Funchal, Madeira

The sail out of Gibraltar was inspiring. The passage through the Straits of Gibraltar once again gave us a sense of the strategic importance of this area and why it must always be open to all who choose to travel through in peace and harmony. Then we were in the Atlantic and the fact that we were on our way home really sunk in. This has been an amazing journey, one we will never forget, but we are really ready to see our family and be home. The last stop before we begin our voyage westward was Funchal, Madeira. Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago off the west coast of Africa. It is composed of 5 islands, the largest and most populated is also called Madeira. Funchal, the capital city of Madeira, is a sleepy resort town with a European attitude and a Portuguese history. The island is lush with beautiful and colorful exotic flowers growing everywhere. The town is clean and well maintained and the people very friendly. We took a lovely cable car up to the highest point to an area called Monte. The views were impressive but sadly, no monkeys!! In the old days, the inhabitants got off the peak by sliding down the steep and winding streets on toboggans. These are large wicker basket-like things on runners. There is a seat that holds two people inside and as you slide down the streets, two men ride along and use their feet or turn the basket sideways to keep you from careening down too fast. Today, this “ride” is a tourist attraction and of course we did it!! The clever Madeirans now even have someone along the route who takes you photo and then what do you know – a printed glossy souvenir photo is available for purchase at the end of the ride!! Of course, the men guiding your basket tip their straw hats and expect you to put a donation inside also! Regardless, the experience was fun and not to be missed. Another stop in Madeira is to sample the Madeira wine. We did that also but did not find the taste at all to our liking so no souvenir wine items were purchased at this stop. We spent the rest of the day walking around the town since we didn’t want to get back to the ship until right before we sailed. Madeira was the last stop before 5 sea days so once we boarded that was it for land for awhile until Bermuda. In Funchal, we found an open air flower market and a fish market used by the locals. We ate at an outdoor café and of course had the local brew. (I sampled the local ice cream also which didn’t mix well with the beer!) It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Once back on board we watched as the ship sailed out of the port of Madeira. Now we were headed directly west on a rhumb line to Bermuda. A rhumb line is a nautical term for a straight line route from one point to another which crosses the longitudes at the same angle. As I write this we are now about halfway across the line, so you should be able to locate us on a map if you’re so inclined.