WHO Cancelled the Morning? Where Did They Bury Colombus?

 

This is the lovely island of  Madeira 

The time change slapped us around this morning.   I slept well listening to Donna snore from the far side of the room. She tapped me on the shoulder at 9:45 and asked if I was interested in breakfast.  I was snoring so peacefully she was reluctant to wake me. Since they stop serving the Buffett at 10:00 she set an olympic record getting there and filled a couple of plates for me. I stumbled into the shower, figured they would throw her out before I arrived. Around 11:00, when she did not return I went to see what she was doing. There she was, firmly standing her ground protecting the plates she filled for me.  So the only reason I got any breakfast this morning is because of her ability to run fast and outsmart waiters. Way to go, Donna!!!

Here is where she made her stand!  They did not dare to try and remove those plates. 

Today we boarded the “Hop On - Hop Off” bus and rode it all around this side of the island. We have a 5 day ticket and can get off and on at any of 30 stops. An easy way to see the main attractions at your own pace. It gave us a good overview of where things are and where we would like to spend more time. There are lots of interesting streets to challenge our ability to find our way back to the bus. After a full day of this bus trip, etc …we  found our way back to the bus stop to go home 45 minutes after the last bus departed. Donna is into physical fitness and was up to the walk back. I just said “the heck with it” and got a taxi. So she decided to try my way back.

The weather has been perfect. There is a small island not far from Madeira, called Porto Santos. It is where Christopher Columbus lived and you can visit the island by air or ferry. We opted for the 2 1/2 hour ferry boat ride on Saturday. We have been asking various guides if they know where Colombus is buried…..they all look perplexed and say “No”.  Tonight I asked Google, who knows everything…..but even Google is unsure. Here is the response:

For different reasons, including the fear that his remains would fall into enemy hands, Columbus' body was exhumed and reburied several times in Spain, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. It led to a terrible mix-up with another set of bones and to an age-old dispute across the ocean conquered by the great navigator.May 3, 

While everyone here knows he lived on Porto Santos, even they have given up on figuring out where his bones wound up. If you read the blog on my last trip you will understand why I think he is buried in the church on Terceira.. Heck they don’t know for sure who is buried in the floor there so it could very well be Columbus.  His bones would be safe  because he would be anonymous. The way they kept moving him around it’s no wonder they lost track. 

Today a large white cockatiel fell in love with Donna. I watched her walk up to the cage to talk to this beautiful bird and tell him how cute he was. The bird cocked it's head, smiled at her, flew to the bottom of the cage and picked up one of his lost tail feathers. Then he proceeded to poke it out of the cage to give to her. She would try to return it and the bird would carefully pick up the feather and cock it's head to push it through the bars back to her. His name was Kinko and he did not want her to leave. Just amazing. 

This evening we ended the day in paradise with a couple of Pina Coladas. On the patio looking out at the sea. A perfect location to watch the sunset. However we did not make it to sunset…one nice tropical drink and life as I know it was over. This old lady is tired………see ya all tomorrow.