Madeira (2024-2)

With the last post, I hinted at a bit of adventure to come. For those of you familiar with the Madeira Toboggan Ride on Traditional Wicker Basket Sledges, you will know what is coming. I knew what was coming, but Steve did not and as he realized what was ahead, he commented that this had to be one of my dumbest ideas yet. The toboggans are driven by two drivers called “carreiros” who use their boots with thick rubber soles as brakes to control the two-kilometer journey. These unique toboggans were created in the 19th century when they were used as a means of public transport to get from the parish of Monte, located at an altitude of about 500 metres, to the city of Funchal more quickly. Today they offer an exciting, hair-raising adrenaline ride and a “must do” in Madeira, so we did it!

Would Steve have chosen to do this? No way! It was an exciting ride at times as speeds can go up to 30 kilometers per hour! But note: this went from “one of the dumbest ideas” to a highlight of the trip!

After that exciting start to the day, it was on to more “mundane” activities like visiting the market in downtown Funchal. There were abundant stalls of fruits, vegetables and flowers with the fish market winding down for the day.

On to the cable car for a ride up and back down just to enjoy the view. Not the best photo because of the reflection in the window, but it gives a sense of the height.

To end our Madeira stay we had dinner at Gavião Novo in the very old part of Funchal with the wonderful painted doorways and very narrow streets and restaurants that flow onto the sidewalk.

As we left the restaurant we asked the proprietor to take our photo, which he obligingly did and commented that the last picture was the best. It was a selfie!

On to Porto, Portugal, still traveling with Pam and Bill.