I go on holiday, and what do I watch? An air show.

And no, I’m not joking. The first week of my holiday, I kept seeing posters for an air show by the Portuguese air force. I didn’t think I’d be able to watch it, but boy, was that ever wrong.

The Friday afternoon (the air show was on the Saturday) I was happily snoozing, when I heard this almighty racket – about 50 feet from the hotel. Needless to say, the language was less than polite, as I stumbled out onto the balcony.

Mum was already out there with the camera, and took this photograph:

Merlin Helicopter - noisy sod!

It turned out it was practising for the display the following afternoon, so both Mum and I got the cameras out to take some more photographs:

So, on the Saturday morning, Mum and I took our normal trip into Funchal, and on the way back, we saw the grandstand seating for the dignitaries. That made the pair of us snigger, as we realised that we would have the better view from the balcony of our hotel room!

The air show started at 16:00, and to be honest, when you compare it with US and UK air shows, it wasn’t really as enthralling as it could have been, but I guess I’ve been spoilt by watching the Farnborough air show over the years.

It started brightly enough, with a fly by display done by a C-130, which opened the loading bay door, and dropped out what appeared to be a couple of marine flares. Mum and I were both wondering what these were for. We soon found out.

C130

The noisy Merlin helicopter that had so rudely woke me up the previous afternoon was back – and this time carried out the full display that involved dropping a diver and then scooping him back up from the water.

Dropping the diver

Nearly down

Going up

Mind your head

Mission accomplished

Heading for home

Then it was the turn of the Orion. I didn’t manage to get any photos of this, as the miserable toe rag didn’t come close enough – even with the telephoto on my camera. But the real stars of the show, as far as I was concerned, were the Aérospatiale Alouette III. The two pilots gave a wonderful display, and provided some wonderful photographic opportunities

It was like watching aerial ballet.

Ah well, guess I should call this quits for now – I’m starting to fall asleep at my computer again!

Back tomorrow, if I get the chance.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

Monté Tropical Palace Gardens

Having seen the damage that was done in Monté, I will admit to being slightly apprehensive about what I would see in the gardens. So, Mum and I decided to go and visit the gardens and the museums.

As we entered the gardens, and walked across to the massive 1,000 year old olive trees, there didn’t seem to be any visible signs of damage, and the trees looked as robust as ever:

1000 year old Olive trees.



Then it was down to the museums. As normal, Mum and I went our separate ways, as she’s not a fan of the African sculptures. I am, and am quite content to take photos of these extraordinary figures.

After I’d been in the African gallery (and changed the batteries in the camera), I walked down the path to Mum and head into the other museum – the one that holds all the beautiful geodes. Admittedly, most of them are Amethysts of varying quality, but the way that they have been displayed is quite spectacular.

After we’d taken the photos, it was then time to head down into the gardens themselves. Again, we were wondering if there would be any damage visible, as we’d both seem the damage that had been done in Monte. But at first, the only thing that I was really interested in was the tree fern:

But just after I took this photo, I was stopped in my tracks by damage that had obviously occurred in the February storms:

This then lead me to move lower down, to where Monte’s version of the terracotta warriors had been…

At first glance, aside from the red and white tape, there didn’t seem too much damage done.  But a little further down, past the tape, the damage was quite obvious:

But what really made me smile was the damage hadn’t affected the Buddha statue.  Divine protection perhaps?

But this seemed to be the only area that was damaged, and as per normal. Mum and I separated, as there were bits that I wanted to see – including more cycads.  But what I didn’t expect to see was a robin perched in the cycad.

It stayed long enough for me to take the picture, and when I tried for a close up, it flew off. Ok – no worries, as it made me stop long enough to have a look around…I spotted a sort of hidden walkthrough…

I entered, and got the fright of my life when the lights came on, and something growled at me! When I had recovered my scattered wits, I saw what had scared me so badly. There was a motion sensor hidden in a sculpture:

There were three sculptures in all, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get them all in one shot, so I had to make do with individual photos:

As I went to re-join Mum, I stopped on the top of the waterfall that overlooked the main lake:

Once I had joined Mum by the lake, there was something that really made me giggle.  It was a seagull perched on the top of a statue in the lake.

The other thing that always stands out in my mind about the lake is the largest pot in the world.  No, I’m not joking, this is listed in the Guinness Book of Records:

It was then time to head to the coffee shop for a drink, as both Mum and I were in need of a sit down and a drink.

As we walked along, there was more evidence of the damage that had been done to the garden:

Once at the coffee shop, we chose a seat in the shade, and I started looking through the photos on my camera (deleting the ones that were obviously no good) when this sparrow hopped onto the railing beside me:

Then it hopped onto the table, with a determined glint in its eyes, as the previous people who had sta at the table had left crumbs from their cake…

Ah well, guess I should call this quits - I've got bits and pieces to sort out. Back later is I get the chance.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

Monté and damage recovery

As per normal, Mum and I went up to Monté on the cable car. I will admit to being slightly apprehensive, as I was unsure just how much damage had been done by the devastating floods in February.

As we travelled up, the damage could be seen from the cable car.

Considering the force of the water that must have been flowing, the damage wasn’t as bad as I had expected, but there were still areas that were being repaired.

When we got to Monté, the area seemed undamaged, but I know from past experience that appearances can be deceiving, so Mum and I walked towards the other cable car station – the one that links Monté to the Botanical Garden.

 That was when it really hit home just how ferocious the water must have been. The building that you used to purchase the tickets from was a ruin (albeit one that was being worked on) and a huge concrete culvert was being constructed to try and control the water.

Mum and I then decided to walk back towards the main square in Monte. I made sure that I had my camera ready to photograph anything of interest, including areas of damage, as I was trying to show my friends at home just what had been damaged.

Ah well, time to call this quits – my mobile is ringing.

Back later, if I get the chance.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most