Madeira – Never a moments rest

We dropped the car off at the airport and caught the bus into Funchal (capital of Madeira) and Mark was suddenly amazed by the number of people and oh shops, yep that is what you get in a town.  The town is quite old and decorative in places, the marina/town quay was busy mainly with local boats and we were pleased we decided to go in the marina at the east end of the island as Funchal was not very secure and it would have been like living in a goldfish bowl.

The next 2 days were busy with completing our Padi Open Water Dive course, we had taken the pool and theory elements of the course in the UK and needed to complete the sea dives within 12 months and finally we had both time and somewhere secure to leave Magnum.  We had contacted the dive school before arriving and with Madeira being such a small island it was ideal as they were able to transport us to and from the marina.  www.focusnature.com  is a Portuguese dive school and although they did not all speak perfect English they were more than able to instruct us to complete our course and we were thankful that the wind held off just enough, on the 2^nd day there was much amusement as Amanda was thrown around by the waves getting in and out of the water but luckily without injury.  Unfortunately no photos!

The remainder of this week was spent dodging the rain, some of which was torrential.  Quinta Do Lorde marina provided adequate protection from the unexpected southerly winds that blew for days.  Although the marina was out on a limb there were boats of every nationality doing the same journey as us so it was nice to meet other cruisers.  The staff at the marina where exceptionally helpful, there were regular buses that ran into Funchal and the marina ran a free mini bus twice a day to the local supermarket.  The marina is odd in that the development around is still being built so rather than move people in phases it is completely empty but almost looks complete.

Church at Quinta do Lorde

The water run off through Quinta Do Lorde and a very muddy sea from all the rain

Overlooking Quinta Do Lorde

We had one final visit to Funchal, on the bus journey you wonder how the buses get up and down the hills and it is a good opportunity to see more of the island.  The old town of Funchal is worth a visit although you need to avoid the many restaurants trying to tempt you in for lunch but the small streets are particularly interesting with their decorative doors.

Shame it was another rainy day in Funcal, not so pleasant without an umbrella but the  teashop -  Loja do Cha Tea  with over 100 teas is worth a visit if you want to warm up.

Rainy day over Funchal harbour