Group A
Maritimo v Penafiel
Estádio do Maritimo
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
21 December 2019
The Allianz Cup is known outside of Portugal as the Portuguese League Cup. It is only open to clubs competing in the Primeira Liga and the LigaPro, the top two leagues in Portugal but unlike the French and English version of the League Cup, the winners do not qualify for European competitions. This game is a Group match (Group A) of Rd 3.
Estadio dos Barreiros. The stadium holds 10,932 fans. It was recently converted to a covered all seater stadium and renamed Estadio do Maritimo.
The airport at Funchal is a challenge for pilots.
Our AirBnB digs at Zelia's place in Funchal was fabulous but proved to be a little noisy. We lasted 1 night.
View from the kitchen
Day 1 is match day so we dumped our bags and headed to the stadium just west of the centre of Funchal.
There is a great bar overlooking the stadium called 'FC Barreirense-Sao Martinho'
Oh no...it sells 'Super Bock'
Only a short walk to the ground
The official club crest has a maritime theme but the lion was included to symbolise strength of the new champions of Madeira.
A grand entrance
Sue begins her holiday romance with Christiano
Floodlight porn
Stadium pano
This League Cup encounter seems quite poorly attended with only a few thousand making up the attendance.
The new stadium has been reconstructed on the same site as the old stadium in the club's spiritual home of Barreiros.
The official name of the stadium is Estadio do Maritimo but the fans still refer to it as Estadio dos Barreiros
The new stadium has already seen international action when Portugal hosted Sweden in a friendly on 28 Mar 2017, a game which the Swedes won 3:2.
West Stand with a view of the mountains in the distance
Everyone loves a girl in uniform💋
Happy as a pig in shi&
Loyal supporters
Not so loyal supporter
Great vistas and a boiling hot day
The match with Penafiel ends in a goalless draw. Neither of these teams were to progress from Group A. The eventual winners of Group A (Braga) would eventually win the whole competition with victory against FC Porto in the final.
Maritimo 0 v Penafiel 0
The scrum to escape
Within 35 seconds the place is deserted
Except for the odd signature hunter
View from the concourse
Estrada Monumental
Pit Stop on the way home
Free launderette
We eventually arrive in down town
Funchal all lit up for Christmas
Angels at the cathedral
Funchal Cathedral dating from 1490's
Day 2 and a quick selfie to start the day at Zelia's place.
The old chimney from the abandoned Hinton sugar and liquor factory is all that remains in Santa Lucia's public gardens just down the hill from Zelia's place
The cathedral from the promenade
Time to catch a cable car to
Monte and the Botanical Gardens
It's hard to imagine why somebody would paint this whale on to a building in the missile of nowhere.
When we get to Monte the famous whicker sledge rides are not running so we will have to return tomorrow. Only 30€👀
The Church of our Lady of Monte
Burial place of Charles 1 who was the last Emperor of Austria and the last King of Hungary and Bohemia before the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was forced into exile to Madeira following a failed attempt to reclaim the Hungarian thrown. Following his death in 1922 he was buried at Monte, Madeira but his heart was buried separately with that of his wife's heart in Muring Abbey, Switzerland.
We take a second cable car to the Botanical Gardens
Sue is in her element
The Strelitza is the national flower of Madeira
also called the 'bird of paradise'
After a full day out in the hills we come back down to Funchal for a meal on the trendy Run De Santa Maria
The painted doors of Rua Santa Maria was an initiative by residents to invite local artists to paint the doors of this famous old street to revive its charm and character.
Time for a bottle of Portuguese red (Duoro Valley)
Day 3 - Christiano
First stop is the Museum dedicated to the superstar that is Christiano Ronaldo, arguably the best football player to have ever walked the planet.
Sue is looking forward to this visit, perhaps too much😍
Winner of the Ballon d'Or five times
Humble roots at CF Andorinha as a youth player 1992-95
Nacional 1995-97
Senior career began at Sporting Lisbon where he was from 1997-2003 before his transfer to Man Utd.
International Superstar
After the CR Museum it is time to meet the Elves.
Madeira knows how to do Christmas
Like a kid in a sweet shop
Poncha time😊
Merry Christmas
Madeira is 600 years old today
I will drink to that
Giant Christmas Tree
...and a slow walk back to the terrace to see
the firework display at midnight
Day 4 - Tobogganing
Good Morning from sunny Funchal😎
Hotel Monte Carlo
The best snack bar in Madeira
The bus to Monte is rammed
The highlight of the day is the 2Km toboggan ride in a whicker sledge from Monte to Livramento
Brace, brace
Here we go!
Reminds me of the log race on P Coy
After all that excitement it is back up the hill to
the tropical gardens at Monte Palace
Girl Skipping
Great day rounded off with a few
drinks with the Crazy Swedes
Day 5 - Christmas Day 2019
Our Swedish friends (Peter and Camilla) pick us up at the hotel and take us to Porto Moniz. Next stop the mountains.
Pico Do Arieiro at 1810m
Peter the Goat💀
Too cool for school😎
Seaview
'The Buzzard's nest'
The roof of Madeira
Mission complete
Back in time for Christmas Dinner at Zelias
Christmas Dinner -Venezuelan style
Me and Zelia
Day 6: Camara de Lobos
'Lobos' (wolves) refer to the monk seals that used to bask here but now centre stage is a charming fishing village with great restaurants.
Sea cliffs at Cabo Girao are the highest in Madeira
Mr Churchill would come here and paint
In memory of the monk seals that used to inhabit the bay
The new inhabitants
The fishing boats in front of the diners
I love cocktails me 👌
Happy Hour with the Swedes
Day 7: Last day in Funchal -
Shopping for Bachalau (Codfish)
CS Maritimo Club Shop
Decisions, decisions...
Pin badge... yeh!
After all of that retail stress its down
to the pub for a cold glass of wine
Next up is the tour of the Blandy Wine Lodge
and home to some of the best Madeira wine
Madeira wine comes in four main variants
Back in the day
I will take one please
An invitation to the Swedish lair
Salted Beef 'Brazil style'😎
A great night with Peter and Camilla
Day 8: Santana💗
These traditional triangular thatched
houses are found all over Santos
They were lived in by farmers and had no kitchen or bathroom, just a single room with a bed and a living area.
More 'Bird of Paradise' flowers
Walking up the mountain trek to Pico Ruivo from
the carpark at Achada do Teixeira
Luckily there are plenty of shelters on the way
Caso de Abrigo mountain hut built in 1939
In a little over 1 hour we reach the summit
and it is time to pose for the camera😎
The peak at Pico Ruivo is at 1862m
and is the highest point on Madeira
It is also very popular for cliff diving 👍
Day 9: Good Morning Santana
The baroque church in St Jorge (1761) has
one of the nicest alters on the island
Walking the Sao Jorge coastal path
Down we go..
the path leads to the ruins of Calhau
This settlement was one of the most significant northern ports of the island and now there is nothing but ruins
The arch
The coastal path takes you to the old boat mooring at Cais
This footbridge has seen better days
...but I must explore further
I reckon this is compliant with the HSW act 1974
Safe as houses 😅
Now it is time to sample the delights of
this popular local fish restaurant
this popular local fish restaurant
The arch preserved on tiles
Easily the best meal so far ...fresh Sea Bass and Sea Bream
After lunch we are off to Queimadas
From the picnic park at Pico das Pedras we
follow the channel of the Levado do Caldeirao
The levados are irrigation channels that were built to trap the heavy rainfall in the north and then disperse it to the south
Queimeidasan is like an oasis in the forest
What great day 😎
Goodnight campers💫
Day 10: Ponta de Sao Lourenco
The peninsular lies on the eastern tip of the island.
Top Tip 💥This trail is hugely popular with walkers on day trips from cruise ships that dock in Funchal, so arrive early
A tough climb up
The views are stunning.
Finally we reach the highest point at Morro do Furado (160m)
On route to the airport we stop of at Machico
Machico has stunning beaches
Machico is proud to be the site where Captain Zarco and his crew first set foot on Madeira 600 years ago. Now we need to get to the airport for our flight back to Blighty.🙏
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