18th of July

So unusual of me to wake up this late. I enjoy tremendously not having to rush with the shower, getting dressed, preparing breakfast, bliss. If only my hand was functioning again.
Just yesterday I said that no cruise ships so far, and voila, when I looked out the window, there it was, Oriana, coming from Southhampton. Ritz will be busy, popped into my mind. Lately it has been really full, having a hard time finding a table, be it day or night. Must have quite a turnover. Quick walk up to the golf club house, (left knee hurts again) then onto the gardens.

I enjoy the garden and the whole estate tremendously.
130 acres of nature, forest, gardens, different trails they’ve set up for walking, running, yet to try it out on a bike. They had a huge fire in 2012, a lot of the forest was destroyed I was told. The positive side of this natural disaster is even more stunning views of the bay of Funchal and the ocean.
Just like back home, after the disastrous icy rain that caused lots of trees to be uprooted or their top branches broken off, found out I’ve got a view.
Joao Esmeraldo , the 1st Count of Carvalhal, purchased this estate about 200 years ago and built a hunting lodge on it. This became the Casa Velha do Palheiro, which is now a five-star hotel.
The count started the creation of an English garden. Was continued by the Blandy family, who purchased it in 1885. Mrs Blandy originated from South Africa, and she brought back lots of species of flora from her homeland, and also from around the world.
The garden is open to the public, receives about 40 000 visitors per year.
It has different areas like The “Ladies Garden”, Rose Garden, “Hell’s Valley”, just to mention a few. Fascinated by the flowers, smells. Just walking up to the “gates” of Casa Velha do Palheiro is a treat in itself , the road being lined up by Agapanthuses, all flowering right now.
Unfortunately we missed the jacaranda trees flowering, in April they’ve just started when we were here. I see quite a lot of African tulip trees flowering, hydrangeas, hibiscuses, plumerias, and last but not least the Princess flower ( Tibouchina). Got quite a few fans of it on the Instagram.
Later on we took our little monkey down to practice his skateboarding skills. Quickly gave up after a few falls, meanwhile his mum managed to take some great shots of the cruise ship Oriana and some macro shots of some flowers.
People watching at Ritz, relaxing at home and packing for the following day. We are off again, to Gran Canaria.
Before we knew it it was evening again. Left unusually early, had an hour to walk around. Got out at the Casino. They were having a concert from 9.30 pm., people were already gathering. The things you don’t do when you are with your son and an ex husband. Kept taking pictures, the clouds were extremely low. The taxi driver told me that it means that we are going to have a hot day tomorrow. We walked past the newly finished area next to the sea, the same place Mish was skateboarding earlier. Was busy, saw our guide from the glass bottom boat trip earlier, walking hand in hand with a nice girl. So that must have been his wife. Walked all the way down to the fortress, then we turned back towards the restaurant. They greeted us like long last friends. Mish was really hungry, apart from eggs in the morning and half a cheesecake didn’t eat much. He filled up his little belly quickly with some bolo de caco, olives and breaded shrimp. The octopus with chickpea pure was just a waste of money after that, he was full and he doesn’t like his foods to touch each other. Poor chef was not informed, and he bravely put the octopus on top of the chick pea, boldly covered it with some onions and peppers.
We had a nice bottle of red wine. The chef came to greet us. Last time I told him that I cannot shake hands with him because I had an accident. He must have mistaken it for something else. This time he didn’t even try, maybe he thought it’s rude to shake hands with the wife of an Arab. Actually he is right. But I am not the wife anymore!
He prepared my favorite, risotto with ginger and saffron with sea bream fillets with chili, luckily Mish liked it as well. Meanwhile I kept getting messages from someone home. The screen of the iPhone kept lighting up. The tension was growing. Ex still cannot tolerate it. When is he gonna accept the fact that we are divorced and I have a life without him? One might ask, why do we go on vacations together then?
It is because of our son. He is entitled to seeing him, but not allowed to take him abroad alone. I don’t want him to travel alone with his Dad, I do worry. Can’t imagine loosing him. His Dad is not like that, but you never know. So this is the solution we came up with for now, till he gets bigger. Not ideal, should figure out something else.

Luckily as I was playing Uno with Mish, he was blissfully unaware of the growing tension between his parents. Wine unfinished, meal not eaten, we left in haste. Waiter kept asking if everything is all right. Was dreading what was coming at home. Didn’t want to argue in front of Mish. Thankfully though with a few chosen words, he took the taxi back down to the Casino.

My son tucked in bed, I am listening to the music drifting up from the bay. Can’t see a thing, we are high above the clouds, the milky fog is covering us like a warm blanket. In another world.