Day 112 - Wednesday April 19 Funchal, Madeira

Funchal photos
position at 7:15am: N35 04.33 latitude W9 00.47 longitude
(Funchal, Madeira, Spain)
temperature: 62F, mostly sunny
distance since FLL: 35,955 miles
Forgot to say that yesterday Debbie had her favorite Voyager breakfast of 2 chocolate croissants and a bowl of raspberries. So, today no chocolate croissants. Today Clay had Rice Krispies. Debbie had Smacks and we both had peanut butter toast. It was just that kind of day. We arrived here about 6am and just sat offshore and waited for either a pilot of a dock spot or something. We did dock right on time but not before. It was still dark at 8am when we were docking. We docked on the starboard side, but that side just had a view of the ocean and the pier. We had a view of the city of Funchal.
So, we have been here before. The last time we were here we went out in the countryside for a drive up mountains and along coastlines and to the 2nd highest sea cliff in the world and also did the Mercado and a Madeira wine tasting. So, today we thought we would just do the small, silly touristy things. We took the RSSC shuttle bus (which was not appreciated by the taxi drivers on the dock) to the bottom station of the cable car line to Monte. The first shuttle left at 8:30am and we were on it. Our guide book info said the cable cars ran from dawn to dusk. Not quite. The cable cars did not start until 9:30am and we did not notice when they stop. So, we walked about 5 minutes over to the Mercado dos Lavradores and used the ATM in front and then strolled through the shops. We got some bolo de mel (honey cake) and some candy. We tasted some strange fruits. We took lots of pictures and walked through all the markets there including the big fish market. Clay saw some local beer called Coral but Debbie told him that she did not want to have to carry that all day and to wait and buy it on the way back to the ship. As it turned out, we did not see any beer for sale on the way back and Clay was thinking that he missed his opportunity and Debbie had carried that cake and candy anyway...
We were back to the cable station around 10am. We went up in a car to ourselves. They say the ride lasts 9 minutes and goes to an altitude of 1600 ft. It seemed like a lot longer! It was very scenic. They took a picture of us before the doors closed, unfortunately Bob was already on the seat back facing forward and did not get into the picture. They sold it to us plus a DVD on Madeira for 10 Euros when we reached the top. How can you resist? The cable car ride itself for one-way was 9.50 Euros pp. Then we walked around on the narrow stone streets for a while on our way to the Nossa Senhora do Monte church. Charles I of Austria, the last of the Hapsburgs emporers was exiled and died here and is entombed in this church. The church was built in 1818 replacing a 15th century church that was destroyed by an earthquake. The church was surrounded by stone paths with the most amazing gardens. We wandered for quite a while before going down to the sledge line. Sledges or toboggans are big wicker seats on wooden runners that 2 people can sit in and are steered by 2 men with ropes running/riding behind to steer and brake. The sledges take you about half way back down the mountain. It is a 2km downhill thrill ride. Debbie screamed the whole way down. The man on the back right did not like it. He kept telling her, no problem, don't worry, its ok. That just made it worse. She would scream, oh that's always the last thing anyone says before you die. The problem may have been that the sledge was unbalanced because Clay weighs a lot more than Debbie and his side kept veering to the downhill side. We kept thinking it would either tip over on a curve since we were going sideways or that it would turn all the way around and we would be going backwards and die. We survived. It was an adrenal rush though. There was a little boy from the ship 2 sledges behind us and he said it wasn't scary at all. There you go. Everything is a matter of perspective. (The cost for 2 people in one sledge was 25 Euros.) When we got out of the sledge there was a man there to see us a photo of us in the sledge at the top as we were just taking off. Debbie had seen the guy there and waved at him thinking he was just one of the tourists standing around. Their photo was also 10 Euros and we bought it. These 2 pictures are the only ones taken of us by professional photographers in which we do not have our eyes shut! There were some shopping stalls set up at the end of the sledge run. Debbie had always regretted not buying a cotton sweater the last time she was here and she found a shell and cardigan set there and we bought it. There was a line of taxis there but we thought the walk would be scenic and all downhill, so we declined and walked. It was very scenic and straight downhill. If our calves were aching from walking down the hills in Ronda, we will be paralyzed later tonight or tomorrow morning. We got all the way down to the Cathedral just in time to be turned away after we stepped inside. They close for the mid-day. So, we walked on down through some pedestrian areas and on back to the ship. Just before the dock entrance, there are some stone stairs and we went up. This was the Forte Sao Jose dating from 1419. It was very tiny and covered with lizards. Eek! We made a small donation and climbed the stairs all the way to the top and just took in the waterfront views. The water was an amazing color of blue. Then we headed back to the ship hoping for a quick sandwich before our Farewell Soiree. We rode the elevator when we got back on the ship and Don Collins was at the control panel. He pushed 7 for us like he knew where we lived. He had a big grin on his face when the doors opened and he saw us there. He usually greets us by name but this time we just got the grin and the 7 pushed. The other people on the elevator got out and his grin got bigger. The doors opened again and just before Don stepped out, he turned around and said, I hope you're thirsty. Clay said he was and had missed getting one and really needed a beer. Don laughed as the door closed. Hmmm... So, we hurried on to the cabin and guess what? A six-pack of Coral beer cans in a big bucket of ice! YEAH!!! Thank yous to Laurens and Don. Clay took a cold beer up to lunch.
Our tickets said to be on the pier at 1:50pm. So, Debbie changed from the sweater that proved to be too warm this afternoon and into a blouse and we went up to the Pool Deck to get a quick sandwich. Clay went back by the cabin to take another beer for the bus ride. It turned out the bus ride was only about 5 minutes long. It took longer to load the bus! The letter inviting us to the Farewell Soiree states that it will be cocktails and canapes. It was pretty specific. They served a full 3 course meal and no one could eat it! Everyone had eaten lunch earlier and then when we arrived to drinks and tapas-like snacks. We all sat at our table and ate all the snacks while they kept pouring wine. We were told that the live entertainment of Madeirean folk music and dancing would begin at 3pm. Well, that was about the time they cleared our appetizer plates and started bringing out shrimp, followed by a fried fish course. Then some kind of stewed goat meat or pork. It was tough and we thought it tasted like cabrito, but another woman swore it was pork. We don't think so though. Then chicken skewers, then beef skewers. At this point we were just waving them off so we don't know what else they brought out. By this time half of the tables had already left to stroll the gardens or to return to the ship after an hour of drinking and snacks. The last thing they brought out while we stayed at the table was a big tray of fruits. We had some before we left. Clay had a few pieces of the beef skewer and said it was the best thing they had served, but few people had any. We went out to see the gardens before catching a bus back and they had tables covered with huge steel pans of those skewers and were still grilling them. There were fewer than 50 people still inside the tent. It was an enormous amount of food and no one had been told that they were serving a full meal so we all came full and the food was just wasted. You could tell the servers wondered what was wrong with us that we would come and sit at these dining tables in this huge elegant white tent and then refuse their food. We can only hope that someone explains the miscommunication to them and they don't just think we were rude or afraid to eat their cooking or something. It was unfortunate. It would have been a very nice and filling meal if we had known. As it happened it was just confusing and uncomfortable for us as well as for them. Too bad. The gardens which were highly touted were probably the least impressive we have seen in Funchal so it was just as well that the whole thing really took place in an enclosed tent.
We came back to the dock about 4:30pm. We were quite possibly drunk. Debbie blew kisses to Laurens as he tried to hide. We profusely thanked him. Then we went walking down the pier to the dockside shops looking for some of those funny Madeirean hats that the performers were wearing. On the way, we saw Don sitting in a bar with about a half-gallon tankard of beer in front of him. It looked like a small pitcher of beer but it was an individual serving. He laughed and pointed at us when we came by. Debbie thanked him too. He asked if Clay liked it. Clay said he did like and Don was surprised that he had a chance to try it. We told him that he took one to lunch and took one on the bus. Don said that well he liked Coral too and he had to come down and taste it after the big delivery to Clay. Debbie cracked up and pointed to the giant mug and asked, Taste it?! Don laughed and said yeah well. We bought our hats and some T-shirts and some more candy to spend all our Euros. Then we had our pictures taken in the silly hats in front of the ship and in front of the town.
Clay sat on the balcony and drank a couple of more beers while we waited to sail. We think that Madeira may be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. It is so full of flowers and fruit. There is not a couple of square feet open anywhere that is not gardened. We saw Calla lilies growing wild in a raving below the cable car. People have bananas growing in their backyards. It is just an amazing and scenic place. We love Madeira.
In other news, we were leaving the ship as Capt. Dag was and thinking he was just going ashore for the day as we were, Debbie asked him what he was doing today. It turns out that the Code Blue yesterday to the Constellation Theater was a woman who had fallen and broken her hip. Capt. Dag was going out to see her off the ship to the hospital. There was an ambulance waiting out on the dock. He was sad about it, of course, it was sad news. That is a bad injury and she will have to be treated either here or somewhere else that she gets by some means other than a 5-day sailing across the Atlantic. That is too bad. As we walked back to the ship in the early afternoon, another ambulance came down to the pier with lights flashing and by the time we came back down from the small fort we had climbed it was leaving still with lights flashing. We don't know what else happened or if the ambulance was going to another ship on the pier.
We met another of our journal readers on the aft stairs this morning. He said he has been reading the blog since day one and that he was going to look for us when he got onboard. He said he left his cabin this morning and saw our names on the door and realized he was directly across the hall. These encounters are just too funny. Hi Bill.
It is Country Club Casual tonight. Good. We went down to Compass Rose because Debbie wanted to try the lasagna again. Fortunately, it was the good lasagna she like the first time they had it and not the Tex-Mex filling in lasagna noodles again. We each only had one course because we were stuffed and frankly, a little drunk. Debbie wants to stay up tonight to see the PGT show, Poetry in Motion. This will be the second time they have performed it and the first time there were raves in gym the next morning, so Debbie wants to see this one. We have another half-hour to go before the show starts. It is still daylight out! We move the clocks back another hour tonight and again tomorrow night. Still moving back is better than moving forward! Thus begins the long 5 day sail across the Atlantic. We will keep our fingers crossed that it does not get any rougher than it is right now. (And calmer would be an even better wish!) It will soon be time to get pack and go. It has been a long time and it will be hard to pack and leave and we will miss being here, but we will be glad to get back home and to everything else that we love everyday.
Funchal photos