Encumeada

I know I am not writing much about these pictures but to be honest I think the views speak for themselves.

Soa Vincente

The Veil of the Bride

Or Bride's Veil is the name of the waterfall in the photos below - still posting from Madeira - promise I will try and get them all up here for you soon - I really hope you are enjoying them.

Porto Moniz

Around 12:30 we stopped for lunch at Porto Moniz it was 11 Euro for 3 courses and wine - amazing value and after we had time to wander around and take photos

These pools, created by the volcanoes on the island years ago are now used for bathing

Paul de Serra

So high here you are above the clouds - amazing

Sao Bento Church - Ribeira Brava

Next stop on the tour was  Ribeira Brava and a look at the beautiful church there - all the decoration were because the Island was about to celebrate the festival of St  Peter- I tell you they are always having festivals on Madeira

Camara de Lobos

So on our first full day we took a day tour of the West of the island. Fist stop was Camara de Lobos a place where former Prime Minister Winston Churchill would come and paint - and I can see why it is so beautiful here and although we only had a brief stop it was a lovely place to have a wander and I would like to visit and see more of it.

Câmara de Lobos   is a municipality, parish and city in the south-central coast of the island of Madeira. Technically a suburb of the much larger capital city of Funchal, it is one of the larger population centres and an extension of the Funchal economy.

The location of the modern town is believed to be the original landing point for the Portuguese discoverer João Gonçalves Zarco, who is credited with the discovery of the Madeira Islands. When the explorer disembarked in this area (1419), he observed a thin cliff that extended into the ocean, and another cliff face that formed an amphitheatre-like harbour that could shelter ships from Atlantic storms. There Zarco and his men also found a large colony of marine animals that would become the reason for naming this area Câmara de Lobos.. The name,lobos, is a Portuguese derivation for sea-lions (Portuguese: lobos-marinhos), which were the animals discovered by Zarco and his men in the sheltered bay. Because of the large colony of these animals, the area was baptisedcâmara dos lobos. This was a pejorative term, since câmara is the Portuguese word for municipal chamber(sometimes erroneously referred to as the city hall or city council), and the sailors named the area, literally as, theMunicipal chamber of [the place where there are] Sea-Lions. Today, the species of monk seals (Latin: monachus monachus) are rare, being an animal common to the Mediterranean, but today confined to a small colony on theDesertas Islands.

Madeira Madness

Have not long got back from a weeks holiday in Madeira - so sit back and prepare for lots of photos of this beautiful island, with a bit of information thrown in.

On the first day we arrived at just before 11, so had some lunch and spent the afternoon by the swimming pool. For those who are interested we stayed at The Lince and I would definitely stay there again it was great.

However, just because we rested the first day doesn't mean to say the rest of the week was easy. The next day we went on a tour of the West of the islands and over 100 photos were taken, over the next few posts I will share them - but here are a few from the first day

Leaving the UK

Band Sculpture at the Hole In One pub, Funchal

View from the pool terrace at The Lince

14 locks pt2