Day 3 (March 9, 2014): "Have a Madeira, m'dear!"

Day 3 started late for us.  Given the time change and travel exhaustion, we didn't wake up until 8:30am.  Although we escaped the switch to Daylight Savings Time (Madeira doesn't switch until April), we did take a second or two to think about all of you back home, losing an hour of zzzz's this morning, due to the North American switchover.

A nice breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, and we headed out the door at 10:15am.  It's difficult to explain the driving in Madeira:  because the mountains rise so quickly from the sea, the ascents are unbelieveablly steep.  I literally drove that Fiat in 1st and 2nd gear all day!  Add never-ending switchbacks, twists, turns and narrow roads to the mix, and believe me:  driving here is anything BUT a walk in the park.

We made our way to Monte, a village high above the capital, Funchal.  Monte is the terminus for a cable-car that runs from the Funchal waterfront many kilometers up into the mountains.  

We parked in Monte and took the cable car down to Funchal, which gave a good opportunity to view the red roofs of Funchal and the terraced gardens of its residents.

Arriving in Funchal, we visited the yellow Fort of Sao Tiago, followed by a light lunch at the Story Museum.  

Actually, we tried our first Madeira wine there -- maybe you've heard the famous expression, "Have some Madeira, m'dear!"  Madeira has some of the world's most fabled fortified wines.  A little too sweet for our liking, though.  

By the way, here is a "bird of paradise" that we saw on the Funchal waterfront. It is a popular flower here. Really does resemble an exotic bird!

After that, we re-boarded the cable car and ascended back up into the mountains to Monte.  Monte is a quiet little village with a great church -- "Nossa Senhora do Monte" (Our Lady of Monte) -- dating back to 1470.  

Mass was in progress as we went by, so we slipped in and enjoyed the congregation singing a neat hymn.  The tune stuck with us all day!  

From there, we went to the Monte Palace Tropical Garden, dubbed a "Portuguese-Japanese Garden of Eden", built by an 18th centry tycoon.  It features exotic plants, koi fish, statues, Japanese bridges, and 166 glazed panels showing the history of Portugal.

Next, it was onwards, up into the mountains to find the Pico (peak) do Arierio, Madeira's third highest peak at 1818 metres -- that's over a mile above sea level. What a crazy drive! When we got there, the clouds were as thick as pea soup, and it even started to sleet.  (We did see some snow on the side of one mountain, believe it or not!)  We waited it out in the coffee shop, and eventually, the sun provided a slight breakthrough for a few photos.

The drive back to Funchal was much easier going down.  We were back at the hotel by 5pm, in time for a cup of coffee on the balcony.  We ate in the hotel restaurant again -- no International Womens' Day freebies for Pam tonight, but we had the best Beef Wellington (Pam) and codfish (Dave) we've ever eaten.

Tomorrow morning, we will head to the northeast to see some lava pools, as well as Seixal's terraced gardens, and then the Valley of the Nuns.  More crazy roads ahead!  Good night from Madeira.