Funchal, Madeira

Loved it....this place is beautiful, Kim and I managed to go outside quite a few times...buy I am going to tell you about this one time when Kim organised for him and me to go onto one of the Shorex tours. It was called "Best of Madeira".....first up was a ride from the center of Funchal with the cable car, about 500m above sea level to a place called Monte, we had breathtaking views over Funchal even seeing the ship from up there...stunning....and then we had a little bit of free time to discover the church, beautiful and of course Kim and I went up the tower to see the best view...hahaha...

Church at Monte
View from the Monte to Funchal
And then it was to the part i was most excited about....the tobbogan ride (wicker basket sledge) from Monte down to a town called Livramento....now this type of sledge was first used to transport fire wood, rocks etc from the mountains to the towns below and later on they were used as a means of transport for the rich, to get from the higher up villages to the villages at the bottom of the island....and now-a-days they still have it for tourists...funny enough they charge €15.00 per person, and the guide was explaining to us that €10.00 goes to the "sledge driver" and €5.00 is used for operational costs, for example the bus they use to get the sledge driver and the tobbogans back up to Monte. If, at the end of the year, there is money left over, all the men go for a meal or donate it somewhere. Also, there is only a limited amount of men allowed to be part of the association and if one dies they have auditions to see who will enter next, and if your grandfather has been part of this association, then one is more likely to be chosen....quite interesting....hahaha....the ride has two "sledge drivers" and two people share a tobbogan....i really enjoyed it...it was fun...it actually went quite fast and around the bends sometimes i thought i might tumble over...yes, it is touristy...but i still believe it is something you should do if you ever get a chance to go there....and yes...when you go down, they actually take a pic and give you an option to buy pic and a CD with some typical Portuguese music, so this was a nice experience.....
Kim inside the wicker sledge
The two "sledge drivers"

After that...time to take a short bus ride to Pico de Serrado, it has amazing views into the village of Curral das Freiras (Nun's Valley), which lies 3592 feet below, we had free time which was great, it allowed Kim and me to take our time with exploring and also having a drink and a snack...i wanted to try the famous Poncho drink (rum based drink with passion fruit), it was ok, i would not jump for it....kim had a cappucchino (which comes with cream and not foam) and we also tried one typical food- chestnut bolo (sweet chestnut bread) as well as an almond cake (delicious)...now let me share some pics....

Nun's Valley
Nun's Valley
Cappuccino, Poncho, Almond Tarte and Chestnut Bolo

To end the tour, it visited the famous Madeira wine lodge in the center of Funchal to taste two Madeiras, Kim and i skipped that, as we had already done the tour which included the tasting as well as explanation..(i will tell you about that in another blog), so we made our way to the sea front where we found a little restaurant and me, having done my research, wanted some traditional food...and that is what we ordered...but first we received some fresh, warm bolo de caco (traditional bread) smeared with garlic butter as well as fresh cheese....so delicious...wow....after that Kim and i ordered the most traditional food which is espada con banana (scabbord fish with bananas) and tuna...the tuna for me was too well cooked, in my opinion tuna should be seared...the fish with the banana was nice though...it was in an egg-like batter...but again nothing i jump up and down for...but again...good to have tried...dessert we decided to skip...we did however receive a Madeira wine for a digestive..while walking back...surprise, surpise...kim wanted ice-cream...what a nice day out......

Bolo de Caco with fresh Portuguese cheese
My regional red wine and the Norwegian Spirit in the background
Espada with banana
After that outing it was time to sleep...get some power before starting the night shift....cheers from me....soon you will hear about more ventures and places I have seen lately....

 

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