12.05.2024

A week ago the flower parade in Funchal was the highlight and today? No Levada! We took it easy and explored the Sunday farmers' market here in town. Lots of locals, but also tourists, pushed their way through the aisles and cars through the streets: lots of local fruit, vegetables, flowers, jams, sweets and always Poncha, it is a fruit cocktail with local rum. Delicious but also sneaky. The families meet at the barbecue stands and in the park, with its many camellias, there are enough picnic areas. Of course there are also vendors selling souvenirs, cheap clothing and toys. A stroll like this is nice sometimes. The sermon was broadcast from the church over loudspeakers and supporters of a politician who is running for the EU Parliament gathered in front of it with drums and flags. The television was of course there too. In the afternoon we went to a theme park in Santana. This place has nothing to do with Carlos and music, but is named after a patron saint of the same name. Here you can see a lot about the history of the island, the traditional houses, films, about what you have to experience. What we are missing: paragliding, mountain biking, watching dolphins and golfing. That is also no longer on our tour plan. There is even a mini zoo with a few animals for children, ostriches and donkeys were unusual, because there is no large mammal world here. We only see the lizards a lot. Here, too, there were great flowers in magnificent colors and sizes to admire. The enormous king proteas are a wonder of nature even in their velvety buds and are blooming anyway. There were plenty of playgrounds for children. Not far away was the "Qiuinta da Furao" winery, where a typical local dinner awaited us today. Fantastic and far too much with a wonderful view of the Atlantic. Among other things, we had the beef skewer, which is threaded on a laurel branch and marinated and cooked over the fire. The fish, served with a sauce made from passion fruit and grilled banana, was also delicious. After the starter soup and main course, it was almost impossible to finish the dessert, apple crumble with ice cream. The ambience of this restaurant was also very tasteful, also decorated with beautiful flower garlands. Our car just about made it back up the mountain and now it's time to digest! Tomorrow we'll lace up our hiking boots again so that today's pounds stay here.