Finally escaped the desert of the south side of Madeira. Sweetest thing I ever saw in years was an old bloke singing away while he tended to his garden.

My new landlady told me everyone sings in the Christmas run up. Sure enough at a restaurant the chef and barman and probably owner was warbling away too.

I am glad I came here. This is rich land, young soil and hard slopes to keep the impatient far away in their desert condominiums.