Camping Catastrophe

I started my day by extending the rental of my car in Machico, going for a swim, and then picking up MJ after her surf. We attempted to go and pick up our camping gear, but oddly enough, his opening hours had about a 6 hour gap in the middle of the day. As such, we planned to come back at 7pm when his hours started again. Until then, we wandered around the town of Ribeira Brava and got a great feed at a restaurant that a friend recommended. After this, when we went back to collect the gear, the man said that he was closed and would not allow us in for an appointment. Why we need an appointment to collect camping gear is beyond me, and why he wouldn't just give them to us when we arrived was confusing. He was likely just an angry old man trying to teach us a lesson. He had stated in an email to arrive for your appointment from 7:30 - 10:00, without staying in the am. Given these were his exact opening hours (excluding the gap in the middle of the day), we figured we could come any time. Regardless, he was being difficult and refused to help us. As such, it was nearly 8pm, and we were stranded. MJ was a bit torn up by the whole ordeal, but I was sure things would be fine. We wouldn't be able to camp but we could find some alternatives. Mj managed to find a great little cabin that was not camping, but the next best thing. Despite being 8pm, the owner was super friendly and was very nice to allow us to check in. It was a super cute place to stay that even came with a cat that stayed in our room every night. We arrived, made an easy dinner, and had a couple of drinks before we crashed.Read more