Monday 12 November 2007 - Another Hot Day

Here’s a view of a typical hillside near Madeira’s more populated southern coastline.
Dave and I said our goodbyes today to the Marie Celeste (our commodious accommodation) and to Alan and Christine in the apartment below. Then it was back up to Camacha for a final couple of hours of strolling on the Levada da Serra, before lunching in Camacha’s sunny square next to the monument that declares that the first game of football ever played in Portugal was completed here in 1875. And Madeira still produces footballers – Man Utd’s Ronaldo originates from a (once) poor nearby family.
At around noon we witnessed a flock of pigeons wheeling in circles just like those starlings that Bill Oddie brings out of his video library whenever he can. A surprising and spectacular sight, they eventually split into smaller groups but continued their graceful activity. Maybe they were ‘on manoeuvres’ practicing escapes from the ever present mewing buzzards.
The temperature today was 24C, our hottest day of the week. It has been unseasonably hot and dry even for Madeira at this time of year. A lovely day.
So it was a bit of a shock to get back to a chilly 5C and a cool drizzle in Manchester – I’m sure my readers will appreciate the distress involved! But to be fair, Thomsonfly did their best to stay away by aborting the first attempt to land, Sue was there to meet us, and we have, as Dave exclaimed when he entered our house: “Carpets!”