Island of Madeira, Portugal
From the bow of our ship the twinkling lights of Madeira were a welcome sight. Our pilot arrived in a powerful boat, and we were off, into the enclosed bay of Funchal, the capital of the Island of Madeira. The sun peeked through the morning clouds, promising us a lovely day in this island, probably discovered by the Genoese in 1351, as it appears in a map published by these people. But it was Portugal that claimed this group of islands in 1418. This island is but a mere dot in the Atlantic Ocean, 600 km from Morocco and almost 1000 km from Lisbon.
The island is also known as “Island of Flowers,” and really makes its name. We had breakfast and immediately after set out to visit the capital, Funchal. On a Saturday morning like this, we had the town to ourselves and to the bells of the cathedral, which we visited. This lovely building was built with taxes from “white gold,” or sugar, which was so heavily planted on the island. The roof is built of local wood and ivory! From here we visited the Museum of Sacred Art and the most important building from so many points of view: the local market. It was a riot of colors and smells and tastes, because as soon as we approached a fruit vendor, we were offered small pieces of the so many different tropical fruit planted on the island. Foremost among these were the Mexican cheese fruit, the tree tomato, a huge variety of passion fruits of drastically different colors and forms, and the cherimola from the New World.
Ladies dressed in their typical red clothes and funny, pointed hats showed off their flowers. Naked ladies (belladonna amaryllis), bird of paradise flowers and Nerinas, and bulbs of so many more...
By midday we returned to the ship for lunch, had a free afternoon to peruse the town, and at sunset we were taken up into the mountains to a very original restaurant. During our meal we had the entertainment of Madeira’s foremost Fado singer with two men with guitars.
As we wended our way down the mountain, back to the port, we had an incredible view of the lights of the city!
From the bow of our ship the twinkling lights of Madeira were a welcome sight. Our pilot arrived in a powerful boat, and we were off, into the enclosed bay of Funchal, the capital of the Island of Madeira. The sun peeked through the morning clouds, promising us a lovely day in this island, probably discovered by the Genoese in 1351, as it appears in a map published by these people. But it was Portugal that claimed this group of islands in 1418. This island is but a mere dot in the Atlantic Ocean, 600 km from Morocco and almost 1000 km from Lisbon.
The island is also known as “Island of Flowers,” and really makes its name. We had breakfast and immediately after set out to visit the capital, Funchal. On a Saturday morning like this, we had the town to ourselves and to the bells of the cathedral, which we visited. This lovely building was built with taxes from “white gold,” or sugar, which was so heavily planted on the island. The roof is built of local wood and ivory! From here we visited the Museum of Sacred Art and the most important building from so many points of view: the local market. It was a riot of colors and smells and tastes, because as soon as we approached a fruit vendor, we were offered small pieces of the so many different tropical fruit planted on the island. Foremost among these were the Mexican cheese fruit, the tree tomato, a huge variety of passion fruits of drastically different colors and forms, and the cherimola from the New World.
Ladies dressed in their typical red clothes and funny, pointed hats showed off their flowers. Naked ladies (belladonna amaryllis), bird of paradise flowers and Nerinas, and bulbs of so many more...
By midday we returned to the ship for lunch, had a free afternoon to peruse the town, and at sunset we were taken up into the mountains to a very original restaurant. During our meal we had the entertainment of Madeira’s foremost Fado singer with two men with guitars.
As we wended our way down the mountain, back to the port, we had an incredible view of the lights of the city!
