Mercado dos Lavradores, Funchal

Back blip

H went off on her half day trip at 9. I had a free day, having cancelled my planned walk for reasons of health and sanity. My plan was to walk to the museum of tiles, and as it was only 10am, I decided to pop into the farmers/workers market on the way. This is housed in a large central galleried market hall, and morning is the best time to see the fish. The black scabbard fish (top left) are about three feet long and flat, and have disconcerting eyes and teeth. They are caught in the nearby village of Camara de Lobos. You will also notice peeled sugar cane sticking up in the middle of a display (top right) and other flowers and fruits, some imported from as far away as Brazil. I stayed there a short while, then set off to find the museum 

I soon discovered that the bus map was useless as a navigational aid! Round and round in squares I wandered, until I managed to turn on Google Maps, and headed through narrow back streets to the museum, which is on the same site as the house of Frederico Freitas,  with its fine collection of paintings and furniture. I particularly liked the library. 

The tile collection is in a modern glass building, spread over three floors. Tiles from around the world are displayed, including a whole floor devoted to Dutch tiles. The creators of the museum saw that Portuguese tile art was dying out, owing to decrepitude and vandalism of buildings, so they worked with police and those engaged with the criminal justice system to create a collection and build a museum to house it in. At least, I think that is what happened. All the information was in Portuguese. A museum of tiles built by criminals sounds good to me!  I spent some time there, and wandered back to the old town, where our hotel is located, checking out some restaurants on the way. 

Arrived back at roughly the same time as H. She had been up in the mountains, and got soaked. This happens a lot in Madeira. After she had changed, we took the bus  (not the cable car because H doesn't like heights) up to Monte, a nearby village higher up. Let me tell you, the bus ride is not for the faint hearted! I loved it, but H described as a white knuckle ride! 

Once up at the top, we located the Monte Palace gardens, said by Conde Nast Traveller to be one of the 13 most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. I wonder if the team only visited 13? The visit was fun, but overcrowded with people, and the modern day creator, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Bernardo, had stuffed it full of artefacts from around the world, as well as plants. Some of it was not to my liking, and I began to feel I was in Disneyland (how would I know? I have never been there). The territory was challenging, too: steeply sloping and cobbled.  My favourite sight was the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the Greenhouse cafe by the exit!

After watching the wicker toboggans set off down the slope to Livramento, we set off to catch our bus back I did not mind not taking a sledge ride, as I'd done this last year with GG, and it was thrilling, but I knew the bus ride would be epic too, even if the vehicle wasn't being pushed by men dressed in white flannels and straw boaters!

We dined on fish again. I had dourada (golden sea bream?), delicious, as usual. In our street it rained on the tables, but the restaurant provided large umbrellas, so we stayed dry.