At the airport in Funchal we hired a car and drove straight to Porto Moniz on the far side of the island - our second visit to the town. It's famous for its sea pools, here pictured from the hillside above. The pools are large and constantly refreshed by the sea.
Our hotel - one of several - was built directly above the pools. We were treated to a welcome drink on the balcony beside the reception desk while our room was prepared.
We swam mornings and evenings although, once or twice, when the sea was rough and the skies overcast, a German visitor and I had the pool to ourselves.
At high tide the waves would come crashing over the sea wall. They made for an exhilarating dip. Youthful swimmers would seat themselves on the wall and try to brave the waves.
Concrete paths had been built between and around the volcanic lava boulders that look as fresh as the day they froze.
Most days the pools were crowded with hundreds of visitors, speaking languages from a dozen countries or more. The picture below was taken early in the day.
Above the town, houses and terraces stretched away towards the summit. To the right, the road can be seen winding steeply upwards among the terraces.
Duarte, centre, ran our favourite snack bar, a few hundred metres from the hotel.
Local elections were being held over the weekend and candidates were doing the rounds. The president and vice-president of the parish council were happy to pose for a picture. The latter, on the right, still had the South African accent he'd acquired in his youth.
At the other end of the town were more sea pools, less developed and unguarded.
We didn't swim in these but we did exploit the photo opportunities they offered.
During the day we'd take a drive - on this occasion to the starting point of a levada. It was hard to find parking. Levadas are channels that wind down from the hills, bringing water to the populated and much drier southern coast of the island. Some are hundreds of years old, the work of Arab engineers. They are very popular with hikers, especially German hikers. We heard very little English.
The paths beside the channels are typically about a metre wide. Walkers need to take care as there is often a steep fall awaiting the unwary.
The views are the hiker's reward. This one shows a village built around a stream that flows down from the hills. Madeira is an island of viaducts and tunnels - hundreds of them. There is little level ground.
Another day we visited the town of Santa Ana where a few of the traditional thatched-roof houses remain - mainly for tourist purposes.
The town boasts a large theme park depicting the history and culture of Portugal. A "boat ride" takes one through an historical tableau of the sights and sounds of antiquity.
Meals at our hotel could be taken inside or on the adjoining balcony. The latter was always full on sunny days.
Sandwiches, fresh or toasted, were generally made from a local bread (known as bolo de caco), based on the sweet potatoes that are everywhere cultivated. It was delicious.
At the end of the day, there was a rewarding baggy and the unceasing sound of the ocean to see the sun down.
The view from our hotel balcony. We enjoyed three delightful days before moving on to another hotel beside Funchal airport, of which more in the next blog.
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