Monte or Bust.

At last the BBC Weather prediction matches reality. The sky is blue and cloudless and it is not blowing a gale. Today's plan is to pack a lunch, catch a bus and go for a walk. This is executed flawlessly. Our bus is going to Curral Romeiros, which translates roughly as Pen of Pilgrims. The driver is one of Madeira's finest - all lead boots and no prisoners. We are delivered shaken but not stirred after a twenty minute thrash up a vertiginous zig zag route.

We find the track to the village of Monte without difficult and set out along the track. The sun has brought the lizards out to sunbathe. 

The path descends through eucalyptus forest on gradients that are not too steep for comfort.

 At the bottom it crosses a stone built bridge and then climbs steeply towards Monte. In places there is evidence of recent rockfalls.

The main attractions of Monte are an ancient church, currently behind scaffolding therefore closed to the public, and the street toboggan rides that relieve visitors of significant amounts of cash. We are both too mean to spend €30 on a ride down a hill that ends nowhere significant, so we content ourselves with watching a few gullible mugs who aren't as careful with a shilling.

For our return trip we retrace our steps down to the bottom of the valley before opting, at our own risk, to take the path down the valley towards Funchal. 

This is a steeper, less well constructed path and is quite hard on the knees. There are fewer lizards taking the sun but plenty of brightly coloured dragonflies.

We arrive back in civilisation just in time to watch the bus into town departing. There is a 50 minute wait for the next one so it is lucky that there is a handy bar with terrace for us to while away the time drinking cold beer. This place is actually the supporters club for Bom Successo FC, not the biggest name in Madeiran football, but a clean and friendly place to while away some time.

When the bus comes it is late and full. A chap gives up his seat for R but D has to hold on with two hands as we career back down the mountainside. We alight at the right spot for a supermarket and pick up some essentials for supper, before trudging a little wearily back to the hotel.