Into the second week at Madeira and one could get used to this life quite easily. Pretty sure I shall be quite happy to get home, back into routine and see grandchildren and friends and family, but there is something very alluring about imagining iiving abroad, not permanently, but for the winter months. I have managed to do this in 2013, more by accident than design and it has been good to miss the snow and the gales and the rain and the drear of it all.
I am writing this propped up in bed, post siesta and pre-dinner with a cup of tea and a custard tart to hand (Note: put all thoughts of Brit custard tarts to one side, the ones in Funchal are to die for and at the moment I am averaging two a day) and will foray down to the wifi zone when I can gather enough energy and post this for your delectation and delight.
This morning Jude and Wes took me up to the view over the Nun's Valley, so called because when the Conquistadors tried to invade Madeira the canny nuns hitched up their habits and took refuge in a valley which was hidden and unreachable. Even now the roads are pretty hairy and when two cars meet on a corner you shut your eyes and pray. Did not go by bus this time, oh no Yours Truly had had her nerves shredded enough for one hols ta very much, and we had a taxi there and back (25 Euros for the three of us which I thought was damn good value for money) and off we went.
Views at the top quite breathtaking and what is fascinating to see is how every piece of land is grabbed back from the wild and worked, little terraces of ploughed land in the most precipitous places with houses seemingly clinging onto the edges of cliffs. I would think if you lived in one of these you would have to be pretty careful if you got up in the middle of the night for a pee, one false step and that would be your last visit to the loo - ever. Lovely morning and am certainly seeing more of Madeira than I did on my last visit which you all know about.........
