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Sarge 3:03 Thu Aug 10
Madeira - anyone been?
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Am off there for 11 days with the family on Monday - never been before - staying in Funchal.
Have been too busy to read up much about it - so will rely on you good folks to furnish me with recommendations of where to go, what to do, eat, drink etc etc in true WHO style.
All input gratefully received..............
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Replies - Newest Posts First ( Show In Chronological Order)
Admiral Lard
6:43 Tue Aug 15
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Take your chainsaw
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40940007
Falling tree kills 12 on Portuguese island of Madeira
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yogib
6:35 Tue Aug 15
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Can't knock a bit of their Cake and Custard
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whu&eng1
5:59 Tue Aug 15
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40940007 watch out for the trees...
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I.want.that.one
7:40 Mon Aug 14
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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11 days?
It's a struggle getting through a weekend there. Good luck with all the fat, loud American cruise holiday makers.
Boring place with shit all to do.
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Sarge
6:48 Mon Aug 14
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Thanks all
Am at Gatwick doing the usual praying that none of the chavvy hoards are going no where near us.
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,
11:00 Sat Aug 12
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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I was in Funchal May 2016 and it was not expensive at all.
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Helmut Shown
10:19 Sat Aug 12
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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I stayed at the Porto Santo hotel at the old town end. Really good place loads of excellent restaurants. Close to the cable car and the square where you can get taxis and tourist buses. I really liked the place.
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FABIO
10:01 Sat Aug 12
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Came back from there on Monday - Sat in plane for three hours trying to take off due to wind on way home - Hire car company (Goldcar) a bunch of lying, dishonest thieving bastards - debited my card £180 for insurance that I had already!
Funchal is lovely, but expensive - three of us = 40 euros cablecar,38 euros garden, 34 euros (2 of us) baskets.
It's the hilliest place I've ever been. The road tunnels are a feat of engineering - must be 30-40 kilometers of them!
The scenery is stunning, the temperature was perfect - down at coast 80s, half way up hill similar but with a nice breeze ,top of the hill cloudy/misty.Food was fantastic, but Funchal was much more sophisticated.
I stayed 40 mins west of Funchal , at Calheta and it was perfect.
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plankton
4:07 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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simon.s 3:47 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
Porto Santo was where our flight got diverted to. That's seemed a nice little island. The fish dish that I remember was served with bananas! But it worked though.
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That's one way they serve the espada, so you had the culinary adventure!!
Porto Santo is great for four months of summer, the rest of the year it was a trifle dull to be honest. I'd go to Funchal for the weekend on the ferry and hope to fuck it wasn't too rough to come back Sunday night.
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simon.s
3:47 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Porto Santo was where our flight got diverted to. That's seemed a nice little island. The fish dish that I remember was served with bananas! But it worked though.
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stoneman
3:43 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Got to be better than Benidorm where I am now!
Hell on Earth, even the Russians avoid it.
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plankton
3:39 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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sanfrancis-co-uk 6:42 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
Plankton's blatantly never set foot on the place.
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San Fran,
Lived and worked there for nearly eight years in the 90's, including two years in Porto Santo. Was gutted to leave but other horizons called. Nearly married a bird out there too. Great fun, great times and the nightlife is excellent if you know where to go.
I'm actually hoping that everything I mentioned is still true, I've not been back since.....
[inserts 'tongue stuck out' smiley in a friendly way]
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Swiss.
2:55 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Isn't it wrinkly heaven?
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sanfrancis-co-uk
6:42 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Plankton's blatantly never set foot on the place.
SWT.
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plankton
1:35 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Espada - long black scabbard fish, a fillet of which is fried and presented to you as a dish fit for a king. Madeira's most famous culinary attraction
Blandys - take a tour through their wine estate and play on their golf course - one of the top ten in the world
Reids Hotel - must have tea there, it's the done thing
Funchal Gardens - a must do for half a day.
The Fish Market - go down early one day for the auctions and have breakfast afterwards in the marina.
The Sleigh Ride - down Monte. Wicker basket for two that goes at break neck speed down cobbles with humans for brakes
Football - take in a match at Maritimo's stadium. Pretty interesting views and atmosphere
Blue Marlin - best place in the world for the biggest blue marlin in the world. Calm seas, expensive boats, and dolphins all day long. Expect to tag and release your fish.
The Pirate Boat - leaves from Funchal Harbour, prepare to dive off a high gunwhale, swing on a rope over dolphins, get soaked by the crew, and drink lots of rum
Hire a car - drive lots and take a camera, it is a spectacular landscape
If you like meat, find a restaurant half-way up a mountainside behind Funchal that serves 'espetada' - chunks of marinated beef on a skewer over coals, typically served with huge chips and salad. Ask your concierge for a booking somewhere.
Take a pair of walking shoes and a rain jacket, and go hiking on the levadas, the irrigation channels that dot the island from top to toe, some with wild trout in them. Hiking in the mountains in the top of the island in mist is an experience not to be missed. Remember the camera.....
Take a day-trip on the ferry to Porto Santo, 36 miles to the north east, which has one of the most spectacular beaches in Europe. Don't forget the togs and a towel. Get a taxi to take you to Ponta da Calheta, and arrange for them to pick you up in the afternoon for the trip back to the ferry. Eat fish for lunch
If you go out in the evening in a taxi, get them to pick you up again. Some fine things to drink there, not least a huge selection of scotch that you will never see in the UK but is sold solely for export.
Madeira is a great place, with some of the friendliest and kindest people on earth - have fun!
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J.Riddle
1:13 Fri Aug 11
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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45+ years ago, may have changed a tad, the cruise ship Canberra we were on stopped off for the day. All I remember were the most stunning flowers and no beaches.
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Coffee
11:33 Thu Aug 10
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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The big food thing there, iirc, is a kind of fish stew. It's OK - nothing special, but not bad.
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Hammer and Pickle
11:23 Thu Aug 10
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Thanks for the tip!
Yes we're renting a car. The owners of the Air BnB seem nice enough and keen to show us in the right direction. We're also looking forward to the cheeses.
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Coffee
11:17 Thu Aug 10
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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It's not the temperature, but the waves. Assume you're going to, or starting in, Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel? There's a good company called Futurismo in the port area that runs whale viewing trips. Prepare to get wet. While you're there, there's a lovely botanical garden (forget the name) that's worth a half day's stroll. And the smelly natural springs. If you're there for a few days, renting a car for some or all of the time is a good idea.
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Hammer and Pickle
10:57 Thu Aug 10
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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Cheers Coffee,
Yeah, been monitoring the weather there and it's a steady 24C during the day and 21C at night. Every day.
Might just get a ferry to another island and take pot luck with the whale spotting if sea conditions don't allow.
Good luck with the mother-in-law, rios. You won't need a pair of nocks to spot her by all accounts.
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Coffee
10:51 Thu Aug 10
Re: Madeira - anyone been?
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riosleftsock 10:36 Thu Aug 10
Ha!
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