Today I was so looking forward to the jeep ride but my stomach had other ideas and I missed the day.  Around lunch time I finally felt better and went down to the walk that runs along the water.  It was amazing watching the locals jump off the high ledges into the water.  The pool area was huge. There was a large platform with a square hole in the middle of the water and I stood for a long while watching the swimmers.  
Back at the hotel, I had lunch and relaxed by the pool waiting for the others to return. 
This is how Linda C., Linda H., and Sandy spent their day as relayed by Linda C.
Today after breakfast we left for a jeep tour on the eastern side of the Island. Unfortunately Marci was sick and unable to go on this adventure.  Our guide was Marco and our first stop was near the top of Pico do Arieiro Mountain. There is a military presence there as well as weather monitoring.  The mountain is 1810 meters high, one of the highest on the Island.  The views from there were spectacular.  As we traveled there, we passed by a herd of sheep grazing along side and in the road.  
We then drove to the Laurel forest.  It is a beautiful, dense and semi-tropical rainforest with lots of flowers and water cascading out of the rocks,  We were shown how the water flows down the mountain leaching through and around the rocks.  Next it falls into an aqueduct system called Levada which is  similar to the Roman Aqueducts. The water goes into the town where it is purified.  On the way, we passed a stone igloo, which is used to compact snow into ice. The ice was then cut into blocks which  was use down the mountain in the guest hotels  before refrigeration.  
Once out of the rain forest, we then got out of the jeep to walk a 0.6km trail through the forest.  There were lots of beautiful flowers and we encountered a beautiful little bird hopping on the trail. 
​The trail was rough and rocky.  Marco warned us to be careful, not do the three most dangerous things: walking, looking and taking pictures simultaneously.  I was being careful and suddenly I was on the ground.  Wonderful people around picked me up and helped me.  I was severely bruised and had to keep ice on my knees for the rest of the day.  
We drove to an area that had triangular houses with thatched roofs. Most are gone now but most of the ones that remain are used to show visitors how people lived.  They offered us Kahlua and invited us inside to see how they lived. This was a town of hydrangeas.  They lined the streets and the yards splashing color everywhere.
Then we went off road onto the King's Road  zigzagging up very steep hills. But this wasn't really a road.  It was more of a semi paved trail that is used today by farmers, hikers and campers. We were hanging on for dear life for about 20 minutes before we got back to the main road. We finally got to a small town named Santana where we stopped for lunch. 
Our next destination was a rum factory.  They only make rum in May and June but we saw the machinery and a video on how it is produced.  We tasted two types of rum, a dark and a light.  
Our last stop was at the eastern end of the island where there was good evidence of a volcanic eruption of "bomb rocks." Linda H. was in heaven examining and collecting specimens.
  We were told that while we were in Madeira, we had to try Puncha, a rum punch specialty of the island. Since this was the last night at the resort, Linda C, Sandy and I went to the bar to ask for this.  The  nightly entertainment was beginning on the pool deck next to the bar, so we took the drinks back up to our rooms. Sandy and I sat on the balcony listening to the music and watching the people dance.