Madiera March 30th

Due to a very sick passenger the ship put on full speed and we arrived early in Madiera which gave us a whole day to explore. Portuguese influence and the currency was the Euro but surprise surprise it was cheaper than Spain. 2.60€ for two coffes and Sue and I wandered the streets of Funchal the capital, finding it very pleasant. Pretty streets and the blossom of the jackaranda just coming out.

In the afternoon we escorted tours, Sue going on a hair raising trip by sledge from the top of the mountain while I did a more sedate tour of the gardens up there. I'm adding a few photos for those interested. Sorry about the sideways one but I can't find out how to rotate it!

After that it was back to Southampton with more lectures on the way. As I do more the presentation gets better and I was very gratified to receive so many warm appreciateive comments from passengers on our last day. Luckily the winds were kind, and we had a very smooth crossing of the Bay of Biscay arriving back on Friday morning at 8 am.

That's it for this blog. We hope you've found it interesting. Who knows where we will go next or when? Watch this space.