Madeira - Days 49 and 50

Nicola and Dave were picked up by taxi and spent their time in the Funchal airport having coffee and cake (well Dave did) and admiring the view of the ocean and the Islas Desertas.

Knowing my penchant for lighthouses, Nicola sent this photo, taken from the plane.

I spent the morning moving back into the front bedroom (with the double bed and the balcony) and just taking it easy.
The weather forecast for my last week here is what I think they usually get in the winter. Most days show at least a chance of showers and a couple of them say 90% POP. I can't complain as I have had great weather and I am glad it held for Nic and Dave. Anyway as the day was sunny I decided to go for a walk anticipating I might be cooped up the rest of the week.

I went to the street below mine and walked along it to the next road down hill. Just to have some different sights. This is a Poinsettia tree.

In some places in the city there seem to be more banana trees than houses.

The flowers on this tree look like those on the Bottle Brush bush that I saw in California.

I posted pictures before of the decorative elements on the eaves of the tile roofs, well some houses also have "fancy" chimneys.

and they are not just decorative.

I was going to have coffee in the place we went to yesterday (with the pigeon) but on the way passed a bakery, that we had commented on, and decided to give it a try. There was a line up yesterday and one today. All locals. You had to take a number to be served and yes it was as good as it looks.

Saturday afternoon there weren't a lot of people in the downtown core so I managed to get a bench to sit and sketch on.

I walked down to the marina area

and was surprised by how many keel boats there were out on the water. About a dozen. The first time I have seen anything but the small dinghys, wind surfers and the tourist boats and catamarans.

I stopped and had a tuna salad (fresh, not canned tuna) and a glass of wine at Sunny Bar and was very glad I did because the waiter said it was the last day it would be open. I asked him what he was going to do and he said he was going to the U.S. with his girlfriend. Hoping to find work. In Nashville. His direct quote "Home of music country". I wished him luck.
I walked back up the hill, not even trying to get a bus as they run so infrequently on the weekends.
Today it was grey and although it didn't actually rain more than a few drops it kept threatening, so I got stuck into a book; After You by Jojo Moyes.