Settling In...

 

The weather has been pretty crappy since we arrived. The first day was pleasant but since then it has been cloudy, with strong gusty winds and rain off and on.  The rain was hard enough in the early hours of yesterday to generate a caution warning of potential flooding. The airport has only one runway that parallels the coast and it is oriented in a northeast - southwest direction.  A strong cross wind caused several airlanes to cancel flights or abandon the approach and head for their alternate.  As you can see in the postcard below, there is not much room for error landing here.   

Unfortunately, rain is in the forecast for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully not heavy enough to interfere with our hiking plans.  We have been told that the weather conditions can vary greatly between different parts of the island. There are numerous weather cams available on line at https://www.madeira-web.com/en/webcams.html  These should be helpful.

We have manged to get out walking everyday to explore our local area and walk into the centre of Funchal.   The city extends high into the steep hills.  Some roads have no sidewalk or one that starts and stops.  Navigation is difficult. the roads wind all over hill and dale. Most are one way and barely wide enough for 2 cars to pass. Walking on many of these roads is difficult.

The bus service on the island is excellent. There are at least  4 bus companies with different routes.  Giro is the urban route provider that we have use to go into the centre of Funchal.   There is an extensive network of routes throughout  the city. At kiosks in the centre of Funchal you can purchase a card with preloaded fairs at a discounted price.

Friday we are picking up a small motorcycle. It is new Yamaha 125. A retro style model not sold in Canada. We will have it for 2 weeks.  The apartment we have comes with an inside parking spot. The rental comes with helmets and jackets (rain proof, I hope). 

The Covid situation here is much the same as everywhere else. The number of infections is skyrocketing but hospitalizations, especially intensive care, are not. 

The report of new cases this morning in Maderia is below....   

"There are 29 imported cases and 2,140 cases of local transmission. This Tuesday, there are also 1,681 more recovered cases, bringing the total to 34,939. 

Regarding the isolation of active cases, it should be noted that 76 people are in the Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital (75 in Multipurpose Units and 1 in the Intensive Care Unit dedicated to covid-19) and 79 people are in isolation in a dedicated hotel unit, with the remaining in their own accommodation."

Testing centres are located around town. They were busy on the weekend but yesterday they were very quiet. I stopped by one of them to speak to the staff. I wanted to confirm that we didn't need to be regularly tested. That was confirmed, since we are vaccinated, but we could come by for a test any time and also that they would validate the tests for travel purposes . They only do antigen tests, which are good for travel pretty much anywhere, except Canada.  Masks are worn consistently here. Except outside in areas where separation is adequate.

The way it looks to me is that most of us are going to experience a Covid infection sometime in the near future.  This variant is spreading so easily. Yesterday, France reported almost about 490,000 new cases.  Double or triple vaccinated individuals appear to be at less risk, but who know for sure?

This was taken on Sunday, on the main road into Funchal

This is Linda's motto...

The old part of town is a network  of narrow roads and lanes. Many doors of the old houses are artistically uniquely adorned.