John Edward Cooper’s Notes

Day 4
This morning, you will visit Monte, up high in the hills on the outskirts of Funchal, where we will visit Monte Palace Tropical Gardens - These oriental gardens are exquisite, complete with Asian-style bridges, arches and a pond filled with koi carp. Here you will have the opportunity to freely wander the gardens or join a guided tour - you will be able to sample Madeira wine at the coffee shop within the gardens.
Please be aware that from the entrance, the gardens run downhill and the terrain is quite steep in some places. In order to get back to the entrance/exit, you will need to make your way back up these inclines. At the bottom of the gardens, near to the coffee shop, there are buggies available which will take you back up to the entrance - please note that there are only a few of these buggies available.
Once you have completed the tour of the gardens, you will have a host of choices on what to do next - you will be able to take the coach back to the hotel, take the cable car to Funchal town or the Botanical gardens or you can experience the famous toboggan run of Monte.
For those that have booked the afternoon tea at Reid’s Palace, this will take place today at 15:00.
…
The rest of the afternoon/evening time is free time to explore at your leisure.

Till now we’d had the balcony door open; but at 2.40am I heard a sudden high-pitched buzz in my left ear: the all-too-familiar sign of a mosquito. Before I got up, I heard a momentary buzz in the right ear. And I had a couple of red bumps as a result. (I’m writing this in October, so can’t remember exactly where they were.)… After breakfast, before our 9am departure, Janet asked at reception if the room could be sprayed. We had our Vox receivers and earpieces with us again. Janet wrote: “We had a short coach trip through the centre of Funchal then climbed up high in the hills on the outskirts where we visited Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. It was another hot and sunny day.”


VidaMar Resort Hotel to Monte Palace Tropical Gardens, and the Teleférico do Funchal
Click on image to enlarge

In the captions of the illustrations below, words in “quotes” either:

• are taken from the map of Monte Palace (below), with which we were issued; or:
• can be seen in the photos themselves, either copied, or translated.

Thursday 22 September 2022 09:04:32
Seen from the coach: sculpture “Peace and Freedom” in Largo da Paz, Funchal


Map of Monte Palace, Madeira
Click on image to enlarge


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:25:48
“Bridge”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:27:30
“Bridge”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:28:20
“Largo da Fonte”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:29:02
“Largo da Fonte”

It’s unclear from the map—



—how we got from “Largo da Fonte” onto the path shown below, the one shown on the map curving from slightly north of west to “Basket Toboggans”.


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:29:34
Proceeding along a path from “Largo da Fonte”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:32:54
Approaching the “Basket Toboggans”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:32:54 (detail)
“Basket Toboggans”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:34:20
“Basket Toboggans”

I decided that I had little interest in descending by toboggan after our visit to Monte Palace. On arrival at the entrance to “Monte Palace Tropical Gardens”, we waited while Maria got tickets and maps of the site, then distributed them to us.


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:40:12
“Entrance/Exit BABOSAS” to “MONTE PALACE TROPICAL GARDENS”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:40:12 (detail)
Our tour group

Just beyond the entrance to Monte Palace was the cable car station. A descent by cable car seemed to me the more desirable option.


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:41:04
“Entrance/Exit CABLE CAR”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:42:10
“…CABLE CAR”

Because the visit is fairly comprehensively recorded in photographs, for myself I shall write little more. Janet’s description is this: “The oriental gardens are exquisite, complete with Asian-style bridges, arches, and a pond filled with koi carp. We had a very leisurely stroll.”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:47:36
Maria leads the way into the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens.


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:49:00
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:50:54
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: One of the “Thousand-year-old Olive Trees”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:52:12
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: The first of several panels depicting the “History of Portugal” in tiles


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:53:04
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “History of Portugal” in tiles


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:54:42
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:55:18
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:56:04
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Mineral and gem collection”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:58:26
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Mineral and gem collection”


Thursday 22 September 2022 09:59:14
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Mineral and gem collection”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:01:08
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:06:02
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “History of Madeira Island” in tiles


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:06:32
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “History of Madeira Island” in tiles


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:06:40
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “History of Madeira Island” in tiles


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:06:56
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Proceeding to the “Oriental Garden”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:07:16
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Oriental Garden”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:08:34
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:10:28
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Tile Panels”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:11:04
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: (left:) “Dona Maria I (1734–1816)”; (right:) “Dom Joseph I (1714–1777)”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:11:42
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:12:32
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Oriental Garden”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:13:24
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Oriental Garden”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:13:50
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Oriental Garden”: Terracotta Warriors


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:14:20
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Oriental Garden”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:14:54
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Adventure of the Portuguese in Japan”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:15:20
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Viewing the “Adventure of the Portuguese in Japan”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:16:28
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Adventure of the Portuguese in Japan”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:16:42
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “And the adventures continue…”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:17:22
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:18:48
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:19:30
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:19:42
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:20:06
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:20:30
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:20:58
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:21:28
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:23:16
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:23:26
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:24:04
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Central Lake”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:24:04 (detail)
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Central Lake” and “Palace” 


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:25:26
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Koi carp”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:26:02
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Koi carp”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:27:22
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:27:44
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:28:40
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:28:58
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:29:44
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:31:12
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:34:22
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:35:36
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Palace”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:36:34
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Palace”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:36:58
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Pagoda”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:37:24
Cruise ship MSC Magnifica, seen from Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:37:24 (detail)
Cruise ship MSC Magnifica


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:43:50
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:44:18
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Cleopatra Vase”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:44:46
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Cleopatra Vase”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:45:12
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:46:52
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Sculptures”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:47:18
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Sculptures”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:47:34
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Sculptures”


Thursday 22 September 2022 10:48:00
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Sculptures”

At the southern end of the site was a café. Maria had advised us to keep our entry tickets because we could swap them there for a free glass of Madeira wine. So it was, that I had mine and Janet’s, and also two donated by the couple who’d given me theirs at D’Oliveiras yesterday. I thought that maybe the drier one was a little watered down (I could be mistaken); the sweeter one was OK. Janet had a Pepsi Max; I had a bottle of Brisa carbonated apple (“Maçã”) soft dink. It’s made by Madeira Brewery (Empresa de Cervejas da Madeira), which brews the ubiquitous Coral lager.


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:00:30
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Refreshments


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:05:42
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Refreshments

That was the end of the conducted tour. There would have been the option to travel back in the coach, but Janet and I joined two or three others who were going their own way, for the long, more or less straight, slope upwards along the eastern side of the estate, back to where we’d earlier entered.


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:21:36
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Proceeding upwards to “Entrance/Exit BABOSAS”


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:23:48
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: “Palace”


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:26:54
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Proceeding upwards to “Entrance/Exit BABOSAS”


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:28:06
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Proceeding upwards to “Entrance/Exit BABOSAS”


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:32:08
Monte Palace Tropical Gardens: Proceeding upwards to “Entrance/Exit BABOSAS”

On exiting the estate, Janet and I turned right and went to the adjacent teleférico station.


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:37:02
Approaching “Entrance/Exit CABLE CAR”/Teleférico do Funchal


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:39:30
Teleférico do Funchal: Waiting to board


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:40:52
Teleférico do Funchal: Our gondola


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:41:50
Views from the Teleférico do Funchal


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:45:04
Views from the Teleférico do Funchal


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:45:36
Views from the Teleférico do Funchal


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:50:30
Views from the Teleférico do Funchal


Thursday 22 September 2022 11:53:00
Teleférico do Funchal: Approaching the station


Teleférico do Funchal to Bar El Silêncio, showing places etc. visited or seen
Click on image to enlarge

From the terminus, we knew our way back to the city centre, having been that way yesterday. We bypassed APAUZA because I’d asked for bagaceira and had got ordinary aged brandy. (It’s possible that the server hadn’t fobbed me off, but had misheard my request for “Bagaceira” as “Macieira”. Anyway, we didn’t go there.) About halfway along Rua Doutor Fernão de Ornelas, we spotted a restaurant A Arte do Bolo do Caco and had lunch there outside, in the shade of a tree. I had a pizza on a bolo do caco base, and to drink two beers and an americano coffee. Janet had a plain mixed salad and a hot bolo do caco with nothing spread on it, and to drink a Coke Zero and a freshly squeezed passion fruit and pineapple drink. “With a tip it was only €30,” Janet commented.


Thursday 22 September 2022 12:11:48
Lunch at A Arte do Bolo do Caco, Rua Dr. Fernão de Ornelas 29


Thursday 22 September 2022 12:51:58
Lunch at A Arte do Bolo do Caco, Rua Dr. Fernão de Ornelas 29

We continued on through the city centre to the end of Avenida Arriaga.


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:40:26
Approaching the western end of Rua Dr. Fernão de Ornelas


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:42:48
Crossing Ribeira de Santa Luzia


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:43:30
Continuing along Rua do Aljube


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:45:40
In Rua do Aljube, approaching the Cathedral


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:48:32
Looking ahead into Avenida Arriaga


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:50:10
Looking back at the Cathedral


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:53:26
Bank of Portugal building and João Gonçalves Zarco statue, Avenida Arriaga


Thursday 22 September 2022 13:59:56
Rotunda do Infante at the end of Avenida Arriaga


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:00:06
Rotunda do Infante: fountain and sculpture


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:00:52
Rotunda do Infante: statue of Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator)


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:01:06
Statue of Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator)

We went through the park behind the statue of Henry the Navigator, and descended by quite a lot of steps to the Promenade.


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:02:16
Statue of Infante Dom Henrique and Parque Santa Catarina


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:03:18
“Eddie Lizzard”


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:04:58
Rear of the statue of Infante Dom Henrique (Henry the Navigator)


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:05:26
Parque Santa Catarina


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:07:40
Parque Santa Catarina


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:09:08
View south-east from Parque Santa Catarina: Cruise ship MSC Magnifica


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:09:14
View east from Parque Santa Catarina


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:10:24
Statue of Cristóvão Colombo (Christopher Columbus) in Parque Santa Catarina


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:15:22
Descending south-eastwards from Parque Santa Catarina

As we proceeded more or less westwards along the Promenade do Funchal, parallel to Avenida Sá Carneiro, I chuckled when I saw the words printed on the front of a young woman’s T-shirt as she was passing in the opposite direction, because the third word of the national motto of France had been changed to the name of a US singer/songwriter/actress:

LIBERTÉ
EGALITÉ
BEYONCÉ

Thursday 22 September 2022 14:18:20
Proceeding south-westwards along the Promenade by Avenida Sá Carneiro


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:23:54
“Port of Funchal, Terminal Quay 6”


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:23:54 (detail)
Fortress of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:24:38
Nearing the end of Avenida Sá Carneiro


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:25:34
Baptista de Andrade class corvette NRP João Roby (F487)


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:28:42
Rotunda Bernard Harvey Foster, named after the first car driver in Madeira, 1904


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:28:42 (detail)
Sculpture celebrating 600 years since the discovery of the Madeira archipelago (1419–2019)

We’d been told that there was a way to walk by the sea from Funchal to — I can’t remember where — so we investigated this: in vain, as it turned out.


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:30:12
Wall along Estrada da Pontinha, which proved to have no accessible way up onto it

Still in search of a way, we went down some steps. We found ourselves in the grounds of a hotel, with no way to proceed beyond it. We stopped there for refreshments, however: I had a beer, and Janet a Coke Zero.


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:32:48
Way down on the other side of the wall to Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:33:16
Way down on the other side of the wall to Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:35:12
Way down to the ocean at Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:40:06
Refreshments at Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:42:22
“Royal Savoy”, seen from Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 14:45:54
“Reids”, seen from Hotel Penha França Mar


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:14:18
Fort of São José, seen from Hotel Penha França Mar

From there, we continued on our way back to the hotel.


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:18:28
Passing the Royal Savoy Hotel on Rua Carvalho Araújo

As we walked, we passed on our left a small tourist office, with a mannequin dressed in Madeiran traditional costume behind the door. We’d seen women wearing this at the Farmers’ Market yesterday.


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:21:12
Tourist office on Rua Carvalho Araújo


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:21:12 (detail)
Mannequin in Madeiran traditional costume in a tourist office on Rua Carvalho Araújo


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:22:52
Interesting azulejos at the end of Rua do Favilla, seen from Rua Carvalho Araújo


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:26:06
View from the Ribeiro Seco bridge; (background, upper right:) Reid’s Palace Hotel


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:27:46
View from the Ribeiro Seco bridge


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:29:26
Largo da Paz


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:29:26 (detail)
Sculpture “Peace and Freedom” in Largo da Paz


Thursday 22 September 2022 15:33:16
Reid’s Palace Hotel, Estrada Monumental 139

We got back to the hotel, ca.3.40pm. “We didn’t open the balcony doors due to mosquitoes,” Janet wrote. I noticed in one of the wall sockets a plug-in mosquito repellent. “I sorted out tips and paid our hotel bill thus far, then [we] withdrew more cash. I updated this [journal]. At 5.15pm we went for pre-dinner drinks at El Silêncio.”


Thursday 22 September 2022 17:32:16
At Bar El Silêncio, Estrada Monumental 191

Then we went back to the hotel in time for the 6.30pm opening of the Ocean Restaurant for dinner. I think I just had a beer to drink there. Afterwards, we went out into the garden at the back of the Ocean Restaurant to see how to get down to the level of the ocean: there are flights of stairs down to there. We didn’t go down ourselves, though. Back in the room, I transferred 129 photos from my camera’s SD card to the WD Elements HDD (20:05–20:08), then copied them from there to “Pictures” on the Samsung computer (20:10). Played Solitaire (to 20:31) — lost 7; won 1; lost 1 — with a break meanwhile to help Janet to adjust the shower.… I was in bed, ca.8.50pm.

[Friday 23 September 2022]