On day 3 we had planned a whale and dolphin watching trip with possible swimming with the dolphins for the young one. ( by the way the Madeira special almond cakes in the buffet this morning were out of the world!)
The young one did some tests and we set for whale watching. However we were told that the peak season was over and we may not see many whales or dolphins. Given that the price was expensive, we gave it a miss and took the taxi to Funchal. It was a 30 minute ride and the taxi guy offered a round trip.
Once there, we took the cable ride to the botanical gardens. While the ride with views of the shimmering sea and the orange tiled lovely homes were a delight , the botanical garden was a disappointment, especially for the price.
We should have instead paid just for the cable car and got down at Monte palace which costs much less and is a much much more worthy site. It is interesting how the cable car ads below talk nothing about this but lots about the ‘ quiet dull if you are not into gardening’ botanical gardens instead.
We had some milk shake and banan crepe, next to a small cafe near the Monte gardens and then caught the cable ride back down. We then spent some time at the promenade, after which we caught the taxi back to Calheta.
The weather is chilly till about 9 am but then from 9.30 to 4 pm it is absolute heaven. Fantastic sun with a perfect breeze to deliver an hour ideal day!
Once at the hotel, The young one and dad went straight into the indoor heated swimming pool while I rested. We all then went down the road to the manufacturing the gelato hotel. Their tomato,sauce base for the pizzas and pastas were as good as we had read in the reviews and once again I was struck by how genuinely friendly and welcoming the Portuguese are.
I made a mental note to make somewhere else in Portugal our holiday destination, the next time we are planning something.
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