Madeira

I  love the island.I know it well.I have had tea at Reid's,the famous five star hotel where Mr Churchill had stayed. Long time ago  hotel Tamarindos, on Gran Canaria,where I had stayed when it was still a  luxurious five star retreat(now it seems to be getting 4 star ratings only), and the hotel Reid, were the only five star hotels in this region.

 Madeira, of course, is not a part of  Canary Islands, even though many people think it is,Madeira is Portuguese and Canary Islands are Spanish and the difference is very obvious,Madeira is elegant,refined, clean, Canary Islands are not.I have done sightseeing on the  tukxi,an eco friendly convertible electric  three wheeler.I have ridden on the toboggan,not as exhilarating  two or so mile descent as Mr Hemingway,the writer, would have us believe,not quite hair-raising enough,at times almost enjoyable had it not been for the feet of the drivers,my eyes reluctantly turning towards them,wondering  how good the soles function as  breaks.I had taken  the cable car from the seafront to Monte and walked through the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens.I have walked the Levada walk."Levadas" is an irrigation system, open canals built in the early 16th century, from the  rainy north part of the island to the drier south part and it is used to the present day.The walks alongside the canals are very popular  but  they are for the very dedicated  nature lovers and walkers only,as the trails can be wobbly and the feet get quite a battering unless good walking shoes are worn and on a holiday it is  not always so.On my tour many people underestimated the terrain,the sandals  totally inadequate,but once you start, you cannot turn back.

I had bought the most aromatic muscat grapes in the Farmers market,tasted  Madeira wine  in  a  Madeira wine cellar.I have been to churches and museums.I have even joined a crowd of people  and TV cameras waiting for Ronaldo,the most famous son of the island, to come and unveil a statue the town  of Funchal had erected for him [I did not wait,he was well over an hour late and  never even apologized,apparently he does a lot of  charity work,but good manners and consideration cost nothing , the famous get too big for their boots]. I have no doubt there are many more enchanting little villages and spots to discover all over the island and parts of the capital,Funchal,too.But you can never really see it all anywhere. You can see a lot of everything ,but you cannot see everything.So now whenever I come to Madeira I walk, I shop,I drink coffee and freshly pressed orange juice. And I love it.