Hotel Rocamar Canico

... point and what seems to be the beginning of tourism facilities. At the time we had to continue on into the "town” down some steps to a café located opposite the bus stop to Machio and then on to Funchal.

Points of note:

There are places where the path is particularly close to the edge.

Do take a torch.

The rocks are slippery so good shoes are essential, some people tried to do it in flip flops, go figure!

... are few taxis that will go out there on the off chance of picking up a fare.

Finding the starting point is easy and following the route is simple. There are a number of offshoots to the way and most of them are worth the detour.

About an hour into the walk you reach a folk in the trail from here on there is a circular route including a fairly steep ascent, (N 32.74489° W 16.68618°). Check ...

... addition some patches are covered in moss so shoes with good grip are a must. Do not attempt this path unless suitably shod.

The village itself has little to offer apart from a view from the top. On arrival you will get accosted with offers of coffee and cake. The chestnuts are an acquired taste and proximity to the autumn harvest would improve their flavor. But I for one would not recommend them ...

... perusing the "embarkation photos" revealed an 8x10 glossy black and white of Terry and Carolyn--I had conveniently been cropped out! Lesson learned: Never assume! Day 2: April 26, 2009 At Sea Great night's sleep even with losing an hour (will lose an hour each night of cruise till we get to Europe) Set the alarm for 0715 with great aspirations of going to 0730 aerobics class--instead, woke Carolyn up at 0800 and met on Lido Deck for coffee and light breakfast. Eight ...

... about specific people and elders who were in the Church. It is interesting that at first she did not want me to visit as she did not want to bother me. But after calling her and explaining that I really wanted to visit her if she would allow me, she then reconsidered. She just could not stop thanking God that someone had come from so far away just to see her. She was very encouraged and very grateful to God for making the visit possible. 

... older other passengers) jumped straight onto the net part, bouncing around gaily with the sea passing beneath us as we set sail. It wasn't long, perhaps two miles off shore, before we spotted a pod of dolphins which the ship's crew chased, our crowd wooing as their fins sliced the wavy's sea's surface. I have only seen dolphins in the wild once before, and the experience was just as exhilarating this time as the last. We saw perhaps four or five jump before ...

... and rocky ground. We slurped the coca-cola taken from our picnic basket noisily, unquenched until the last drop and only satisfied for the interim. We decided to ...

... and public garden were immaculately kept, and our walk culminated at a colourful (red and yellow!) old ...

I was particularly looking forward to Ed's and my trip to Madeira, as, unlike our usual hurried Saturday to Sunday trips away, this was a gloroius four whole days moored off the southern coast of Portugal on a volcanic rocky outcrop surrounded by no more ...

So the journey begins. Our first trip has brought us to the island of Madeira, our two sons have joined us for our first week. They have kindly afforded us a window of time in their busy social schedules! We will not see them for a while so it has been great to spend this quality time with them. Having set the alarm for 3.30am! it was pleasing to experience an on-time departure and arrival. Our approach to the islands airport was ...