Madeira, Portugal

We made it to Portugal!  The island of Madeira (and the town of Funchal) is a very quiet little stop.  And yet there was so much to do. 

The highlight of the day was when we went up the hill to an area called Monte.  It is here where the locals have preserved an historical mode of transportation that was used by the locals to cart goods and produce down to the village from the upper reaches of the very steep hillside communities.  Here is how it works…  The have built wicker toboggans and put wooden rails on the bottom.  Then, two locals push you down the hill!  Now, the locals jump on and help steer/break, but they really just push you down the hill.  Think Alaska dog racing with pavement instead of snow and gravity pulling you instead of dogs.

We also had an opportunity to sample the local Madeira wines.  You don’t need drink the wine before the toboggan ride, but it could make it more interesting.

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