Back in Brux

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe that this time last week I was walking around in the sun in Madeira, Brussels is so cold, dark and dismal - and the first thing I have done upon returning is catch a cold! Anyway, here are some pictures of Madeira to brighten things up a bit.





















Funchal from the Botanical Gardens - Christmas lights in rua da Carreira - Friday market.






















I took a local bus to Porto Moniz on the Northern coast, where rock swimming pools have been made in the sea - not that anyone would use them in the winter, when the Atlantic is pretty wild. The road there is pretty interesting too, at one point the bus went under a waterfall, where after rain a stream falls off the cliff into the sea, not quite clearing the road and therefore hitting the tops of any vehicles passing underneath! The driver had to stop twice to clear away fallen rocks or shrubs from the road.