Dodging the storm

Well, I'd like to say we're enjoying warm sunshine, but so far we've been quite chilly. There have been thunderstorms on and off all day in Funchal, and at the airport, but with beautiful shallow rainbows in between. I do love cloud-watching, and it adds excitement and depth to view them from within and above.

These were thunderclouds building up as we approached Madeira. If you look carefully, you can spot sea and rocks in some of the gaps where the sun broke through. Our plane orbited at a holding point until the winds had dropped sufficiently to allow a safe landing. Very smoothly achieved! We're lucky as this is our seventh visit to the island and, so far, we've always managed to land without being diverted.

Oh, and while we were pootling around, waiting to land, I saw a load of dolphins in the sea below. Tried taking photos, but was too high for anything to come out. The images were enough to convince me, though, that they were dolphins and not white caps to the wave. (They rose and fell in unison and all the same shape, which was how I came to notice them!)

The temperature is about 15 degrees Celsius, but the wind chill makes it feel cooler. However, this is the joy of coming for four weeks: we can afford to "lose" a week or so to bad weather and still benefit from warmth and sunshine before it's time to go home.

For the first time, we are renting an apartment. Its owner met us on our arrival, and gave us a friendly tour before leaving us to it. It's a lovely place, very handy for the town centre and all the main attractions of Funchal. And not too far to a bus-stop if and when we want to travel further afield. So far, so good.

One Extra shows the sunrise above a wavy layer of pretty dense cloud, as we left Bristol soon after seven this morning. It's always nice, on a cloudy day, to remember the sun's shining and the sky's blue above the clouds. The other is of the steps-man at Bristol airport, removing them after all the passengers were aboard. I liked the strong shadows.

Thanks for all the kind comments on my Letter V blip yesterday. Maybe I'll find some further letters to blip while we're away.