Porto Santo island - The late arrival; strolling around the centre, dinner out -The 21st of October 2019

What was supposed to be an uneventful flight turned out to be a nightmare, which led me (and everyone else on board of that Air Portugal aircraft) to reach the island almost two hours later than the estimated time of arrival and subsequently get to my hotel by early morning.


Having never been lodged in Torre Praia hotel implied filling in forms I was not particularly happy to have to do at half past one in the morning but my initial disappointment was soon counterbalanced, the moment I walked into the bedroom, which I felt to be spacious and more so when I walked into its veranda to have my last cigarette of the day (or better said ... morning).

 

 

 

The Hotel breakfast lounge overlooked the beach and it was quite a sight to see the sunrise and the clean golden stretches of sand I would not be able to take advantage of.

Soon after having finished the Refresher course I made my way to the city centre and just strolled around  "breathing in" the quieteness, which we so often lack  in big cities. The beaches seemed appealling enough but I made it to the historical church I have been to so many times before but which  because of its small size always seems to transport me back to a reclusive space of my own where reflection is inevitably a part of it. 

Before heading back to the hotel along an alley named after Dom Henrique, the navigator, I came across two rather small cozy-like open spaces I stopped at watching the few tourists going by.

 

I was later picked up for a night out by a student in the company of his girlfriend. I had the priviledge of having them host me throughout a marvellous evening and at a rather special restaurant I had never been to before.