New Week, New Apartment in Funchal

 

Sigh.

Another great apartment that I had to leave.  Seriously, other than the location, that was a great place which is why I couldn’t book it for longer. But, as I always hope, the next place may be comparable or even better.

There is a bank of cabs near the Madeira Mall.  Not far from the apartment, but it was still a hoof with all my stuff.  Always fun lugging that stuff up those hills.  Grabbed a cab and had yet another experience of the guy getting me close to the location but not being quite sure where it was.  I had to message the host for the final location.  She said that her neighbor would meet me with the key.

Soon a man approached me and introduced himself as Fabio.  Of course, his name is Fabio. The man is gorgeous with a great smile.  He also speaks English very well.

Fine Ass Fabio grabbed the handle of my roller bag and showed me up to the apartment, chatting along the way.  He asked if I was a digital nomad and I had to explain that no, I’m just a nomad.  Need a job for the digital part.  He asked about my travels and I told him about visiting Costa Rica and Türkiye prior to this and how I wanted to move to Madeira.  He had also been to Istanbul and mentioned how no one speaks English.  I told him I was trying to learn Portuguese, but that I’m very dumb.  He encouraged me to keep at it.

He showed me around the apartment and we continued to chat.  We’re getting along well so, of course he mentioned that he had a girlfriend.  Yep.  That’s sounds about right.  Anyone I’m attracted to is bound to be unavailable.  Anyone attracted to me is bound to be a parasite. 

It’s not fun to be me sometimes.

The apartment is another nice one.  Somehow, I neglected to get my own pictures so this one was taken from the Airbnb website.  The place is not as spacious as my last one (one bedroom/one bath), but it makes up for that in location.  I was back to being near Forum Madeira and it is still the area I want to live in.  Still not sure I can afford it but …

Fine Ass Fabio shook my hand again and let me know that he lives downstairs if I were to need anything.  By the time I did need something, I wasn’t in the best position to ask him.

The first time I stepped into the shower, I discovered that the water refused to get warm no matter how long I kept it on.  Oh no.  I immediately had flashbacks to Jamaica.  Fortunately, the water was the only real issue with this place (unlike that shack in Negril) so I figured I’d contact the host.  Fine Ass Fabio had mentioned that she, Maria, was in South Africa.  I still chose to contact her since I didn’t have his number and wasn’t exactly sure which downstairs apartment was his.

After some back and forth, we figured out that the water heater wasn’t plugged in.  Why?  Is that really saving any energy if the apartment is unoccupied?  I don’t know since I’ve never encountered this issue before.  Once I got that sorted out, the rest of my stay was fairly uneventful except for the noise.

There was construction going on in the apartment above me.  Not fun to deal with while trying to write, but it’s pretty typical for the city.  Cranes dot the skyline all over Funchal as they did back during my first visit last year.  The first picture below is of a hotel under construction back in March.  The hotel is open now, March 2024, and looks a lot different.

There is a restaurant called Marisqueira O Barque at the beginning of the trail that serves great seafood.  Don’t go there unless you’re really hungry, though, because they will give you all the food.  Then they have the nerve to offer you the dessert menu!  I ate there the first time back in March, choosing the place again for lunch one day since it was close to the apartment.  It had been raining off and on for the last couple of days so as much as I wanted to walk, I am not a fan of being wet all day.

Had a great meal (salmon and all the vegetables), bread, a comped appetizer, a couple of drinks, a HUGE piece of cheesecake and a cappuccino.  I was stuffed and I hate feeling stuffed.  Good food though for a decent price.  I waddled over to the counter to pay.  While the lady was pulling up my bill, she asked if I wanted some of the poncha that the bartender was stirring up (just a reminder: poncha is a local drink made of fruit juices and ALL the booze).  I had already eaten too much and I had the mint in my mouth that came with the coffee.  She said it’s just poncha and dished me out a little cup.  Can I tell you that poncha don’t care ‘bout no mint?  That stuff was just as fruity and strong as ever.  Good stuff that.  Poncha!