It has been a great few days. It is amazing how little time we have to post. Ken and I have been so incredibly busy it is go go go.

Funchal Maidera did not disappoint. Doug, Andi Ken and I took a taxi around the island. It is a very scenic and clean place. The highlight for me was the cable car and the toboggan ride down. They go very fast but are controlled by two men that ride the toboggan. Andi said there was smoke coming from our glides. They did stop and oil the glide half way. It is really tons of fun. It cost 25 Euros for two but I enjoyed every second of the adventure.

Lanzarote
We rode the camels on our last trp and been to the volcanic area before so we just took a cab to a winery to show Suzanne and Olivia some of the scenery. We did not stay out long, it was hot but it was nice for the "girls" to see the country side.

For people who travel a lot we were pretty dumb when it came to the taxi. We asked how much per hour - answer 12 euros traveling or waiting. We thought he meant on the meter. $12 to just get in the cab plus the meter. It seemed to be too cheap at $12 Euros per hour. No one understood each other. So then Ken negotiated 30 euros with another taxi driver to take us to a winery for tasting and then back to the ship. We hopped in the cab. Told him the winery we wanted to visit and he said Meter. Then he turned on the meter. We thought we were in trouble here but he was driving fast so we just decided what the heck we would go with the flow. Well we were out about 2 1/2 hours and it was 32 Euros. The first taxi was telling us an hourly rate after all, just guessing at the cost for what we wanted to do. No matter how much you travel it is so easy to misunderstand what is going on. GREAT value for a taxi for four people that is about as cheap as it get.

Early Retiree boarded in Funchal and visited briefly with them the first night. They had dinner with the handsome Englebert tonight so hope they enjoyed that. Hope to see them tomorrow.

We all went to bed early tonight, have to be up and ready to leave for an 8.00 am tour ---- ahhh where are those sea days!!!!