Fun in Funchal, 4

Today we toured the most magnificent garden of the week, the Monte Palace Garden.

There was a Portugese mining magnate, didn't catch his name, who made his fortune in South Africa and Brazil. This is what he did with a chunk of his money.

There is a series of gardens cascading down a hill, most of them Japanese themed. The Portugese were the first Europeans to visit Japan, I think in the 1500s, and the mining guy was obsessed with Japan.

Ironic that you can use the money you make destroying one place to create beauty in another.

The garden was full of statues. One was by Northern Irish sculptor FE McWilliams (not the one above).

There was a minerals museum.

And an art museum, which I didn't go into for lack of time. Apparently a large collection of Zimbabwean art. No doubt another one of his mining interests.

There were endless scenic vistas.

And of course lots of flowers.

Birds of paradise are ubiquitous in Madeira but this is the only place where I took a photo.

There were pale pink and pale orange lillies, hibiscus, camelia, bouganvillea, azalea, begonia, geranium and other plants whose names I don't know. Most of these plants were common in gardens throughout Funchal but not in such profusion.

The mining magnate was a fan of the castles on the Rhine so he built himself one. Go big or go home.

The garden is more than 17 acres. Once you've walked down the winding paths to the very bottom, there's an antique car that will take you back up, a perfect option for some of the weak-kneed members of our group.

A short walk from the garden is the starting point for the toboggans. These wicker sleds were once used to transport goods from the mountains down down down to Funchal. Now tourists are guided down the serpentine roads about two-thirds the way to Funchal. These are the drivers who provide steering and braking while you sit back and enjoy the view and the wind in your hair.

After lunch we visited what was once the governor's home – no photos allowed inside. It was rented out to a series of aristocratic English families and was full of paintings by visiting English artists, Edwardian furniture, Russian samovars, Irish Belleek china, etc. In the garden was a dragon tree, native to Madeira and the Canary Islands.

I tried and failed to get a photo of the tile-covered tower in the distance, part of a nearby convent. This was taken inside the gate to the governor's quinta, or estate.

There were lots of cats in Funchal, I assume as a port city it offers lots of rats.

19 Nov