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| A sugar loaf |
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| Inside the Madeira Story we learnt of its history |
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| Self-service dinner in the hotel - plenty to choose from |
We explored the sunbeds but found them very uncomfortable - no wonder they were all empty. We took bus 7 to Centro again. After strolling by the sea, we went to visit an interactive museum, the Madeira Story. It was interesting and described the island's history.
The island was discovered by two Portuguese explorers in 1419 and was settled in the 1420s. The colonists developed the levadas or irrigation canals, and African slaves were brought in to grow sugar cane. The iconic shape of the sugar loaf is mirrored in towers on the island. Christopher Columbus also visited Madeira later in the 15th century, and married the daughter of a plantation owner. The British occupied Madeira after the Napoleonic Wars, and later, Winston Churchill spent his holidays there.
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| Our night-time view from the balcony of room 410 |
After visiting the Madeira Story, we explored the narrow main street of Funchal's old city or Zona Velha but there were too many pushy restaurants trying to persuade us to eat there. We eventually settled on Banana's pub where we ordered a large beer and a cheese and ham toasted sandwich. Then we took a taxi back to the hotel and rested.
At dinner time, after exploring the roof terrace (rather breezy, and the jacuzzi was occupied), we ate in the main restaurant and had soup, salads, fish - this time dorade, and cakes. Plus a bottle of the house white wine. We also had coffee in the bar and I visited the library to choose another book. Back in the room, I listened to music on my phone.
