By Rupert Parker
There was bad news from Madeira.  On one terrifying Saturday, in February, a freak storm washed away roads and bridges and reduced the streets of Funchal to a morass of mud.  I wasn’t so surprised since, a few weeks earlier; I’d been at the Madeira Islands Walking Festival when the weather was also playing up, drenching intrepid hikers.  But, that was the winter that was, and now springtime in Madeira is back to normal, the streets have been cleared and the damage is being repaired.
Madeira Islands Walking Festival
Since …