day 104 – funchal, madeira, portugal

beautiful funchal, on the island of madeira, portugal

what a lovely place, and what a bummer we had to leave by 3pm!  knowing there are 6 full sea days in front of us, a full port day might have been nice, but it was so pretty, i’ll take what we can get – the captain must have his reasons (i’m betting it’s money)… we went up to watch the sunrise (and the moonset – pretty!) as we pulled in to the island of madeira, about 500 miles off the coast of portugal… a paradise, a beautiful city nestled on a hillside, white buildings, black basalt trim, red roofs and so much greenery all around!  we knew bob had a liferaft drill at 10:30 he couldn’t get out of, so since we pulled in at 7:30am, we got out of here the moment the ship cleared and got a cab for a nice section of town with tons of cafes, shops, a view… we figured we could at least go out for awhile and he could go back for the drill…

we had our first coffee near a small boat marina and watched an old dog give himself a back scratch along a long low cement bench… cutest thing ever – he would sidle underneath it and walk the length of the bench pressing the small of his back against it, emerge at the far end, turn around, and go back the other way, and he must have repeated this 3 times… he looked like a regular at the cafe, and no one shooed him away… i really wanted to pet him, he was pretty adorable, but we were eating, and i’ve known enough unfortunate people from the ship who have had seemingly nice dogs take a nip that i just look longingly but don’t touch unless the dog is with a person who says it’s ok… there were strays everywhere we’ve been, even in most of the ruins that we saw, and they all seem quite docile, and will certainly accept food, and most are adorable, but a couple have gone a little nuts when guests tried to pet them… sigh… i miss my dog!  nino got a new camera recently he’s been saving for, and emailed me some great pictures of gimli!  that was a day brightener!  i'll put one on a sea day blog coming soon...

dog scratching his back under the bench

cute!!!

bob and i enjoyed walking on the beautiful streets, and i say beautiful because the streets themselves are cobblestoned with black and white stones in various patterns; it must have taken forever, and each street is unique in design… apparently they have been this way for quite some time… very cool!  we had to get a second coffee, and maybe the best croissants we’ve ever had outside of paris (the girl asked if we minded that they were still warm… what?!?!  did we mind?!?!)… unbelievable!  such a nice place – they are known for ther baked goods here, and talk about a café society - you can’t go a few feet without running across one, each cuter than the next… lovely town!

each street and square tiled like this but in different designs

buildings mostly in this style, white with black basalt trim

perfect croissants and coffee... mmm...

we window shopped and browsed ‘til bob had to go back for his drill – while he was away, i went in a bunch of shops that specialize in the regional art of embroidered goods… i would have loved to purchased a souvenir of this sort, but it was fairly cost prohibitive, though lovely – i didn’t want any of it that bad, and i guess i still have hand embroidered stuff that was my grandma’s to enjoy… it was nice to look at, though… they have some cool regional clothing items and a very bright striped fabric used in their national dress that they made table runners out of, but almost every souvenir here has the name “madeira” stitched on… i hate souvenirs with the town name on it, cause it looks tourist-y and kinda tacky, so i didn’t even come away with a potholder because i was so annoyed that i couldn’t just get a pretty item that didn’t cost over 100 euros without the name splashed on it… when bob returned and i explained my plight over lunch, i told him i would just like to pick up a bottle of excellent cooking wine as a souvenir, so we got a nice madeira wine, and, of course, a portuguese cookbook… i am thinking sunday dinners for months and months will be the greatest souvenirs to share with family and friends… does anyone really need another coffee mug?

pretty streets and buildings throughout town

really good street music - latin guitars

we had a great seafood lunch, regional dishes, i had the paella with local seafood, and bob had the scabbard fish with banana, also locally grown… this climate is the best of mediterranean meets almost tropical, meets great european city, meets volcanic mountains, meets terraced vineyards, dramatic cliffs… this place has something for everyone and is so picturesque… we definitely would like to come back when we could hang out for more than 5 hours… i was glad to get a lot of walking in today and feel the earth under my feet since we have 6 long sea days ahead…

scabbard fish and banana, both local

seafood aella, all local

gorgeous parks and flowers everywhere

everything in bloom

we took off at 3pm, and almost immediately the seas were churning… bob got some nice pics as the clouds rolled in over town before we left… i am glad bob and i both like exciting seas and don’t get seasick, but many of our guests, who have been pretty spoiled on this voyage (only one or two days of mild waviness with smooth sailing the rest of the way), are retreating to their cabins and not enjoying this turn of weather.  

clouds roll in as we ready to leave

beautiful... sad to say goodbye!

the ship was a ghost town after 10, and even my waiter was green around the gills and had gone home – his substitute was not faring much better… my theme tonight was latin music, and i did everything from portuguese and spanish to mariachi and pop with a latin feel… when it looked as though we were done, i called it early at 11.  i stopped by bob’s lounge, and they were all sitting there talking cause no one was there either… i told him i would head downstairs – we are going back another hour tonight, so it’s like getting off of work really early!  nice once in awhile… more tomorrow… ciao, me

port song for funchal, madeira, portugal

(to the tune of “the last farewell” by roger whittaker)

as we pull in beside the small boat harbor

we go to see the sunrise on deck nine

and the moon is setting full and bright to one side

while on the other side the morning starts to shine

we dash to get a taxi when the ship clears

for bob has to return for a drill at ten

and we have a coffee date, and we visit not just one place

but two places for some coffee while we can

this place is like a jewel set on the hillside

i can’t believe we have to leave at three

there’s so many different things you can enjoy here

so many places you can go and see

the feng shui of this place is pretty awesome

the hills behind and out in front, the sea

folks have lived here for centuries, ‘cause it’s about as pretty,

as pretty as a place could ever be

bob has to go back for the drill and so we

arrange to meet on the church steps very soon

because we have a date to go out for some seafood

and we’d like to be all over it by noon

tho we didn’t stay long enough to get the feeling

of what it’s like to see what locals know

cause we leave at 3 o’clock, and that seems kinda early

considering we have six sea days in a row

i’m glad we got to come here to madeira

i bought a cookbook and some tawny port

and a bottle of Madeira wine to cook with

and the day zoomed by and it was way too short

i’m looking forward to wild and swoopy seas though

i’ll sleep just like a baby on the way back 

it makes the sea days interesting, and it makes me put my stuff away

which i have to do anyway to pack

today was beautiful, and bob and i loved it dearly

and now we’re ready to get started back