We awoke to a wet and miserable day. Madeira is the last place we would have expected bad weather. Never mind, we just made the most of it. First we had our cabin Communion. There was no service organised on board. Breakfast was much as usual though I had paté with my roll today! We took the shuttle bus into Funchal and took a short walk around the town. We visited the cathedral which was rather dark and dreary rather like the weather. The pavements were all mosaics of black and white tiles. They were very uneven and slippery because of the rain, so walking was somewhat hazardous. We made our way back to the shuttle bus stop. Back at the ship we had a cup of tea/coffee then went up on the open deck to view the bay which nestles below the natural amphitheatre which Funchal forms around it. The two photos below almost blend into a panoramic view. You can see the clouds over the mountains!
Madeira is a very hilly island and use is made of every bit of land by terracing for farming and by building houses up on the hillsides as far as possible. The greatest concentration of population is in Funchal being 130,000.
At 1.30 we boarded our coach for the afternoon tour to the west of the island. Our Guide who was called Paula was extremely good, a minefield of information. If only I could remember a tiny part of what she told us!
We went to a viewpoint, but it was raining so much I did not venture out of the coach, just took the picture to the left through the window. Some brave souls did get off the coach! The little dog was running round the parapet, sometimes outside the railings! There was a view but it was rather hazy.
Then on to the top of Cabo Girao which is the second highest seacliff in the world and the highest in Europe. But alas, alack, all we could see was mist and clouds! (Above right) We travelled on seeing the countryside, the terracing and the hill dwellings.
There is quite a variety of produce. Most of it is for the home market though there are some exports. We saw, bananas, sugar cane, grape vines, cabbages and other vegetables. There did not seem to be much citrus fruit. We did see capok and avacado trees and various flowering trees, jacaranda, mimosa, lots of bougainvillaea, and flowers such as the bird of paradise.
We stopped at another viewpoint where we were able to see the views but whilst there it started to rain heavily and we had to make a bee-line back to the coach.
Now we were leaving the countryside behind and returning to the city. Our last stop was to visit a winery. It was most attractive with huge banana plants in the forecourt.
Inside we were plied with all different kinds of Madeira wines. The 3 year old was the cheapest, price rising with the age of the wine. We didn't buy any there but did get a bottle at the quay-side shop on our return.
After sampling the wines J returned to the coach and I went to explore a nearby park - the park of Santa Catarina. This park was once a cemetery but all the remains and tombs have been moved to the outskirts of the city and this land made into a beautiful public park. St. Catherine's chapel, the oldest on the island, remains. What appears to be a Templar Cross adorns the top. The Portuguese Templar tradition lives on.
From the park one could see across the harbour to our ship. This is the first time I have been in a position to take photos of it. There is a statue of Christopher Columbus in the garden and the flowers were very colourful.
It was too late for tea by the time we got back so we went straight back to the cabin to upload the photos and get ready for dinner. It was a Tropical theme tonight and the waiters and many cruisers were wearing bright tropical shirts. There were garlands of flowers awaiting us at our tables.
Entertainment began with the teaching of tropical dances including the Macarena by Nicky. Déjà Vu did one routine then Philip Hitchcock gave another display of his incredulous magic. On our return to our cabin we watched the next item on CCTV. It was a limbo competition. You'd be surprised at the tactics used to get under the bar!
I carried on working on this report long after J was fast asleep. I didn't quite finish it but did so on Monday afternoon.