Lazy Sunday

A lazy start to the day as befits a Sunday morning. The Gorse Fox was up early and watched the sun come up in the east, then settled down with his book for some reading while he waited for the Silver Vixen to appear.

Breakfast was another tasty affair where we could graze our way through ranges of fruit, breads, cheeses, cured meats, salads, and of course cooked food. We didn't stint on our selection with the expectation that we wouldn't need to eat again until supper.

The sun was up and scattered clouds drifted aimlessly across the blue sky. We decided that we would take a walk towards the old town and have a look at the Santa Catarina park. It's only a couple of kilometres from the hotel so we walked in the morning sunshine.

The park isn't huge but it is very tranquil and very pretty. Obviously at this time of year the flowers aren't at their best, but there was a faded beauty that made the whole place quite inviting.

The park also afforded some wonderful views across Funchal, along the coast, and down to port and the marina.

We descended the steps at the side of the park to the level of the port. We crossed the road opposite the Christiano Ronaldo museum and then strolled along the promenade up to the marina.

There four cruise liners in port - The Black Watch, The Saga Sapphire, The World, and The Seabourn Odyssey. None of these was huge, but nevertheless they were very imposing.

Once we had passed the marina we turned back and headed back along the lower coastal road. Now you have recognise that Funchal is very hilly. This meant that while we had started on the level coastal road, we had to divert up a hill to get back at the right level for our hotel. Halfway up the hill we decided that a drink would be nice so dropped in to the Royal Savoy hotel and went to the poolside bar. We sat in Art Deco splendour and enjoyed a cold beer before return to our route and heading for the hotel.

Back at the hotel we have spent the afternoon sitting on our sun drenched, tenth floor balcony reading our books.