Jardins D Ajuda Hotel Funchal

... usually warm up and are very helpful when asking for directions. Funchal is used to tourists since the pier is a major part of the downtown landscape. Today alone there are three ships in port so if every guest were to leave the ship the local population would swell by at least 4000 cruise guests! <br><br><br><br>We will set sail at 5p today and sail all night with an early morning arrival in Tenerife, Canary Islands; I&#8217;ll add another chapter tomorrow. The wifi ...

On Sunday we got up, had breakfast and we went off on a tour organized by P&amp;O to the top of the second highest cliff in the world, and very spectacular it was. On the way we saw all sorts of plant life, including banana trees and the very colourfull South African trees, with very large red flowers. We passed through Camara de Lobos and on to Pico da Torre where a magnificent view over the cliffs down to the sea showed how beautiful Madeira is.

We arrived outside Funchal at about 12:30 and because Independence of the Seas had taken our berth, the ship anchored outside the docks and we went ashore in the ships tenders. Had a couple of hours wandering around the lovely town of Funchal and went back ...

... rough on the shins.<br><br>Last land for another 7 days!<br><br><br>The last few days have been ******&#8230;.literally. There&#8217;s been an outbreak of Norovirus on the boat so the crew has had to be Germ Nazis, cleaning every surface immediately after it has been touched. We can&#8217;t serve ourselves at the buffet. We aren&#8217;t even allowed to fill our own water glasses! Luckily Jacqui and I didn't get sick!<br>

... and two generous slices of cake. There are also other goodies that can tempt the sweet tooth and they do take away as was evident by the number of locals frequenting the establishment, located opposite the &#8220;Reid Hotel&#8221; (GPS Location 32°38'27.52"N, 16°55'26.85"W) <br><br>By far the best dining experience was that of the &#8220;Quinta Palmeira&#8221;, located on &#8220;Avenida Do Infante&#8221; and down the stairs this ranks ...

... answer came so easily to the receptionist that I got the impression this answer has been used before.<br><br>In closing we feel that it is the responsibility of the management to inform the hotel guests of such things as live entertainment which can be heard from your room and gala events likely to disturb you rest, or to relocate you booking prior to check in, at the very least you could be informed and then offered an option of relocation prior to settling in to the room.

... for a few yards and then take the path up to the old ice house. <br><br>For those of you who are tall be wary of the next section as at a point the path is cut into the mountain side and the overhang is just about 5' 6" which would be of no import, except that it is precisely where you are concentrating on the 1&#8217; wide path with the near vertical 500&#8217; drop to the left.<br><br>Just over half way the path folks just after what looks ...

East coast, a good and satisfying walk.<br><br>Take water as there is little or no facilities, only a small trailer which occasionally arrives. It was hot and sunny even though there was a fresh sea breeze and Funchal was under cloud. A good trick is to take a small amount of water out of a water bottle and put it in the freezer overnight.<br><br>Finding the SAM busses is not easy so allow time to locate the ...

... all be it a little lower down. <br><br>The start of the trail is to the right of the place name, in the car park just below the tea rooms. See photo. It is not marked in any way for whatever reason I do not know. <br><br>A point of warning: most of the path is laid to stone which has been smoothed with the passage of time and when wet can get very slippery, even when rain has not fallen for some days ...

... as far as the eye could see and wild white calla lilies growing everywhere. I loved watching the people and particularly the tradition of the Monte sled. Back in the day, straw basket sleds were used to get down the step village roads. Now tourists can take a ride accompanied by two men in traditional dress, who will push and pull you down the course ...