Category Archives: Daily trek

It’s Friday 3rd June and we’re preparing for the next Camino, this time intending to walk from St. Jean to Santiago in one fell swoop. Alistair and Rachel have flown out to Bilbao where they’ll spend the next few days … Continue reading →

After much gnashing of teeth and soul searching, cancelled flights (to Madrid), train journeys (Madrid to Burgos) and hotel accommodation, Dorothy and I have finally decided that we really did need some time out of the country and are flying … Continue reading →

Phew! Today was intended to be a gentle stroll along the levadas from Camacha to Monte. Monte as its name suggests, is a village on the slope of the mountain overlooking Funchal. It’s the end point of the gondola from … Continue reading →

This is where we are right now. We’re sitting on the terrace overlooking Funchal. Dorothy is drinking her medicinal glass of red wine while I’m drinking lime with soda. I’ve started suspecting that my regular sessions of scintillating scotoma are … Continue reading →

Today’s starting point … … in the north of the island and some 1500m above sea level. We grabbed a coffee and headed up the slope. Pico Ruivo is the highest spot on Madeira at a little over 1865m. The … Continue reading →

Dorothy noticed that there were no cruise liners in port today so it was a good day to take the gondolas up to the botanical gardens. A very saga-holiday thing to do, but the gardens were apparently worth a visit. … Continue reading →

17:36, back at the hotel, showered and ready to rock and roll. Hardly, but some food would be nice. It’s been an odd sort of day. Ludicrously steep roads which really shouldn’t exist. The insanely profligate expenditure of oil and … Continue reading →

The car duly arrived at 9 am and after a brief filling in off forms, I took the wheel and headed off on the wrong side of the road sitting on the wrong side of the car. How does the … Continue reading →

Yesterday we were trying to decide whether to continue using buses or to switch to a hire car. After today’s jaunt the decision was so, so easy. We left after an early breakfast and walked down to the beachfront to … Continue reading →

We’ve decided to see how easily we can get around the island without using a hired car. Instead we’ll make use of what was reported to be an extensive bus service and the occasional taxi. So, after an excellent, hearty … Continue reading →