I think I should just dig out a post from exactly a year ago and repost it again.

Yes, it rains, again and again. Rains at night, in the morning, during the day, in the evening, always. Or at least this is how it feels. Stops for a while just to give you a glimpse of the real Madeira, what you’ve came for, the one you fell in love with, than it is back to rain. Soft rain, than the “it’s raining cats and dogs” type, later it is back to soft tender drops, which is almost enjoyable . If only it was just for a while, like 2 years ago. When even the taxi driver kept apologising for the rain, saying how sorry he is for the rain we have to experience at his beautiful island.

Guess climate change.

The other day we were looking for new umbrellas, and the lady at the information desk at the La Vie shopping mall was really perplexed. “ But why? “ she asked, “It never rains here…”.

They must have a secret agreement, never , ever, under no circumstances to let the tourists know that actually it does rain a lot here. Don’t want to scare them away, tourism is their livelihood.

This vacation wasn’t even a real vacation. Haven’t even stepped foot on a levada, but walked endless miles on the Avenida do Infante, by the sea, admiring the crashing waves, waiting to see who will be the first one drenched in sea water among the french tourists standing too close to the wall.

Way too many delicious dinners at La Ao Fundo and lately at CR7. They’ve got some comfy outdoor sofas, so spending time there in the evenings was quite pleasant. Once you get used to the quirky waiters, then it’s all right. We got to talk to one of them, called Kevin, and we decided to be even more patient with them. Even though it is a Pestana Hotel, they’ve tried to employ staff just out of school. Now, whether it is to give them an opportunity, or because of financial reasons, I don’t know.

We used to have bets on which part of our order will be forgotten. Mostly it was the water. We learnt that the guy who supposed to deliver the peanuts doesn’t seem to know the difference between 5 and 10 kgs, that their blender only works 50 % of the time. That is why we get some really weird pina coladas at times. Like yesterday, one with basil, a nice try though.

We discovered that their Salad Caprese is one of the best we’ve ever tried and the Tuna Burger served in their local bread, the Bolo de caco is incredible.

There are some genuinely nice people there. Like this Kevin guy, who even though has been born in Australia, even has a passport, yet he has never been there since then. His only dream is to see it once before he dies.

Madeira’s magic is not only the weather, the lush vegetation, but the people. Honest, simple and content.

Love them.

Other then eating we had lots of meetings with Socicorreia, and looking for locations for a future restaurant. It is just a possibility, still exploring different options.

If we are planning to live here, we might as well do something exciting, that keeps us busy.
Or so he thinks.

But I have it all planned out already. Discovering the entire island, photographing and writing about it, try to immerse myself in their way of life as much as one possibly can.

First step: Learn Portuguese

Até Mais.