Fantastic Funchal

Our ship is docked in Funchal which is just a short walk to the city comprising the Old Town and the New Town set at the base of a very high “hill”.  In the Old Town, the Government has encouraged the people to have their doors painted by the local art students so a walk through the narrow cobbled streets becomes like walking through a gallery. In the New Town we spent some time looking in the shops before catching a cab to the Botanical Gardens. You might say it was a little like the ”wild mouse” only it was all uphill. We screeched around hairpin bends on winding roads, dodging oncoming vehicles as though we were in the dodgems at the Ekka. Up and up and up we went until at long, long last we arrived. It seemed the safer option to take the Gondola ride back to Funchal. For me that is saying something!! Before doing so we considered having a basket ride (in a wooden and wicker basket with no brakes and only a couple of men wearing special shoes to stop it, down the steep and narrow streets for 2 km , sharing with the oncoming traffic!) Opted for the safer version and took the cable car back to Funchal a slow and gentle descent with just the most spectacular views of Funchal and our boat in the harbour. A great day out in Portugal.
Photos to come. Running out of net time and battery.