Hochmuth Adventures 2024 - Life is a Highway

Day 2 - Friday, February 16, 2024 -  Ponta Delgada to Funchal Although we left an hour late departing JFK we weren't that far behind in getting to Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Upon arrival it also was announced that our next flight was delayed but not by too much. We later found out it was because one of the couples on the trip were delayed and they held our flight since there is only one flight each day to Madiera. We had a gentleman waiting for us as we left the airport to take us to our hotel about 20 minutes away. We had to wait a bit as one guy's luggage didn't make it. (I don't think it ever came.) We got to the Savoy Gardens and were delighted with the hotel. It's 7 stories with a roof top terrace,  pool, hot tub, sauna, exercise room spa center etc. We walked around the hotel and checked things out. Then we walked down the hill to the main drag, turned to the left and explored part of Funchal. We always got our 10K steps with most days closer to 20K.  Of cou...

Day 3 - Saturday, February 17, 2024 -  Funchal No excursions today so we slept in a little and went down to breakfast at 8:30. The buffet was excellent. They had everything you could want for breakfast. Then we headed out to explore some more. We walked down the hill, turned left and continued to explore Funchal. We returned to our gelato shop for some of their tasty pastries. Then we made our way right which took us to the Lido and a lovely walk along the water. We found another gelato shop and saw the area where ships of old would dock to restock and get fuel. The views have been amazing and the weather sunny and in the 70's. We came back to the hotel to get ready to go to the typical dinner which was included in the tour. The van picked us up at the hotel and took us to a large restaurant where we had vegetable soup, polenta, fries, salad, espetadas (skewers of meat - beef) and ice cream and all the Portuguese wine you could drink. The skewers were hung from hooks above the tabl...

Day 4 - Sunday, February 18, 2024 - Funchal Our driver was at the hotel to take us on our second of included excursions. We visited the northeastern side of the island.  Once you leave Funchal, which has 50% of the population, it is a totally different experience with a more rural vibe. We went to the 3rd highest peak on Madiera, Pico do Arieiro, at 1810 meters. From the pics you can see how cold and windy it was there but the views were awesome.. We saw Ribeiro Frio and took a hike to the lookout. Then saw the Laurissilvia Forest and Cabo Girao where we stood on plexiglass above the ocean. At Santana we saw the houses which at one time were typical for this area with their A-frame and thatched roofs. Then we had another typical meal. I had the black scabbard fish with banana and mango and Ron had the tuna. Of course, there was more good wine. YUM. From there it was on to the Rum factory with some tasting involved. We returned home and still somewhat full from lunch we decided to g...