The sun rose at 8am and it was easy to see that it was going to be a beautiful day (plus, Captain D had essentially promised it would be). Wearing only our travel vests (and those only to carry things in the pockets), we walked off the ship and recruited another couple from South Carolina (and blog readers) to join us in a two-hour taxi tour. We had all been to Funchal before, and they will be returning on a transatlantic cruise in April, so we didn't feel a need to see everything, but instead settled on a couple of highlights. Our driver, Joseph Rueben, spoke excellent English and had a Mercedes van and was a most enthusiastic guide for his beautiful island.
Simply stated, Madeira is an island paradise and today we saw it at its finest. It has a sub-tropical environment and is not burdened by the hurricanes and severe storms that develop to its west. The island is picturesque, with gorgeous steep hillsides dotted with terraced agricultural crops. Bananas grow only up to 300 meters altitude, but above that are grown mostly grapes that are used in the production of the port-type wine that carries the island's name. These terraced fields have been in families for generations and are irrigated by the rainfall that falls in the mountains.
Our first stop was at the overlook at Pico dos Barcelos for a view looking down in the red roofs of Funchal. Then we traveled to the fishing village of Camara de Lobos, which was a favorite haunt for Winston Churchill, who painted the beauty of the village and seascapes. And, finally, we went to Cabo Girão, the world's second highest sea cliff and the highest in Europe at over 1500 feet high. New since we had last been there (in 2000) was a glass floored sea walk that was cantilevered out from the top of the cliff. Very cool. We are not afraid of heights and loved looking down through the floor and over the railing.
Camara de Lobos
Terraced farming
I loved these traditional Madeiran hats
Our table for two beers (in the corner)
Madeira is beautiful, a real island paradise
Seawalk over Cabo Girão, second highest sea cliff in the world
We had started the day with 47€, and bought three locals beers along the way. After paying for the tour we had just over 1€ left, but were treated to a glass of Madeira wine at a cafe in the port terminal by our excursion friends (thank you!). We had free, fast WiFi there which was great, and I phoned Mom using Vonage (For free! Get the app!!) and had perfect call quality for the entire 20 minute call. She is doing superbly and is caught up in Christmas planning and her many activities. At the beginning of the day, I had told G that I wanted to be within spitting distance of the Pacific Princess by 1pm, providing us a 30 minute time cushion and we were actually that close by 12:30pm so it was a relaxed way to end our day in port. I left our remaining change as a tip and we reboarded the ship at exactly 1:25pm. Go us! (Maybe tomorrow when I have more time I will share with you the excitement of getting back to the ship before five days at sea on our first transatlantic crossing in 1999).
The day was so sunny and warm that we watched sailaway from the Panaroma Terrace. I was thrilled to leave Europe (Madeira is a Portuguese territory) on such a high note. Despite all the bad weather and bad luck we had in early October, extended cruising in the Mediterranean provided us an unforgettable experience. We sat outside as we sailed along the coastline of Madeira, eating lunch and chatting until after 3pm and then took our time getting ready for tonight's formal night. We will have three of them in total on this 17-night cruise, and tonight was this cruise's Captains Circle party. We went to the early party at 4:45pm; with 88% past passengers in this ship, there was a later party for late seating guests. We have 232 Elite passengers on this cruise, and the 1st most traveled has 2179 days on Princess (really!); 2nd has 1227; and 3rd has 1040. I won't know where we ranked or the cutoff for the MTP luncheon until it takes place in two days.
Sailaway from Funchal, Madeira
Tonight's production show is What the World Needs Now and we'll probably finish the evening listening to Jere Ring on the piano. Captain D says the next 28 hours or so will be fairly gentle, and then we'll have a rockier third day at sea but that the last two days might get quite rough. He's already hinting, in that way he does, that getting into Bermuda might be in question. And if it's a miss, I feel confident he'll at least try to get us somewhere else (Princess Cays?) for a day before we reach Fort Lauderdale. We are getting closer to a beach by the minute, and we can't wait.