30th of July

Somebody is tickling me, why on earth would someone do this early in the morning? It was still dark. What is going on? As I carefully opened my eyes, just a bit, so as not to be fully awake, I found a small grey fur ball next to my head, her tail moving across my face rhythmically. Ahh, Tibo, the cat! I don’t particularly like sharing my bed, my pillow with cats, especially if I don’t know where they come from. Didn’t I tell ex to close the terrace doors? As I came down, found ex sleeping on the sofa, all the doors wide open. Doors closed, cat out, climbed back into bed. Love my bed, love the view I see when I open my eyes in the morning, the great big blue ocean below, the Mediterranean roof tiles of the houses and the harbor to my right.

Cigarette smoke wafting up woke me the second time. Now this I don’t enjoy. Ex smoking, and sometimes it comes in through my windows, yuck.
For today we had plans. Always wanted to see the Choupana Hills Resort & Spa, so that’s what we did. Not that far from us, maybe 10 minutes by car. Loved it, reminded me of my house back home. It blends in beautifully with nature, like a mountain retreat, wooden beams, huge fireplace, after all it does get cold in winter up there. The design is a mixture of the original and far eastern features. There are bungalows dotted around the garden, with private decks overlooking the ocean. Did I mention that to top it all it is right in the middle of an eucalyptus forest with a levada going through the property?
Left boys behind, as usual at the coffee shop, set off to explore it a bit. What can I say? I seem to repeat myself, repeating the same words over and over: gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, lovely, incredible. Must find more synonyms. So, the view was….., the agapathuses were….., the scent of the eucalyptus was…., just fill in the blanks. I really do sound like a love struck teenager, don’t I? Unfortunately only had an hour. Had I been on my own, would have walked all the way to Monte, though the taxi driver told us that it has some “dangerous” parts. Not sure how dangerous? Dangerous for ex, who is afraid of heights and only walks on flat surfaces, dangerous for Mish, who can easily walk off a cliff in a heart beat, or really dangerous? Yet to be found out. Though I did meet people coming from that direction, all of them were in one piece, no limping, bruises or blood, so should give it a try.
Continued the day with some more wondering around in Funchal, try to discover “new” streets, buildings. Quick stop at the the Ritz for scones with jam and cream. I am a big fan of the place, but I must tell this: the scones were soooo dry! Obviously they microwaved it, but once it cooled down, nobody could cut it.
Guess what, ended up being there for the evening again. Wanted just to be outside, without the “pressure” of having to order food in a restaurant. But before that the plan was to watch the Madeira Wine Rally, which started on the 30th of July. It lasts for 3 days. It is one of the top events in the FIA European Rally Championships. Unfortunately by the time we got there, it was so crowded. Found a spot further away, watched it for a while, but we quickly got bored. Sorry, that’s not my cup of tea, prefer strolling through a garden. Maybe I will give it a try tomorrow.
Madeiran wine mojito in hand, my mind was already back home. No matter how far you are, there are things you just cannot leave behind, keep following you. The words, sentences so hastily written without much consideration, cannot be taken back, forever there. Creating an even greater gap between two, who otherwise care for each other a lot.
The people you love the most, the ones that can really hurt you.