Magical Madeira

After travelling 700 miles from Cádiz to Funchal, Madeira, we arrived as the sun was peeking above the sea. Today’s weather looked ominous as we prepared to dock, but the sea had truly calmed.

Janet and I have never visited this island so we were really excited to explore and discover this rock in the ocean. Funchal, to our surprise, is a densely populated city clinging to the side of hills overlooking the sea.

Standing on the balcony as we docked, we quickly realized that we would be experiencing a wicked ride on our bus excursion today.

Hairpin turns, steep inclines, and long drop offs would definitely be on the agenda for our excursion. Tom had already decided before exiting the ship to be polite and offer Janet the window seat. We chose for the day’s adventure “Scenic Villages and Costal Views”. It was our hope to escape the large city of Funchal and enjoy the countryside. 

I am not sure if we were getting used to the disembarkation process or the NCL crew was getting better at getting us off the ship, but it seemed less painful than any day before. We headed to our bus where our driver greeted us with a smile and handed us wipes to clean our hands. With all passengers onboard, a confirming head count, and tickets collected, we began the exploration of this beautiful island located 350 miles off the coast of Morocco.

Camara de Lobos would be our first stop. It is a small fishing village nestled in a cove and a favorite place for artists to capture its beauty. The multi-color boats, sharp rock formations, and white houses with the red roofs all lend themselves to be captured on some kind of media. Whether it be canvas, film, or digital, there is no doubt that the beauty of this seaside village has been documented by many. Not sure it has ever been accurately captured, here is our attempt to highlight the beauty.

Tom saw someone he thought he recognized sitting in front of a small hotel painting the harbor. He chatted with the man because he will talk to anybody before he realized the man was stone deaf. Seriously, the town of Camara de Lobos was one of Sir Winston Churchill's favorite places to unwind and do something he loved - to paint.

Over the years in our travels to Europe, especially Italy and Spain, we have noticed something about Sundays. The beautiful churches fill up with women and children, while the men head to the town square to hang out with friends. Madeira is no different. The early morning Mass in the beautiful church on the hill had just ended.  Ladies were leading the children home, while down the hill in the harbor, the men crowded around tables playing cards and smoking.

The next stop of the day would offer some amazing views of the countryside. First, we must climb to get there. It appeared almost every piece of useable land, and a lot of the land that was un-useable, was supporting some type of agriculture function. The views from the bus were spectacular, and Tom was very pleased he was a gentleman and allowed Janet to enjoy the window views. We wound around vineyards, banana orchids, flowers of every color, and rock walls protecting home gardens as we continued to climb. The island’s beauty cannot be captured by a camera lens, or portable telephone with a camera.

When we finally reached a flat section of road, the bus stopped and then started backing up cutting his wheels like we going over the cliff. This was very UNGOOD!  We quickly realized that we had reached our next stop and were about to try a potion that Madeiran fisherman like to drink to fortify the soul. It is a concoction made from local rum (rhum) with honey, lemon and other citrus flavors known as Poncha. A free sample table was set up as a gentleman poured fast furious to our group. Folks were downing them as quick as he could fill the glasses. I think most drank because it was free, some maybe because they liked it, and in Tom’s case it was because the time had come to get back on the bus and climb higher on the narrow roads.

It was at this roadside pitstop where one of the funniest things we have ever experienced occurred. An older woman than us (+70) took a sip of the Poncha licked her lips, and looking straight at Janet said, “I have never had a sip of alcohol in my life” and after a short pause “I wonder why I waited so long”. She requested us to take a picture of her and the empty glass of Poncha so she could share with her children. She reciprocated by taking a shot of us. Standing on that overlook 1000 feet above the sea, I could not help to wonder what inspired her to just give it go and down this citrus potion. Getting back on the bus, we noticed she was carrying a bag with a small bottle of Poncha. The driver appropriately put the bus in forward and we began to climb once again.

Reaching the top of our journey, we arrived at Cabo Girao. This sea cliff happens to be the highest in Europe and we were told that it was the second highest in the world. Providing infinite views of the sea from 1900 feet, we walked to the edge. Guess what! They have one of those glass platforms!  If one is foolish enough, they can challenge their fear of heights.

For those that have followed our blogs in the past, you may remember that Tom made it across the one-mile-high bridge at Grandfather Mountain earlier in the year. Yes, there were a few small children he stepped on or pushed aside as they wanted to jump and play games on the bridge, but he made it. The sheerness of this cliff made it a whole new challenge. He was not as confident about standing on a piece of glass with 60 people he did not know. Sticking his camera over the wall revealed the view below.

Janet, on the other hand, marched out on the viewing platform like she was going to take a walk on the beach… well I guess she was, but the beach was 1900 feet below. After some serious soul searching and a break when very few people were on the platform, Tom did it! Ripping off his mask to insure he had enough oxygen, he smiled and then told Janet, “Take the damn picture… please” and then got off quickly. Tom did not make it to viewing rail, but was extremely pleased with himself.

If you look at the picture carefully, notice Tom kept one foot on the support beam. If he heard a crack, he wanted to make sure something was solid under him, like he would be of sound mind to actually straddle the beam and crawl back to terra firma. Janet comfortably moved all around the platform. In fact, she may have been trying to capture a picture of the New York Skyline as she leaned over the edge. The view truly was endless and Janet could have stood there for another hour, but Tom was ready to descend down to sea level.

Our last stop of the day was another seaside town. The town of Ribeira Brava is much larger than the fishing village of Camara de Lobos. The bus parked at the mouth of the river that runs through the middle of the town and empties into the ocean.

Ribeira Brava translates as “Wild River”. Today the waterway was peaceful, and being Sunday so was the town. The streets were quiet with a few shops open. A nativity scene with life size figures was being setup in the park at the end of the river. Santa was spotted checking in on the progress as Mary and Joseph stood in waiting for the big day less than a month away.

We walked around poking our heads in different shops. Of course, it did not take long for Tom to gravitate towards the wine section of the market.

We slowly strolled back towards the rendezvous point for the bus. The streets were narrow and fairly quiet. Signs of Christmas were everywhere.

As we passed the church, we noticed that Mass was ongoing. Standing in the back quietly, we listened and watched the priest while mentally translating the words from Portuguese to English. Not knowing a word of Portuguese did not encumber us in this translation. The Mass is a Mass no matter the language it is celebrated in.

Boarding the bus and heading out of town, this scene of two men fishing caught both of our eyes. Snapping almost identical pictures, we just could not resist adding a caption to the photograph for this amazing Sunday in Madeira.

The bus ride back to Funchal flew by as the guide told us more about the traditions, history, and foods of these islands. More than once she talked of the delicacy of the fish that is almost only found in the deep waters surrounding Madeira. This black fish is named the scabbard fish and lives in depths greater than 400 feet. Normally, these fish are caught between 800 and 1000 feet. The way she described the scabbard was that if you saw the fish you would not want to eat it, but the meat of the fish is very white and sweet. We now had two things to do – 1) Find one for lunch, 2) Google to see what they look like.

The driver of our excursion was nice enough to let us off in downtown Funchal instead of returning to the ship. The city was much more alive than the seaside villages, but was still quiet with very few shops open. We stopped in a few and found to people extremely friendly, and not pushy. There were many souvenirs of the island available, but the ones we really liked were made of cork. In fact, a few of those items made it back to the ship for Christmas presents. It was pushing two o’clock and our stomachs were beginning to growl. We were in search of a restaurant when by chance, we bumped into the gang, who had just sat down for lunch at an outdoor restaurant. We joined in and were extremely pleased to see on the daily menu board, Scabbard Fish Filet Sandwich “bolo do caco”.  We were glad to be able to follow the tour guide’s instructions “try it before you see what it looks like”. The fish came and as she had advertised the meat was flakey white and extremely sweet. Accompanied by a lovely rosé, we had a wonderful lunch. There was even music from a street player that made the moment even more special. 

However, the highlight of the lunch was when Andy found a dark beer on the menu. For some reason unbeknownst to anyone we asked, there was no dark beer on the ship. Not even in the Irish Pub onboard. I am not sure it was the best dark beer he ever had, but it hit the spot that day. Sally and Richard enjoyed some Madeira, which is the wine that the island is known for. Madeira, the wine, played a major role in the history of the United States. It was the libation of choice of our founding fathers when they took part in honorable treason and drafted the Declaration of Independence. BTW – for history buffs, the book “Honorable Treason” is a very interesting read. Of course, with a glass of Madeira close by.

We continued to wander the streets and enjoy the city before heading back to the ship. Walking along the sea wall, we could see the Epic and it appeared only a short distance away, if you could walk on water.

We would have to walk parallel with the ship for quite a distance before turning back to the ship at the entrance to dock. Looking back on where we started from provided us a great view of the city.

One of the worst things about a cruise is that there never seems to be enough time on land to truly enjoy a place. On the other hand, it is a great way to discover new places and put them on a list to return. Madeira is one of those places we would like to return and explore.

As we got closer to the Epic, we could hear all sorts of music and something happening at the entrance of the ship. Tom’s knee was hurting and all he wanted to do is get on the ship, but we had to smile to see the crew dancing and singing to greet us as we had just finished the Boston Marathon. They were handing out wet wash clothes and water, both of which were gladly accepted.

Back on board we began getting ready for the night’s activities when the ship began to move. We both went out on the balcony to say good bye to Madeira an island that had provided us with a wonderful day. Watching the island go by we suddenly realized that it would be the last land we would see for 5 days. Our transatlantic adventure was truly going to begin.

Oh yeah, the scabbard fish! The guide was right! The fish is extremely ugly and it is mean looking! Not sure we would have eaten it if we saw it first.