Today we docked in Funchal, Madeira. Madeira was discovered by a Portuguese explorer in 1419. Trade links were established with Italy, Flanders, and England. In 1560 Sapin invaded Portugal and occupied Madeira. Portugal took over again in 1640. With the marriage of Catherine of Braganca and Charles II in 1662, strong ties with England were formed and British wine merchants came to settle here.
They export bananas, potatoes, onions, and orchids. Tourism is a major contribution to their economy. Madeira is famous for its wine, exported since the 17th century. Other local specialties are wickerwork and embroidery. Madeira and the surrounding islands have been an autonomous region of Portugal since 1976. Madeira is known as the Island of the Eternal Spring. It has an origin of volcanic soil. It is a land of contrasts with its tall mountains and its coastlands, which produce sugar cane, bananas, and grapes.
Funchal is located in a natural “amphitheatre” surrounding the city. It begins at the harbour and rises almost 4000 feet high on gentle slopes. This provides a natural shelter and was what attracted the first settlers. There is an abundance of fennel (“funcho”) here, hence the name.
Funchal has several parks, a 15th century cathedral, the Quinta des Cruzes orchid gardens, and various buildings associated with Christopher Columbus. The Botanical Gardens display subtropical plants from Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia including bird-of-paradise and cactus.
One of the shore excursions offered here is a sofa-like sledge ride down the paved streets of Monte. Our shore excursion was Scenic Madeira. Our tour guide, Phillipa, told us lots of information about the area: 90% Catholic; only 4 & 5 star hotels; pebble beaches because of the volcanic soil except for one black sand beach; no heat needed here because the lowest temperature is 13 degrees C and the high is 28 degrees C in summer; 15,000 tons of bananas a year are grown here year round; crops are all mixed up together because the plots are small; no wild animals, snakes, or wolves; when the first settlers came here, it was deserted except for lizards, bats, and trees; 78% of the fauna here is insects (not my kind of place, I guess); and that the name “Madeira” means wood.
Yes, we learned a lot of information, but the problem was that she was the WORST tour guide in history. On this excursion, she droned on and on, saying “uh” over and over again to fill space. She could not let there be one second where she wasn’t talking. And she repeated everything 3 times! Ray was ready to strangle her. Silence would’ve been so much appreciated—at least for a few minutes. She never shut up!!
Our first stop was at the Camaro de Lobos for the view. There was a beautiful green cliff here with palm trees and a church below. On the way here, we saw Jacaranda trees, which bloom with blue flowers in May and have no leaves, and the African Tulip trees with bright/ deep orange flowers. The people live all up the hillsides with their farmlands on terraces. It was very pretty with each square plot of a different color or shape.
Our second stop was at Cabo Girao, the highest seacliff in Europe, 2nd highest in the world (1804 feet) with views of the south coast of the island. There were lots of Christmas Fireworks here—an orange pointy flower that blooms from December to January.
Our third stop was Pico dos Barcelos where everyone comes on December 31 to watch the REAL fireworks for which Funchal is famous and has made the Guinness Records for being biggest. There are panoramic views here from a height of 1164 feet of Funchal and the mountains. We saw a cemetery near here where the black crosses mean the person was married and the white ones mean the person was single or a child. St. Martin’s Church sat on a hilltop below us.
As we headed back into town, we saw the bouganvillea growing over the 3 streams. The bus stopped near Santa Caterina Garden and we walked on beautiful black and white mosaic tile sidewalks to get to The Old Blandy Madeira Wine Lodge for a tasting of their dry, medium dry, sweet, and medium sweet wines. We walked back through the gardens with its birds-of-paradise and walked out to the ship.
When it was time for our ship to leave, it seemed like everyone in Funchal turned out to wave goodbye. It was a nice send-off.
Dinner in the Grand Epernay Dining Room was great with conversation with Greg and Edna at the table one over from us.
Pictures: Madeira shoreline; Funchal; Christmas Fireworks; African Tulip Tree
