Today was the last day of the trip – a day at leisure and for own explorations around Funchal. I left the hotel (in the hotel zone) and made my way to port and on to the Forte de São Tiago for good views.

I continued back to the Mercado dos Lavradores, where we had already been on the first day. However – now being much earlier in the day, there was still activity in the fish/ seafood hall – and the opportunity for photos.

I did head on to another venue, we had already visited on the first day – Blandy’s Wine Lodge. This time going for the big tour – including an introduction to the process of making Madeira wine, the wine storage areas, the little museum and (of course) the tasting room. This time some proper Madeiras were waiting – and with a bit more insight into the process, those were much more appreciable than the stuff, we had two weeks back.

From the wine lodge I made it uphill to the Fortaleza de São João Baptista do Pico for more great views of town and out to the ocean. The Museu Quinta das Cruzes did provide some good insight into the island’s history.

By now it was time, to slowly head back – I did so with a short side tour to Santa Catarina Park and the nearby casino building (designed by Oscar Niemeyer).

Madeira certainly is an interesting destination with plenty of things to see and do – at the same time the infrastructure is perfect, with tunnels and bridges everywhere, making travel really simple. While clearly an advantage for an island that heavily depends on tourism – that sort of setup, with the resulting business literally everywhere, certainly does not appeal to me.

But then – looking at the side conditions for this trip – I have to say, it served its purpose well. The change of scenery, the mountain views, being back at to and in the ocean, trying new and different foods and drinks – and getting somewhat of a break from the Covid measures back home, was all very welcome after the past 20+ months.