October 9 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

The sky was sunny with thin wispy clouds, temperature was 20° C and there was a bit of wind. Our geographic location is 32°38.54 N and 16°54.44 W. The water is calm. There was a possibility of showers in the morning. There were some grey clouds, but we had no rain.

The ship docked more than two hours early in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Even though this island is in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco and far from Portugal, it is in the same time zone as mainland Portugal and England, which is also ship’s time. On the original itinerary 8 a.m. was docking time, but due to engine maintenance issues, the docking time was changed to 10:30 a.m.

We climbed the stairs to Deck 14 to the Solarium, which is adults only, for its breakfast buffet. After breakfast, we walked the Deck 15 track for 40 minutes, before going down to Deck 4 for cappuccinos in the Diamond Club which we took back to the stateroom. In the harbour there were many people on colourful paddleboards and kayaks. The Funchal houses and buildings are crammed onto the hillside amongst trees. From the ship a fortress is visible. There was a Portuguese naval ship docked nearby.

We tried one last time before the 24 hour access ended and there was no improvement. The system would not even allow the link to work for Wi-Fi and we have the “premium” access. Even at 3 a.m. this morning, only yesterday’s text could be uploaded. The ship’s Internet connection is via satellite, which is not that great and from past experience, this is usual no matter which cruise line you are on. Royal Caribbean is gradually upgrading its Wi-Fi to a new satellite but this ship has not received the upgrade yet.

We met the group for Taste of Madeira, which is a panoramic drive, in the Royal Theater at 10:45. There were three busses of about 40 passengers each. The theater was arranged again with groups sitting together. It was announced in the theater that Portugal had lifted its mandatory face mask rule yesterday. Steps so far 6,429

Our driver was Salino and the guide was Darlene. Madeira is pronounced Ma day rah, with a rolled “r”. It means wooded in English. The island is very hilly and is still covered in trees. The island is volcanic in origin and the volcano last erupted over 6,000 years ago. To be extinct a volcano has to have erupted over 12,000 years ago. The city Funchal means fennel in English. From the pier we drove into the Funchal passing the steep cliff of this volcanic island which is an autonomous region of Portugal. It has its own local assembly, has six seats in the Portuguese parliament and two seats on the European parliament.

We drove past the Pestana Casino Park Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Funchal. From the dock, Pestana can be seen perched at the top of a steep at least 100 meter high cliff. The first hotel was built in 1891. It is pink and still in use today. Funchal is a city of gardens. Explorers either going south to Africa, India or the Far East would drop off botanical plants and gardens were created around the city.

Portuguese Prince Henry the navigator rediscovered the islands of Madeira in 1419, there were no inhabitants. There is archeological evidence that the Vikings visited the islands in the 9^th and 10^th century, but it was forgotten. The eldest son of Christopher Columbus was born in Funchal. Madeira’s first economy was largely agriculture and fish, the occupations of the immigrants from northern or southern Portugal. Sugar cane was a valuable commodity in the 1500s to sell to Europe, it was considered white gold in the middle ages. In Madeira, it was used to make white rum. Fishing is still a livelihood and the sea deepens quickly. The main fish is Black Scabbard which lives at depths of 600 to 1,000 meters and looks more like an eel. In the late 1600s, Brazil took over sugar cane production as many Madeira natives moved there. The farmers switched to grape vines which can be seen on land not producing bananas. Over 22,000 tons of bananas are exported each year. It takes 14 to 16 months for a seedling to grow and produce the fruit. Madeira’s bananas have to be 14 centimeters long to export and they are top quality to make up for the lack of quantity. There are 14 varieties grown but only one variety is exported. The closer to the water the banana is grown the sweeter it is.

On the way to the first stop, the Pico dor Barcelos viewpoint, we passed bananas plants (They are not classified as trees) growing in small one acre or larger yards. We also saw grapevines.

At Pico dor Barcelos viewpoint, there was a magnificent view of the Bay of Funchal and the ship. The red tile roofs of the houses mixed with the greenery of the banana plants and vineyards. Where there were no houses there were terraces carved in the hillside for vineyards, which are south facing. Because of the volcanic soils, the wine of Madeira is quite acidic. The exported wine can have an alcohol content of between 19 and 22 percent.

At Pico de Torro viewpoint, there was another vista and we could see a small harbour with sailboats in it at the shoreline below. The island has many natural springs in the north and streams. The water is sent to the south side in open levandas (small canals). There are many deep ravines, their sides covered in vegetation.

The next stop was for wine and cheese at the hotel Adega da Quinta. The streets were a bit of a challenge for the big bus. Many times it had to navigate roundabouts. There was one below the hotel. We entered through their garden. We were treated to Madeira wine and cheeses. This was a 45 minute stop.

The final stop was Cabo Girão viewpoint. Girão means spin in Portuguese and at this point the sea currents are quite strong and the ancient ships would have to turn around and go back to Funchal. There is a glass skywalk that is 589 meters above the shoreline. This was a 30 minute stop for sightseeing and there was a nice souvenir shop and a café. We bought a piece of Madeira cheesecake to share, a bottle of Madeiran Coral Stout and a Madeiran cocktail called Poncha which is a mixture of orange juice, lemon juice, honey and white rum. There was a gentle breeze and the temperature was about 25° C. When we returned to the port the ship’s thermometer read 26° C.

The return route went through a different part of the main area of Funchal. The tunnels and roads were constructed in the 1980s to increase tourism and make travel form rural areas easier to access Funchal. The airport runway was more than doubled to allow larger airplanes to land. It was extended 2,700 meters over the sea. The airport was built in 1964 and is on the east side of Madeira. Today jobs directly related to tourism are 27%.

Afternoon tea was imported to England during the reign of Charles II when he married a Portuguese princess who brought the Portuguese idea of afternoon tea to England.

The ship was underway before 5 p.m. Anthem will not be docking until around noon tomorrow in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. There was just us and Sue and John at our table for six. We had a good time and the food was good again tonight.

After dinner the Two70° venue featured a virtual concert on the screens – Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns. We had remembered our earplugs, since most venues play their music way too loud for us. We stayed for 15 minutes, but wanted to see the Variety Show at the other end of Deck 5 at the Royal Theatre in the balcony. The Variety Show featured the Jack Pack quartet which leaves the ship tomorrow in Lanzarote. Once it ended, we walked back using the outside deck on 5, to avoid the people exiting the show and going to Two70° for the Beach Party with music by the band The Dukes. There is a small dance floor, that already had 25 people dancing, so we left. We went down to Deck 3 to the Music Hall for a drink and to listen to the Latin music band, Marakas, and danced a cha-cha before calling it a night.

Total steps 14,979