Cabo Cirao (I think)

It's really difficult to remember all the places that we went to on our last day in Madeira. I guess the language could be to blame as well as the almost frenetic pace at which we tried to fill in as much as possible in a day. No time to journal!! We often fell into bed at midnight or later...so no energy either.

This picture was taken from about 550 m up. Its a photo of a farm which is only accessible via a small cable car. We arrived just in time to see some of the farm workers come up...all grubby and dirty but seemingly very content and happy. (Isn't that how its supposed to be???) Mostly, the small car is filled to the brim with farm produce. Not sure what is being grown here, but each produce is grown according to level, i.e. I think the higher regions are reserved for grapes, the middle for bananas (tropical) and the lower, for vegetables.

This is the view of the top of the restaurant below the viewing point. The coffee was the cheapest and nicest (by SA standards) that we'd had in Madeira so far. They really try and maximize their profits...the standard Madeira 'Chinease' (cup of coffee with milk) is about a quarter of the size of our SA cups. My sisters family drink 'cereal coffee' which has some or other grain in it...weird! A much healthier alternative but I went and bought some 'real' coffee.

I love this picture. When we arrived in Madeira and Col introduced us to her friends, nobody believed that I was her sister!!!! Noreen was automatically
given my title. When I look at this picture, I can see why. They both have freckles, the same hair colour and thickness (ridiculously thick...Noreen's hair took an entire day to dry when tied up), they are both gentle and calm of nature and absolute ladies (except when hungry :o) and are devoted moms but have the spirit of a child.....and their bond was instantaneous! I adore my family, words cannot express how much. I have friends, soul sisters, that I feel I have known for all eternity, transcending time and which goes beyond understanding. Where circumstances take that friendship in our lifetime, who knows and actually, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the moment. Things are what they are for a reason and the reasoning is not ours but that of our maker. All I know, and have always known, is that love endures through time, we are created in it therefore we seek it in others, in gentleness, kindness, compassion, fortitude...and hell yes, a sense of humor!!!

Deepak Chopra said "The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers".

If loving a total stranger means that you open yourself up to pain, well then, I gladly accept. Better to feel love as the source than as the vessel...for then you know you are truly, truly alive!