What a difference a day makes.....

Well we're in Madeira, a green and fertile island with some very big mountains. I just had to go for a walk so we were ready at 9:00 am to be picked up by one of the local walking tour guides. It comes to something when you start your walk at 1170 metres! Even more surprising when you realise that we only walked down from that moment, finixpshing our walk at 970 metres. I'm not used to this luxury!

The weather was fitting of a mountain; cold, wet and at times windy. Waterproofs and fleeces were order of the day. It made a change from the shorts and t-shirts people on the coast would be wearing.

The walk took us to two waterfalls, Frisco and 25 Fonts. This is 25 Fonts (25 fountains). Struggled a little for an image as we were in the clouds the whole of the time and mist pervaded the atmosphere. I was cleaning the filter or lens between each shot. The other problem was the sheer number of people hanging around. In the end I went ultra wide angle and got even closer to the falls, another reason for the wet lens and filter.

For anyone that has visited and walked the high areas we were walking along side the Levadas for most of the time. These small channels carry water from the mountains for irrigation and drinking water. They are an egineering marvel, carved out of solid rock on near sheer mountainside and at times the path alongside was less than two feet wide. One false step and .............. well it was a long way down.