John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Day 6
Today will be a free day to enjoy Madeira at your own leisure.

Janet wrote: “I was up at 6.10am. It has been a challenge that it hasn’t become light until nearly 8am every morning. I hate getting up in the dark.” I noted: “Janet vacated [the] bathroom [at] 7.25am”, implying that this was when I had a shave then showered. Janet added that it was her “p[ig]-o[ut] d[ay]”, i.e. her one day of each week for eating whatever she’d fancy, without regard for how fattening it might be. We went down for breakfast, then came back to the room to get ready to go out. “We withdrew our second lot of cash from the ATM in the hotel (only the second card transaction this holiday),” Janet wrote, “then headed off for the centre of Funchal. It wasn’t even 10am but was already quite hot (and sunny!).” I noted: “We set out, ca.9.45am.”


Map showing places etc. seen or visited today
Click on image to enlarge


Saturday 24 September 2022 09:52:44
The final northern leg of Estrada Monumental; (right) Reid’s Palace Hotel

At the end of Estrada Monumental continued along Avenida do Infante, stopping briefly to have a closer look at the statue of Empress Sisi that we’d previously seen from the coach.


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:09:48
Statue of Empress Sisi in the gardens of the Casino Park hotel, Avenida do Infante


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:09:48 (detail)
Statue of Empress Sisi

We left Avenida do Infante, shortly after that, to walk through the park, Parque Santa Catarina. We skirted to the north of the lake there; and after a look here and there, in, and from, the park, we left at the exit behind the statue of Henry the Navigator (Infante Dom Henrique).


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:15:24
Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:16:18
Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:19:30
Views from Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:22:46
Views from Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:23:22
Views from Parque Santa Catarina: rear of the statue of Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator)


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:24:00
Parque Santa Catarina: view north from the same location as “10:23:22”

From there, we continued along Avenida Arriaga, and stopped for refreshments under one of the large rectangular umbrellas of the Café do Teatro. I had an “apple” (“Maçã”) Brisa and Janet a “passion fruit” (“Maracujá”) one.


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:29:38
Avenida Arriaga


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:36:54
Café do Teatro, Avenida Arriaga


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:36:54 (detail)
Drinking Brisa: (above, right:) “Passion Fruit”; (left:) “Apple”

From there, we crossed the road and went in the Municipal Garden. A bird, clearly a wagtail, stood on the head of a statue in the pond there. I thought it was a yellow wagtail, because it was yellow at the front (but a later look-up suggests that it may have been a grey wagtail).


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:58:32
Jardim Municipal do Funchal: grey wagtail


Saturday 24 September 2022 10:59:42
Jardim Municipal do Funchal


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:03:36
Jardim Municipal do Funchal


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:06:28
Jardim Municipal do Funchal: “auditório”

We returned from the Municipal Garden to Avenida Arriaga, and skirted to the left of the Cathedral along Rua do Aljube.


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:15:44
Funchal Cathedral


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:19:08
Largo do Chafariz

It was perhaps at Largo do Chafariz at the end of Rua do Aljube, where we turned left to go along Rua dos Ferreiros to get to the Municipal Square. Anyhow, by whichever way, that was to where we were headed; or, more specifically, it was to the Jesuit church at the north-west corner of the square: Igreja de São João Evangelista. It’s also called Igreja do Colégio, for it is part of the Jesuit college (former Jesuit college, I should say; this is now part of Madeira University).


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:25:16
Praça do Município: Fountain and Town Hall


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:25:42
Praça do Município: Jesuit College and Church of St. John the Evangelist


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:29:12
Praça do Município: Fountain, Jesuit College and Church of St. John the Evangelist

“The Jesuit church… was very highly decorated,” Janet wrote. “We sat for a while, then a group of tourists came in and disturbed our peace so we left.” “Highly decorated”: just about every surface, apart from the floor, was covered with gilding, paintings and azulejos. The frieze above the main altar was painted in trompe-l’œil style, but more impressive was the painting on the barrel-shaped ceiling, with a trompe-l’œil dome at the forward end and trompe-l’œil windows along the sides.


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:37:54
Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:38:24
Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:38:42
Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:39:14
Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist


Saturday 24 September 2022 11:39:42
Jesuit Church of St. John the Evangelist

Janet suggested that we visit the Museum of Sacred Art — in the former Ecclesiastical Palace on the east side of the Municipal Square — but I didn’t fancy that.…
 “We wandered around,” Janet wrote, “then found a place for lunch in the square near the Cathedral.” The Cathedral is at the east end of Avenida Arriaga, and the restaurant in the building on the south-west corner of Avenida Arriaga and Rua Dr. António José de Almeida. “It was still hot, but quite windy. [John] had two beers, and Madeiran beef skewer with fried corn and salad. I had two Brisa ‘passion fruit’ and duck breast in orange sauce, with roast vegetables and mushroom risotto. I hadn’t expected such a big portion. If I’d known I would have cancelled the vegetables and had only about a third of the rice. Anyway, I ate all the duck. We both enjoyed the food.”


Saturday 24 September 2022 12:30:52
Restaurante Sé Dourada, Rua Dr. António José de Almeida

“We went ‘next door’ and had a coffee. I also had a pastel de nata. Good!”


Saturday 24 September 2022 13:23:44
Café Apolo, Rua Dr. António José de Almeida

The fairly short Rua Dr. António José de Almeida ended at the road running parallel to the ocean, Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses. We turned left and walked along this.


Saturday 24 September 2022 13:51:50
Praça da Autonomia: monument


Saturday 24 September 2022 13:51:50 (detail)
Detail of the monument, Praça da Autonomia


Saturday 24 September 2022 13:53:26
Praça da Autonomia: Ribeira de Santa Luzia


Saturday 24 September 2022 13:53:46
Praça da Autonomia: Ribeira de João Gomes

After passing Praça da Autonomia we turned off northwards to visit the “Zona Historica do Funchal”. “We walked around part of the Old Quarter and when I turned a corner I came across two men. One of them was snorting cocaine. I’d never seen that before and don’t want to see it again! We needed a pee… and went to a bar. [John] went for a pee, and when he returned and told me about the disgusting toilet we proffered one euro and left.” It was a rather “basic”-looking pub, but I thought it would do for a drink. But the toilet was filthy and stank, and when I told Janet this we decided not to remain there. She gave them €1 because I’d used the toilet. The nearest establishment that we knew about was at the not-too-far-off Teleférico do Funchal; so that’s where we headed, to the adjacent Esplanada Teleférico, ca.2.30pm. “We went to the teleférico area and found a café for a drink: me a Brisa ‘passion fruit’ and [John] a cider.” Having quite enjoyed a Coral “Sidra” on tap yesterday, I decided to have the same here; this came from a 25cl bottle, though. “We were not pleased to find the toilet cost 50 cents,” Janet commented: “what a bloody rip-off.”
 “We thought about an open-top sightseeing tour, but it was €45 so we declined,” Janet wrote. On Wednesday, as we were waiting for our 1.30pm rendezvous, we’d seen people boarding a Yellow Bus sightseeing bus in Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses. Today, there was a similar one, and we had got as far, in booking, as a ticket being printed by the driver. When he asked for €45, though, I apologised and backed off.


Wednesday 21 September 2022 13:18:56
Yellow Bus sightseeing tour bus at Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses

“We walked up the harbour,” Janet wrote. “We saw the ‘Hispaniola’, but it was not sailing today as it was too windy.” The Hispaniola was the schooner that Squire Trelawney bought to sail to Treasure Island in Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novel Treasure Island; and it was also, from 1949, a quarter-size replica of an eighteenth century schooner that sailed to “Treasure Island” on Scarborough Mere (latterly sailing along South Bay, Scarborough, from the harbour). This was Janet’s deliberate tongue-in-cheek reference to the replica of Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria, which we’d seen sailing into the harbour on previous days, and which was now moored in the Marina.


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:02:04
Replica of Columbus’ ship Santa Maria


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:02:34
Southern side of São Lourenço Fortress


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:10:58
(Left:) the end of Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses; (right:) Parque Santa Catarina

We visited again Parque Santa Catarina, passing the statue of Christopher Columbus that we’d seen on Thursday, walking around the nearby chapel (it was not open), and seeing a memorial to Gibraltarians evacuated to Madeira in World War II.


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:15:52
Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:16:04
Parque Santa Catarina: statue of Cristóvão Colombo (Christopher Columbus)


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:16:04 (detail)
Parque Santa Catarina: statue of Cristóvão Colombo (Christopher Columbus)


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:18:36
Parque Santa Catarina: Capela de Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:19:16
Views from Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:19:58
Views from Parque Santa Catarina


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:20:54
Parque Santa Catarina: “Gibraltarians in Madeira”


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:20:54 (detail)
Parque Santa Catarina: “Gibraltarians in Madeira”


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:21:34
Parque Santa Catarina: “In memory of the Gibraltarian evacuees who died in Madeira during the Second World War 1940/1945”


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:21:34 (detail)
Parque Santa Catarina: “In memory of the Gibraltarian evacuees who died in Madeira during the Second World War 1940/1945”

“We… found many ‘Eddies’ everywhere again,” Janet recalled, i.e. lizards, so called as a play on the name of stand-up comedian, actor and activist Eddie Izzard. “We then decided to walk back to the hotel and arrived, 4pm: hot, sweaty and thirsty.” Leaving the park, we retraced our outward route of this morning, along Avenida do Infante, across the bridge over the Ribeiro Seco gorge, and continuing along Estrada Monumental back to the hotel.


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:36:28
“Avenida do Infante”


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:48:02
Ribeiro Seco bridge


Saturday 24 September 2022 15:48:46
View from the Ribeiro Seco bridge; (background, upper right:) Reid’s Palace Hotel

According to my scribbled jottings: “4.10pm, Janet went down to [the] hairdresser’s but found no-one there.” And on another page: “Janet went down again a bit later. I sat in one of the chairs and nodded off.” Janet wrote: “I had the hairdresser booked for 5.30pm so went down early, but it was closed; so, back in the room, I sorted my bag for tomorrow, etc., and updated this [journal]. [John] had a snooze and was still asleep when I left again at 5pm. I waited until 5.15pm then was back in the room by 5.45pm. [John] had woken up. We went to El Silêncio for drinks. It was still very hot and sunny — and windy.”


Saturday 24 September 2022 18:05:28
Brisa at Bar El Silêncio, Estrada Monumental 191


Saturday 24 September 2022 18:15:58
Poncha at Bar El Silêncio, Estrada Monumental 191

“We returned to the hotel for dinner,” Janet continued. “Afterwards, we went to the Lisboa Bar in the hotel. I had a very good americano with a bit of hot milk (hot, strong and flavourful: my three criteria for a good coffee) and [John] had two bagaceira (on ice! He enjoyed!).”


Saturday 24 September 2022 19:54:04
Bagaceira at the Lisboa Bar, VidaMar Resort


Saturday 24 September 2022 19:54:50
Bagaceira at the Lisboa Bar, VidaMar Resort


Saturday 24 September 2022 20:18:16
Sunset, seen from the Lisboa Bar, VidaMar Resort

“We returned to our room at ca.8.30pm. I had a shower, and we were both in bed by 9.30pm. Knackered.” I transferred 47 photos from my camera’s SD card to the WD Elements HDD (20:40–20:41), then copied them from there to “Pictures” on the Samsung computer (20:43). Janet called me into the bathroom to help her with the shower. Played Solitaire (20:47–21:12): lost 8; won 1; lost 1.…

[Sunday 25 September 2022]