative choices that is inclusive in the package but we are at liberty to pick a dish from the al la carte menu if we want to. The cuisine is Goan and very imaginative. There is a modest wine list, mostly of local Portuguese wines – but they are good! Then it is back to the bar to continue enjoying the music and possibly a little night cap! So ends Day 2 and I think I caught the sun - a warm glow pervades - perhaps it is just the alcohol!

A Prayer for those affected by coronavirus.

Keep us, good Lord,

Under the shadow of your mercy.

Sustain and support the anxious,

Be with those who care for the sick,

And lift up all who are brought low;

That we may find comfort

Knowing that nothing can separate us from your love

In Christ Jesus our Lord.