In October 2004, we went to Madeira for a week. Our friends, Ros and Adrian arrived a week ahead of us because they had a little more time than we did. They did the hard work of investigating all that the island had to offer, so that we could just choose from a short list. We enjoyed the week immensely, a mixture of beautiful scenery, long walks and general relaxation, with lots of laughs and shared experiences.

The airport is interesting, although Geoff was a little alarmed to see how short the runway appeared to be.

One of the first places we visited was the market in Funchal, with an amazing fish section

It didn't take Adrian and Geoff long to find the real taste of Madeira, while Bruce and Ros went off shopping (with an emergency stop for coffee and cake, no photos of this, unfortunately!)

We did a lot of sightseeing, mostly by hiring taxis. This gave us a lot of flexibility because the drivers knew all the best places to go and how to navigate the roads, some of which were quite scary!

The cable car ride was really fun. Geoff was a little uneasy at first, but soon started to enjoy it

Close to where the cable car stopped was the Monte Palace Tropical Garden. We spent a few happy hours strolling through them.

Then it was time for the return trip back to Funchal

The beach directly below our hotel...

...showing the restaurant where we had a delicious meal one evening

One day, we went off on our own for a long "Levada" walk. It was quite a lot walk, with some parts quite steep. We think Ros and Adrian had some prior insight, which is why they chose not to join us!

We were rewarded with some specatular scenery...

...and some lovely woodland flowers along the way.

Our hotel, the Madeira Regency Palace, was very comfortable.

Another taxi adventure, with more wonderful scenery

More coffee and cake, this time at the botanical gardens!

Sadly, it was time to leave just as we were starting to relax!