Mysterious

Ever since I first started coming to Madeira, about seven years ago, this house has fascinated me.

High over the harbour and even further up the hill than my favourite poncha bar, it looks in need of attention.

I imagine a Miss Havisham, shrouded in mystery and tragedy and covered in huge spiders and cobwebs. I imagine......... I imagine.........

Curiosity got the better of me and I went into a new little bar that has opened even further up the slope. I asked the man in the bar nicely about the house.

He says that developers are planning to start this year.

I asked him how long it has been deserted. I said I'd seen it for the last four years. He said,"Four. No. It's been like that for forty years."

I asked him if he thought they were really going to restore it. He shrugged and smiled. We'll see.

He was happy when my friend pinned a pin in his map to show he'd had a visitor from Grand Junction, Colorado.