–Above, the port of Funchal with several cruise ships visiting, as seen from the Jardim Botânico da Madeira, i.e. Botanic Garden of Madeira. Below, one of Madeira’s most-photographed sites and certainly the most-heavily visited part of the gardens. (The words on the far side, which you’ll see again below, are too fuzzy to read but I believe I recall that they say Jardim Botânico da Funchal. Below that, various photos demonstrating not only the lovely gardens themselves but also the remarkable views and impressive civil engineering of roads, tunnels, home and towns on Madeira.

I spent a lovely afternoon exploring this garden on my own last Thursday, taking the public bus up and back since my travel companion (who’d rented the car and kindly driven us both around to the various places outside Funchal which I’ve been showing you) had flown back to A’dam that morning. This entry is a warmup for a much larger entry from the remarkable Monte Palace Garden, even further uphill but still within the city limits of Funchal. Look closely in a few of these shots and you may see a cable-car – in the sense of an enclosed capsule with people inside, dangling from a cable – here or there, or lacking that, you’ll certainly notice the huge poles and cables set up to carry those cars. One set goes from these gardens up to Monte; the other goes from downtown by the water, up to Monte. There were many other such things (called telefericos in Portuguese) scattered around the island but all appeared to be closed for the season, aside from the one going from town to Monte, which was my own ride up and back.