John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Day 1
When you arrive into the arrival terminal and you have collected your luggage, turn left and head towards the exit sign, pass through the doors, in to the arrivals area where our tour manager will meet you.
Please be mindful that our tour manager may be travelling on the same flight, and so could be the last to arrive at the meeting point. Please remain there until met.
Please note that in order to operate this tour successfully, all clients may not necessarily be travelling on the same flight. This will not affect the overall content of the holiday.
A coach will then transfer you to Funchal, to your hotel where we stay for the next seven nights. The transfer time to the hotel is approximately 30 minutes.
Hotel details:
VidaMar Resort Hotel Madeira
Estrada Monumental 177, 9000-100 Funchal, Portugal

Janet got up at 11.30pm [still on Sunday, actually]; she vacated the bathroom at midnight, and I went in… Looked up “Madeira” on Google Maps (00:56–00:59), and printed a map of the island. Then I was looking up places on it that were mentioned in the Riviera itinerary and underscoring them, and looking up other places mentioned in the itinerary that were not on the map, and adding them (browser, 01:02–01:17). I couldn’t find an airport specifically named “Funchal Airport”, so assumed that “Aeroporto da Madeira”, found by increasing the scale of the on-screen map, and it were one and the same (correctly, as it turned out).


Google Maps image of Madeira, with my annotations

Then I realised how close it was to G— B—’s arrival time, and hurriedly shut down,… went downstairs, put my shoes on, etc. I noticed, just before 1.30am, that G— was standing by his van outside. We got our stuff stowed. I suggested that Janet and I ride in the front bench seat, so that’s what we did. It made conversation easier. Janet sat in the middle, because she’s better at that than I. The motorways (M180, M62, M60 (south- and westbound) and M56) had very little traffic on them and very few lorries indeed, and there were no delays from road-works; and we arrived at 3.45am.


Monday 19 September 2022 04:07:58
About two-thirds of the way through the stanchion-and-belt zigzag to baggage-drop

We were through the lengthy tape-and-stanchion zigzagging queue to deposit our luggage by 4.20pm, where we received our boarding passes.… And we were through the very efficiently managed security by 4.50am, even given that Janet’s backpack was pulled over to be searched. The guard mentioned “a small pair of scissors”, which Janet didn’t remember packing, and which I at least didn’t see him remove and confiscate. The airside Boots was open, despite the e-mail to Janet saying that Boots branches would be closing for the late Queen’s funeral; so I had a sandwich of chicken and bacon on malted bread, with an apple and mango juice drink, and Janet had a 7 Up Free. The boarding gate number hadn’t yet appeared on the “Departures” screens; anyway, we went through the Duty Free “maze” to wait on the far side. We bought bottles of water to take on board with us, looking in the other Boots there, in W. H. Smith and finally settling on the Boots (the bottle sizes were either too small or two big).… We proceeded to the gate when its number came up on the screen. I took out the Asus computer, which logged on to the airport Wi-Fi automatically, and typed “Weather Funchal” in the browser: rain most days, apart from Wednesday! Boarding, scheduled for 06:05, was delayed: something about not having the facilities immediately available to deal with wheelchair-using passengers. Boarding was done by means of buses; we were on the first. On the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, I sat next to the window in seat 17A; Janet sat next to me in 17B; and the third seat remained unoccupied.


Janet and I were in extra-legroom seats 17B and 17A respectively, shown in green (i.e. “good seats”) on this SeatGuru Boeing 737-800 seat-plan.


Monday 19 September 2022 06:32:08
View from seat 17A of the Boeing 737-800


Monday 19 September 2022 06:34:20
A second busload of passengers boarding

Despite the delay boarding, take-off was not excessively delayed: taxiing started at 6.55am; we arrived at the start of the runway at 7.01am; and lifted off at 7.02am.…


Monday 19 September 2022 10:08:58
Cumuli here and there, towering above the rest of the clouds


Monday 19 September 2022 10:09:06
Cumuli here and there, towering above the rest of the clouds


Monday 19 September 2022 10:09:52
Cumuli here and there, towering above the rest of the clouds

The start of descent was announced, ca.9.45am, so I nipped forward to the loo again before a queue would form.


Monday 19 September 2022 10:18:20
Crossing Ponta de São Lourenço; (background:) the Ilhas Desertas

By the scheduled 10.45am we’d already landed, boarded a bus to go 20 yards or so to the airport terminal, had got through passport control (“Bom dia!” I said to the police officer who stamped my passport), and were waiting at the baggage claim carousel. Some people got their luggage, then the conveyor belt stopped, 10.55am. I nipped to the loo then. The carousel started again, and I pulled off the first bag at 11.01am, and the second at 11.05am.

When you arrive into the arrival terminal and you have collected your luggage, turn left and head towards the exit sign, pass through the doors, in to the arrivals area where our tour manager will meet you.

“Left” is a relative term and depends on which direction one is facing; anyway, we found our way out, and after a bit of looking around, found a “Riviera” sign held by a Scottish guy who announced himself as “John Fitzpatrick”. (Obviously, we didn’t know he was Scottish till he spoke to introduce himself.) As we waited, I saw that the funeral of “Isabel II” was being shown on a large TV screen. Our Riviera booklet “Your Travel Documents” stated that, for the flight from Manchester Airport to Funchal Airport, the “Departure Terminal” would be “1”; but some others of the party had booklets that stated “2”. Indeed, there was a delay because a couple had checked in their luggage at Terminal 2, and now it was missing. (It did turn up that evening, I would learn the next day.) The party was to be divided into two groups: John would be the manager of one; and we were introduced to “Michele”, the manager of our group. We were given a sheet with a revised schedule on it. All the activities were still there, but the days on which they would take place, except one, had been changed; this was so that the two groups wouldn’t get in each other’s way by being in the same place at the same time.


Revised schedule, photographed at “17:34:10”
Click on image to enlarge

There was further information given over the PA of the coach we boarded. The airport we were leaving was now officially known as “Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport” after the Funchal-born footballer who currently plays for Manchester United. I’d actually heard the name before! All the tours and excursions would have the same departure time: 9am every day. There were no longer any COVID-19 restrictions, no requirement to wear a mask. Because we were nearer the equator than the UK, day and night were more nearly equal throughout the year; sunrise would be ca.7am; sunset, ca.8pm. (Actually, I thought, because we were approaching equinox, they’d be nearly equal anyway.) The coach went past the hotel, went round a roundabout a bit further along, then turned right into the hotel drive and stopped outside the reception lobby, ca.11.50am. There was a bit of initial milling about; we wouldn’t be able actually to check in till 2pm, but we joined the queue to sign the registration form. We were given a room number, just not a key; and that was the number written on stickers applied to our suitcases and left with all the others in a corner of the lobby. We left at 12.25pm, turned right along the driveway, which was in a crescent from the main road, continuing in the same direction the coach had faced on arrival. Across the main road from the end of the drive was a pub called Hole in One; we weren’t initially all that keen on going there, but after a look at one or two other places, that’s the one we chose as the least pretentious-seeming. There was a big sign advertising, in mongrel language, a locally brewed “Weiss Beer”, so I had one. Janet had a Coke Zero. I had a hamburger and Janet had a plain mixed salad with a couple of slices of bread. Disappointingly, the bread that Janet was given was ordinary white sliced bread. “Why couldn’t I have had the same bread that you had on your hamburger?” We didn’t realise just then that this was a “bolo do caco”, a typical Madeiran flatbread that we’d find served everywhere. I availed myself of this first opportunity to try the Portuguese pomace brandy, bagaceira. “It was overcast, but warm, with a breeze,” Janet noted, “Would have been uncomfortable if the sun were shining.”


Monday 19 September 2022 13:27:40
At the Hole in One pub


Monday 19 September 2022 13:28:48
Lunch at the Hole in One pub

We left there at 1.42pm, and somehow didn’t retrace our steps but went into the crescent by its far entrance, the way the coach had come.


Monday 19 September 2022 13:47:12
Approaching “Tower 1” of the VidaMar hotel


Monday 19 September 2022 13:48:46
Bird of paradise flowers (Strelitzia reginae)

We were back at the hotel at 1.50pm. We wondered whether we’d be able to check in; but no, it would still be at 2 o’clock. So it wasn’t till some ten minutes later that we were issued with a “Welcome” sheet and a wallet containing two door key-cards.



“Welcome!” sheet, given to us when we checked in
Click on image to enlarge

The hotel comprised of two connected towers; reception was in the more westerly one (pictured above, “13:47:12”). Because the hotel was constructed on a cliff, the entrance, which appeared to be on the ground floor, was actually on the fourth floor. Our room was on the same floor, just off the back of the lobby to the right (as we looked at it: to the left on the plan, above). When we’d asked for a room with both a sea view and a walk-in shower, we’d been told that it would be with a side-view of the sea (such as those shown in “15:40:24”, below); but, in fact, we had a walk-in shower and a direct view of the sea. Interestingly, the wing with the side view had a sod roof. The room was large, with two double-sized beds. We opened the suitcases, and Janet did the unpacking. The bathroom had a magnifying shaving-mirror; but that didn’t facilitate shaving much, because the bathroom was only dimly twilit. The lighting in the rest of the room was not much better. Anyway, I did shave, mainly by sense of touch. Ca.2.45pm the telephone rang: it was John in Reception, to say that I’d left my passport there. So I went there to get it from him. I was pleased it happened this way; it would have been distressing if I’d discovered later that my passport was missing. I set up the computers from my back-pack on a side desk, and connected the power supplies from the cases. Ca.15:00, the Samsung computer reported “Unable to connect to the internet”. There was only a weak signal from the “Wi-Fi hotspot”. (Later, and for the rest of our stay, the Samsung couldn’t see any internet connections as available at all.) The Asus reported the connection as “limited”, but it was able e.g. to access Google Drive (15:19).


Monday 19 September 2022 15:37:56
Views from the balcony of our hotel room


Monday 19 September 2022 15:38:34
Views from the balcony of our hotel room


Monday 19 September 2022 15:40:24
Views from the balcony of our hotel room

Just after I took the above photos, we went out, turning left out of the hotel, and continuing left along the main road. “It had turned very hot and sunny,” Janet noted. “Absolute bliss. I had been so cold last week.” We were looking for a bar, but the ones we passed had bump-bump-bump “music” audible. Among these was an establishment, unimposing-looking but with the encouraging name of Bar El Silêncio (Spanish definite article; noun spelled in Portuguese), which proved to be the case bump-bump-bump wise (though not traffic-noise wise). I decided on a Coral “Malt”, thinking that might be better than just Coral; but the difference appeared to be only that the former was bottled and the latter was draught. I also had another bagaceira. All the bagaceira that I would drink, whenever I’d get sight of the bottle, would be Aldeia Velha from the mainland:

An old marc brandy produced from the distillation of the best white grapes in copper stills and carefully aged in oak casks for over 24 months. Transparent, with golden reflections and a fruity aroma, it delights people all over the world. Traditionally consumed as a digestive, simple and served between 6º and 8ºC…

It was usually served, as here, straight from the bottle (via a measure), not chilled. It was very slightly yellow, and slightly more viscous than plain spirit would be. More than that I cannot say, for it just tasted like grappa, ζιβανία, τσικουδιά— I followed it with an americano coffee; because this was not the UK, it was small, strong and tasty. Janet recorded what she had: “half a tumbler of pure lemon juice (yikes!) with soda water and ice. After the initial shock it was very refreshing. Then I had a sparkling water. The bill was €10.70: so cheap.”


Monday 19 September 2022 16:01:54
At Bar El Silêncio

My notes say “Swifts”, for we saw many of them, just about everywhere we went. “We were back at the hotel just before 5.30pm,” Janet’s journal continued. “I felt knackered. We’d been up since 11.30pm last night. I could cheerfully have gone to bed! I sorted our stuff for tomorrow, updated this [journal], etc.”


Monday 19 September 2022 17:51:50
Updating journal on the “Knossos-style” coffee table

At 6.30pm, we went down to the second-floor Ocean Restaurant. The expectation, that the drinking of bagaceira in Madeira would repeat the experience of drinking τσικουδιά in Crete, and give me a big appetite, was disappointed. The two soups on offer looked like dish-water, and the buffet offered considerably less choice than the one at the Mediterraneo. “Disappointed, really,” Janet commented. “A million miles away from the Mediterraneo. Quite a limited choice of hot food. [John] had some beef stew which was inedible.” I “had” it in the sense of putting it on my plate, but not in the sense of eating it, because it was completely impervious to the shearing and grinding action of teeth. “I managed with slices of chicken and salad stuff,” Janet continued. “We’re not very impressed: however, hopefully it will be better in future.” Indeed, my opinion and appetite would improve on subsequent days. I ordered a bottle of red Douro wine, drank half of it, then corked it and took it away with me. Back in the room, we had great difficulty getting the shower to work properly for Janet. I thought that the button to switch from overhead to hand-held shower-head was jammed. (In fact, one had to pull it out, not push it in.) Still, the experience was a learning one, which would facilitate somewhat the task for me tomorrow morning. Earlier, I wrote, “The bathroom was only dimly twilit. The lighting in the rest of the room was not much better.” Janet’s version of this was: “The lighting in the room is practically non-existent. Hey ho! I’ve no intention of letting these things spoil our holiday. I ‘sorted my bits’ then went to bed, ca.8.50pm. Finally! [John was] still up, on his computer.” Indeed: I did some diary writing using the Samsung computer. On the Asus, which could get an internet connection, I traced our route from home to Manchester Airport (browser, 21:24–21:30), and tried to find out how “7 Up Free” might be written (“7Up”, “7up”, “7-Up”…? 21:43–21:44). I also transferred 17 photos from the camera’s SD card to the WD Elements HDD (21:51). I made a note: “Bed, 22:28”. Then I was disturbed by a drip, drip, drip from the bathroom. The solution wasn’t to close the bathroom door, because Janet always has a night-light, and the only suitable way to provide one was to leave the bathroom light on. The shower mixer-tap lever was positioned to the left in the “hot” position, but pushed inwards so ostensibly turned off. I found that the only way to stop the dripping was to position it midway between “hot” and “cold”. I removed two heavy covers from the bed, and even then spend most of the night outside the covering sheet. I did pull it over me for a couple of hours latterly. We didn’t have the air-conditioning switched on; instead, we left the sliding glass door to the balcony open.

[Tuesday 20 September 2022]