The Garden Island of Madeira with Darren, Midi & Allyson

The Garden Island of Madeira

 The perfect start to our holiday as we relaxed around the fantastic pool, lapping up the warm sunshine. The water was all too tempting and we couldn't wait to make a splash! 

The beautiful pebbled beach was right on our doorstep which we could only reach by walking down a lot of steps; too many to count! We relaxed on the bottom step watching the sea roll in and equally marvelled at a local man doing yoga on the beach. 

It was quite surreal to be surrounded by shops bursting with different types of Christmas decorations and gifts when it was still so warm! As we strolled round, we could hear a band playing festive tunes accompanied by Santa’s Elf’s who were doing all sorts of tricks. We were then told that Santa would be making his entrance very shortly. We headed to the top floor where before our very eyes, Santa himself was whizzing down a zip wire to the crowd below! 

 
We hopped on the bus which took us to the small village of Monte, set in the hills. Monte is famous for its basket cars that are made from wicker, which take you all the way back down into the city of Funchal. We then took a short stroll to the Teleferico cable car which would take us down to the famous Botanical Gardens. The sites were breath-taking as we made our way down the hill. The views of the sea and the city stretched out for miles. 

Wow! The Botanical Gardens certainly did not disappoint. The variety of beautiful flowers from bougainvillea to the bird of paradise, palm trees and a huge variety of cacti. The smells were really stimulating our senses and every flower bed were pristine. We felt incredibly lucky to have seen such natural beauty. 

We drove through more mountainous landscapes which are dominated by the lush green Laurissilva Forest, which was classified as 'World Heritage’, encouraging the locals to look after their beautiful land. Our guide showed us the “Casinhas de Santana” which are typical thatched triangular houses found only in Santana. These beautiful, small, colourful houses, built of natural stone and thatched with straw, have served the locals for centuries as stables and dwellings. 

Another day took us on an adventure up the steep, winding mountains. The temperature dropped as we slowly made our way to Eiro do Serrado, known as Nuns Valley and to Curral das Freiras which is a small parish nestling between the mountains in the heart of the island.Onward and upward and our guide stopped at various vantage points for us to take in the views. We were well over 1800 feet high and now above the clouds. Our guide explained that the road we were travelling on closed in the winter due to the snow.  

The evenings were spent dancing the night away as we listened to the very talented local singers and fabulous  traditional dancers.   

 We loved taking time out, topping up our tans and unwinding in the warm Jacuzzi. 

Today we took to the sea on the  VMT Catamaran. Once on board, we listened to our captain telling us about what we should expect to see on our journey. As we sailed out, deeper into the Atlantic, we saw an old-fashioned pirate ship sailing alongside us. We all waved excitedly. 
 
As the boat turned to head home, the spotter on board excitedly announced a group of spotted dolphins. Well, there must have been at least 50 or more and their calf’s. They were showing off all their tricks as they jumped and swam around the boat. What a truly magnificent sight and a fabulous photo opportunity! As we sailed away the dolphins made our day by diving and racing in front of the boat. What an experience of a lifetime! 

 We made our way down to see the famous Cristiano Ronaldo museum. The exhibition includes photographs and videos of the athlete's career and wax works of Ronaldo. The museum has all the youth and professional trophies won at the clubs he's played for. Next, we saw the statue honouring the Madeiran football player, winner of numerous titles, including the award of best football player of the world.