We were met just after 9am by our guide and driver and boarded the minibus ready for our day sightseeing. We thought it might have been all old Brits but there were a Danish couple and a Portuguese family as well as two other English couples. The first stop was a view point, and then we went on to Camacha which was the basket weaving centre. I did buy a small basket as a souvenir I would have liked a nice wicker chair but I don't think Easy Jet would have ver...

Madeira is a popular walking destination as there are paths all over the country called levadas which are basically irrigation channels. Although there is a very good network of buses over the island, working out where to get the bus to a particular walk is quite complicated so we opted for a coastal walk from the hotel to Camara de Lobos, the Madeira equivalent of Port Isaac.It was a cloudy start and quite windy morning . We tried to get up early to be first in ...

Yet again we failed to wake very early, due to it not getting light til 8 am . No swim today just carbo load breakfast for Graham . The race start was only a short distance from our hotel so we managed to there without any problem. The weather was sunny ,warm and no wind . The race was several laps so I cheered Graham on at regular intervals . I stood in the same place for some time watching half marathon, marathon and 10k runners pass, I also managed to watch th...

A swim in the indoor pool before breakfast was the plan. However we were a bit taken aback by the fact it didn't get light until 8am so we overslept and got to the pool later than planned. The pool had an outdoor area as well so we tried to get in a few lengths before the breast stroke brigade arrived and then we retired to the jacuzzi. Breakfast on the terrace was good and set us up for the day .The wind was still very strong and the sea quite rough but we w...

So we have packed our running gear and although now injured and I probably won't run, the few days away in Madeira for a half marathon gives us more street cred than going to Madeira because that's what old people do.Leaving at a civilised 9 am, enabled us to get to Gatwick without any hassle. We tried to spot some cool running people getting on our flight, but no it was mainly "old" people. The flight took off and landed ahead of schedule , good old " Ea...