We are taking it in turns with days of driving as it is so taxing so I got a day off today! We decided to head to a village called Santana on the North East of the island which is renown for a particular type of triangular building with straw thatch. On route we stopped at Santa Cruz just past Funchal which is rather an understated place but actually really attractive. Unusually it was easy to find, no hill starts were required and parking was easy! It was hot and sunny so we were forced to sit and enjoy a couple of pingados and pastel con nata custard tarts on the seafront promenade. It was also a location to watch for the planes taking off and landing at the notoriously 'challenging' Madeira airport.
We set off North towards Santana and true to form the weather started to change with clouds gathering just in time for a shower as we arrived. I'll be honest, we had driven well over an hour from Paul do Mar and the town did not really have much to offer. The triangular thatched cottages which were the original traditional houses of the villagers have been painted quite gaudily for the visiting tourists although with a bit of careful searching we did manage to find some of the original buildings in people's gardens. Now they are used as extra rooms or guest B&Bs. I wondered along a small street and discovered a low terracotta tiled roof covered in drying pumpkins and gourds - which was nice!
We made a group decision to head back down through the clouds back to Santa Cruz for a late lunch. The clouds started to clear briefly but then sheets of rain blew in from the sea. Normally this would have me scurrying to protect the camera but on this occasion there was a stunning double rainbow directly over the airport. It remained for a good 45 minutes and for most of this time I was stood in the pouring rain on a narrow jetty waiting for a plane to come into land! Eventually TAP airways obliged although it thoughtlessly did not fly in the centre of the rainbow! In the end I actually think this is a more successful shot as the rainbow is at its brightest as the sun was shining through the drizzle.
