8th of July

Hanging out the laundry to dry in the morning is a chore most of us hate. Not here though. I think all of us who come from a place with 4 seasons would appreciate the climate of Madeira. Never too cold, almost never too warm, with the vast blueness of the Atlantic at your feet wouldn’t you like to trade places with me?

It is a small island about 600 km from the coast of Morocco. There are other islands around it that are part of the Madeiran Archipelago,Porto Santo which has kilometers of golden sandy beaches, the uninhabited Ilhas Desertas and the Ilhas Selvagens.
The island of course that is loved by the tourists mostly is Madeira, and Porto Santo comes second. Been there once, going next week again. Somehow didn’t quite capture my heart,mainly because it was similar to the Kuwaiti landscape,not as green as Madeira. A tour guide told us that the rabbits that someone brought to the island got it this bare, they ate everything in sight, but I think this story was just for our entertainment.

Back to where I started: doing laundry is fun, doing anything here is fun. I keep imagining living here full time,so very tempting. We even checked out some schools in February. That’s the downside of Madeira. Being so small,it has only one British school, even that is bilingual.
The weird thing is that school finishes at 17.00., I think it is way too long for an 8 years old. I am not sure that this is because of the parents working late or them not wanting to have the children around. No, just joking.

Love watching people and the Ritz cafe is the perfect place. Watch the locals walk past, busy guys wearing suits, looking important with their iPhones in their hands, middle aged women wearing designer clothes, meeting their friends before doing some more shopping.
But I love children best. Today I saw a mum feeding her daughter on a bench opposite us. She threw some crumbs down and all of a sudden tens of pigeons appeared. I can still hear her laughter, see the pure joy and happiness in her eyes. Did take some pictures, kept clicking away trying to capture that moment, to keep it for myself, to have it…but couldn’t. When I looked at the pictures all I could see is a woman with a child and some pigeons. Not a photographer. Working on it. Want to learn! But that moment remains in my heart. We all have moments like this to treasure, just hope to have more and more.

Another happy moment for me was when I booked a whole day levada walk for next Tuesday. Levadas are the watering channels that carry water in the island. They are over 2150 km in length and provide water for all purposes. The south side of the island is pretty dry, the north side of Madeira gets most of the rainfall. They had to get the water from north to the south. These watering channels, called levadas are still functioning. Alongside them are paths that are used for walks. Found a book that lists about 60 of the finest levada and mountain walks. Didn’t want to attempt it alone , so went to a place to find out my options. Picked a 12 km moderate one called Rabacal 25 Fountains, apparently we will be walking through forests seeing some amazing waterfalls. Can’t wait.
Meanwhile father and son were waiting for me at our usual place,can’t believe that nothing excites them other then tennis on TV and iPad.
Trying to teach my son to love nature( after all we are living in the middle of the forest back home) would like him to enjoy the different aspects of his travel, to appreciate the beauty that surrounds him. Trying, trying real hard. Not sure I am succeeding.
We did manage to bond again in the pool, had water pistols fights,him getting my hair totally wet,knowing full well that it takes ages to get it dry. Wasn’t busy at that time of the day, just some few kids playing on the other side. Couldn’t get Mishal to join them. He did inherit my shyness unfortunately.
Finished off the day with another walk,this time around the port. Love looking at the boats, yachts. My favourite one is a gorgeous navy blue-white one called Katherina. I can just imagine the love story behind it. Hopelessly romantic , despite of everything I’ve been through lately I still believe in fairy tales, that the knight in shining armor will come and save the damsel in distress. Maybe not on a horse, maybe not from far away lands, could be from just around the corner, few trees away from me…who knows.. I believe!
Walking past these lovely yachts we were greeted by the staff of the other restaurant we frequent on our visits,called Osolarda Santola. Lovely people,they were so happy to see us( unless they are real good at acting it), hugging and kissing Mishal,remembering our favourite dishes. This is what I call service. The octopus vinaigrette and the garlicky grilled prawns were excellent. We had squid and shrimps on the spit. Amazing food, amazing staff,just our little monkey was whining as usual. But it is understandable, he is a child. It’s not much fun to sit around for hours watching the fishes swim by.

Another day past. My need for me-time is growing by the minute, the pressure is building up, need to get away!