Saturday 19 March 2005. Another day, another place. We are up in time to see as we sail into Funchal Harbour on Madeira.
When we were here a year ago it was a very foggy day, caused by sand and dust blown from the Sahara Desert. Today looks like being a bit better weather.
We have booked a morning's excursion and are taken high up into the island's mountains. This is Curral das Freiras - the Nun's Refuge, named after the nuns of the capital Funchal's Santa Clara convent, who fled here during a pirate attack in 1566. The view from above is stunning. Madeira had been attacked by pirates several times. No wonder the nuns wanted to make it as hard as possible for pirates to reach them.
We arrive at a village called Monte. We have come for a toboggan ride down the mountain back towards Funchal. Toboggan? But where's the snow...?
There is no need for snow. The toboggans are made of wickerwork and are pulled, pushed and/or scooted by two gondoliers down the [GULP] public roads of the locality, dodging cars, shoppers and sleeping dogs as they go. The more religious are praying at the roadside shrine and lighting candles to appeal for a safe descent...
"Should we buy some tea towels as a souvenir?" wonders Miss Franny. But there's no point - let's get the toboggan down and if we survive then we can think about souvenirs!
We got near the front of the queue and watched as our fellow passengers eagerly or otherwise disappear down the steep road and around a corner. Despite keeping our ears open we don't hear any car horns blaring or squeals of brakes. So far, so good!
OMG as we zoom down the hill at one point a road crosses our path and the road we are careering down levels off with time for just a swift glance (pick your side, there isn't time to look both ways and certainly no time to stop should anything be coming...) At one point a chap came out of a shop doorway and took our photo. I played up to the occasion and hear the photographer say "Doh..." in Portuguese. Then we got to the bottom some time later to find the guides from all the excursion coaches killing themselves laughing at this - the photographer had been an official souvenir photographer! "I've never seen a photo so funny!" says our coach's courier.
Before we set off down into Funchal, there's time for a photo stop at this viewpoint. Our ship, Sun Cruises, Carousel is the middle of the three cruise ships. The plants in the foreground are banana trees. They grow a smaller strain of banana on Madeira and locally there is much consternation at a rumoured European ruling that bananas are going to be banned under a certain size. The sort of idiotic and baseless decision that ignorant morons in power make at every level of government.
We get down to Funchal and decide not to go straight back to the ship. Having been onboard for two days - a day at sea and then in Morocco - we are wanting to stretch our legs a bit. Typically it starts to rain just as we get off the coach...
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