Madeira - First Look

To write about my impressions of this island last night would not have been fair, given that the car ride from the airport was at the end of a very long travel day and we had very little idea of where we were going.  The instructions on google maps was direct enough, but translating that into the reality of the road system and signs is difficult at best when you don't know the language or the layout of the land or the transport system.  Add to that a 3rd dimension since many roads go up and down frequently and roads which look parallel on a map are nowhere near each other when you are driving them, and you get a difficult drive.

However, today we left the car in the parking garage and set out on foot.  The roads are still up and down, but more manageable and the map makes more sense now.  We walked toward the centre of Funchal, past the cruise boat dock and the marina.  Roads are sometimes carved out of the side of a cliff and the exposed face a tortured and twisted record of volcanic rock formation.  There are palm trees and all the tropical flowers you would expect at this latitude, but snow is visible on the top of the mountains of the interior which peak through the buildings.  The lady at the tourist info told me that it actually snowed up there last week and many people drove up to walk in the snow.  But it wasn't snow which made the sidewalks slippery -- but a light shower (forecast said 10%) on the paving stones.  Put that together with a steep grade and one is quite thankful for the handrail on some of the descents.

This is a tourist town: littered with restaurants offering tourist menus, little supermercados are on every block, always beside them are the obligatory souvenir shops with hats and tshirts and all kinds of knick-knacks with Madeira  printed on them.  Ian read that a million visitors come each year.  Menus outside restaurants are printed in about 6 languages. There are hotels and apartments on all the cliffs with lovely balconies facing toward the sea.  You can rent cars, bicycles, e-bikes, quads, motorcycles, Twizzies (unusual little 4 wheel item from Renault), Spiders (the 3 wheel motorcycle), Smart cars and many small vehicles I have never seen before.  Most of the people you pass on the street are retired English speaking folks, though there are quite a few Germans as well.

But there is a local side to this place.  I walked past municipal garden II -- a series of small plots of land, each with a little numbered wooden shed.  I recognized cabbage, banana, papaya, hot peppers and lettuce greens.  The soil seemed very fertile and mostly still growing stuff at this time of the year.  We saw fishing boats in the harbour -- along with kids in a sailing school and some training kayakers.  We will certainly keep a special lookout for how the locals live.

travel trials

Most of the time it works together flawlessly.  There were no problems in my Sweden trip earlier this month-- flights on time, connections within the time allowances, luggage safe, trains prompt.  So when SATA called on Friday morning to tell us that the flight had been delayed to midnight from 9:45 pm, it was a warning.

Actually, we didn't leave till 2:30 am so we were overly tired, leaving at the time that we should have been arriving in the Azores.  And then there was the pressure of a connection.  We were told the flight to Madiera would wait for us, so we did not have to run through the airport (been there, done that) to make the connection, but we were first told that we had to claim our baggage and then after waiting and waiting, finally someone said that it was checked through automatically.  Added stress.

So we arrived in Funchal, Madeira at 4:20 local time (5 hours ahead of TO).  Then there was the car rental problems, we had a receipt but not a voucher (there is a 2 line difference) and so did not know which of the car rental companies to contact to claim our vehicle.
Thank you to the lovely lady at Sixt Rental who allowed me to access my email to get the appropriate voucher and then direct me to Goldcar rentals.  Now, what you think you are getting is not the same as what there is at the counter -- we thought all was included (it said so) but there was an additional damage insurance where you had to either put 1200 euro on your credit card as deposit, or take the 145 euro insurance package they offered-- which was about double what the rental was.  So we put the money on the card and recorded every last little dint and nick on the car.

Then there was the adventure of driving to the hotel.  My phone doesn't have the handy gps app which tells you exactly what to do, but we did make it about 6:45, finally and parked the car at the Lince hotel.  There was a supermarket SPAR across the street, so there was some bread and cheese and wine and then relaxation on the balcony.

I think we will take it easy and just explore around tomorrow.  NO big problems on the travel front, but little trials mount up to make this a difficult day.  But done and here and now going to relax.

Early morning rain

This is the second day of rain and the forecast calls for more of the same for about the next week, but it doesn't stop life.  Rich, Jenn and the girls are planning a hike for the morning and then lunch, out.  That is the culture and I say, good for them.

But I had to explain to TvE last night that Oma is going on a train and then on a big airplane, back to Opa and my meow.  How much harder such partings would be if there was not skype.  Thank you technology(!) though it will not have me there to help her learn the "medium" between teeny and big, see her pick up her next snake, or snail, or whatever, or watch how she lovingly touches her little sister.  And with Rowan, I will miss those initial responses to voices and how she will recognize her mom's touch and sound.  Only being with them can make me part of those precious times.  I am truly blessed to have the means to make that happen often and the wonderful family who welcome me so whole-heartedly.

With my recent 'adventures' in the travelling phase, I double checked passport and tickets this morning.  Hoping for a smooth journey home, even if it does have a 4 hour layover in Newark.  Nothing but cereal and candy in my carry-on!

Just bits

Firstly, I just finished the knitting part of the little hat to go with the jacket.  As the jacket turned out a bit bigger than anticipated, I made the hat is a smaller size.  And, I learned how to use stitch markers properly -- thanks Jennie!  Here it is just off the needles.

Thank goodness for a diagram which showed which piece was sewn to which, because from the written description, I certainly did not have a clear plan.  Anyhow, it came together nicely and with a little help from Jenn, I figured out how to do the suggested ties -- very cute.  Here is the finished product.

Baby Rowan has gone to bed, so the modelling will have to wait.

"Doing lunch" is delightful here.  Salad bars are popular and so there are many places that will have one or two hot dishes or sandwiches and then your choice of a number of salads and breads.  Today we had one of these lunches at Silvanium -- out under the trees with TvE sleeping in the stroller a few meters away.  Baby Rowan does very nicely in the carrier which leaves hands, conveniently, free.

More Swedish-ness

This past weekend at the cottage, I participated in two very Swedish activities.

The first was the lingon experience.  The lingon plant grows very low to the ground, under the cover of birch and evergreen trees.  Depending on the exposure to sunlight, the berries ripen to a deep red in late August or September.  Here in Sweden, there is evidently a 'proper' weekend to begin picking -- I guess so that everyone gets an equal opportunity to forage the forests for these tart little gems.  The berry pickers that we used for blueberries come in very handy when there are good quantities of fruit available.  We sorted our find and then Jennie cooked them a very short time with some sugar.  They retain their tartness and make an excellent accompaniment to savoury dishes like the traditional palt (potato ball with meat filling), but are also great with waffles (the Swedish ones are thinner and crispier than what I make at home) and on cooked oatmeal.

Then last night, we lit candles all along the deck and the dock and placed our chairs at the end of the dock to watch the boat parade.  Led by the little local tourboat- Emma - there were 95 motorboats altogether that went by in the dark with at least 2 or 3 lights each.  It was a delightful show.

Part of the family

Make no mistake, I love being treated as a guest.  I go to all inclusive resorts so that someone else prepares my meals, my room, my fancy drinks, my entertainment, my garden experience, my tours, etc.  Nowhere else do I get spoiled like at one of those resorts and I am fortunate to have had that kind of experience in many places and plan to continue as long as I am able to travel.

But here, I do not wish to be a guest.  I want to be cleaning the dishes, wiping a dirty bum, pulling weeds, carrying groceries, hanging up laundry, grating vegetables, cleaning rhubarb, picking apples as well as reading stories, playing lego, drawing airplanes, being a statue, giving under-doggies on the swing, walking with the baby bjorn, brushing someone else's teeth, pushing a stroller and watching Shaun the Sheep.  And at the end of the day, I want a hug and a blown kiss.  That's being a part of the family and part of the wee ones' lives.  I wouldn't trade it for any 7 star resort.

(My phone is saying there isn't enough memory to sync and upload the photos, so no pictures today.)

Out and about town

Since I have been to Gavle a number of times, I feel very 'at home' here.  Also, I guess, I assume that it will always be as I left it.

The construction on the town homes behind Rich and Jenn's house has begun. It has been in the works since they moved into the house 3 years ago.  So far the pipes for the underground community heating system have been installed.  The diggers used for this process are fascinating to TvE and she loves tractors too.  I love the incredibly articulated arms on these machines -- they seem much more manoeuvrable and versatile than the ones I have watched so many times with K.  There is also sidewalk construction right in this area and some infrastructure replacement.  Some roads are definitely to be avoided.

The other incredible construction job is in the river.  Yes, I said "in".  There is a tracked excavator in the river and they are piling rocks along the main river bed in an effort, it seems, to redirect the water through the old lock system.  Perhaps there is work on bridges that needs to be done.  In any case, we watched today as a front-end loader handed off rocks to the excavator which then dumped them in the river.  I think every child loves big machines at some point!

Epi is gone!  That wonderful sourdough bakery where I got my starter last March, has moved to Stockholm.  The rye bread from the Central Bakery is just not the same.

We made applesauce last evening.  The gentleman living in the other half of this duplex has a machine which takes cooked apples -- cores, stems, skins and all, and turns it into the most wonderful applesauce.  The machine also makes sausages.  I have never seen one like it.

The cooked mush goes into the top, the applesauce comes out through a screen (under the white hood) in the middle, and the waste goes into the far bowl.  One even puts the waste through a second time to make sure one gets all the good stuff out.  There was an incredibly small amount of waste.

Today we took on the rhubarb.  Some of the stems rivalled my arm!  Some went into crisp, but most (6 kg) is sitting in a sugar water in the basement to extract flavour.  Rhubarb Saft is very popular.

Baby Rowan's cold is getting much better and so her breathing is far less laboured.  And, she sleeps so much better.  What a sweetie!