Shopping in the East

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What a day of contrasts!

I went on a minibus tour of the East side of Madeira. Some of the places we visited included Santa Cruz, Machico, Porto da Cruz, Santana, Ribeiro Frio and Pico do Areeiro. You must excuse me for not remembering exactly where I saw this fruit stall and customer. She's dressed for cooler weather. (I kept my jacket on all day).

The morning visits were to small towns, with smartly dressed people spilling out of churches, town centres decorated with extraordinary displays for the flower festival. (Giraffes! Peacocks! Donkey carts!). The previous day had been the festival of Our Lady of Fatima. A statue of the BVM had been processed around each town. In every church, the statue still stood on its palfrey, fresh from its day out.

In Santana, the town of the ' typical triangular thatched houses' I felt as if I was in a tourist trap, so I went down some side roads and found a church with a square outside, then when I'd done with eating my lunch and visiting the virgin, I sat and watched a black cat hunting in the gardens of a derelict house. I found a short peaceful walk around the back of some houses/plots, and finally walked back to the small tour group.

We then began 'the green trip' through the mountains, passing small places, stopping for short walks or refreshments, enjoying being in the wilder spaces, though it's true we did actually drive all the way up to the top of a mountain, where there was a car park, a tourist shop and a radar station! At that summit, hikers appeared below us out of the clouds, walking in single file, resembling pilgrims from another era. This is a hike I plan to do myself.

Tired but happy, I was dropped off at my hotel just before 5 5 pm. H was swimming in the pool. I promptly sat down and ordered a pot of tea!