Day 50 ~ Funchal, Madeira

February 28, 2022

64 degrees, gentle breeze, a break from rough seas...in other words ~ perfect!  

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY ~ Footloose

The bottom portion of the sail is called the "foot." If it is not secured, it is "footloose" and dances randomly in the wind.

As you can see, even though the Madeirians are going maskless, we are still wearing the hateful things. It's the price we pay to make sure the Viking Star maintains its zero case count and makes it more likely we will be allowed to make all our scheduled ports of call. 

We were all footloose this morning! The captain granted us "independent exploration," which means we didn't have to stick with a Viking tour. And fortunately Funchal, Madeira, Portugal is a perfect place to wander. The ship provided a shuttle service to the walking plaza in the center of town where they dropped us off.  

What a lovely, clean, very European-flavored city. In fact, the inhabitants consider themselves European, referring to Portugal as "the mainland," much as Hawaiian's describe the 48 contiguous states. There was no graffiti, angry or otherwise. The homes and businesses were well-tended. People were going about their business as if the world was a normal place. 

The flowering trees are Africa Tulip Trees.

Our route took us to the Honario de Abertura da Catedral, a baroquely beautiful cathedral. (BTW, I learned on this trip that the only thing it takes to make a church a cathedral is to have the congregation ministered to by a bishop instead of a priest.)

This is the left side of the choir in the cathedral. There are seats for only 22 singers, 11 on each side beneath the ornate bas relief statues. (To my friends in choir back home, how'd you like to sing with these guys looking over your shoulders?)

The cathedral was laid out in the typical cross pattern, with alcoves along each long side filled with statuary and small spaces to pray. Everywhere you looked, it was heavily decorated. Sometimes, it becomes overwhelming, so I start to "look small." When I did, I discovered this exquisite little cherub on the base of one of the ornate silver candle stands. (To give you a sense of perspective, the stand was taller than my head.)

I sat for a few minutes, drinking in the sense of the place. Sacred spaces always fascinate me. There's something special about locations we set aside as unique places to connect with the Divine, places that have been consecrated by years, sometimes centuries or even milenia, of songs of praise, of tearful prayers, of couples uniting in  marriage, of the bereaved leaving their loved ones in the arms of God. All the peace and love and forgiveness humanity longs for seems to gather in sacred spaces. 

After visiting the cathedral, we popped into a pharmacy to pick up some Tylenol. Fortunately the druggist spoke a little English and sold me something that is like Tylenol, and we discovered that our credit card will work while we're out of the country. 

Kristy and her new tree friend

We strolled back to the shuttle pick up spot with Kristy and Dave, pausing to wander through a garden that won an award in 2009. One of the gardeners saw us looking at a misshapen tree and leaned over to give it a hug, wordlessly inviting us to come talk to him about it.

High up in the bare branches, there were avocado shaped pods that opened to reveal white tufts of cottony fibers. Our afternoon tour guide told us these were kapock (?) trees and the fibers are used in lifejackets.  

In the afternoon, we took the included Viking tour, and once again, it did not disappoint. We left the city to explore the almost surreal countryside. The topography of Madeira is mostly vertical, but that hasn't stopped the industrious populace from terracing and cultivating every square foot of available land. Their top export crop is bananas, but their market is internal to the Portuguese mainland. 

This must have been what Cape Verde looked like in the past when it had more rain. We saw evidence of rocked terraces, but no crops on the hillsides there.

 

The homes are built on the sheer faces of the ancient volcanic slopes as well. It's not unusual to have the garage on top of the house with easy access to the switchback roads for the vehicles and stairs to take the occupants down to their living quarters. 

Our first stop was at Quinta Grande. At 1800 feet, it's the second tallest sea cliff in the world. We hiked down to the observation platform and marveled at the incredible views! In the distance, as shadowy blue smudges, we were able to make out the two uninhabited islands in this chain. Even though the main island had abundant fresh water, there's not enough rainfall to support human life on the other hunks of rock, but a colony of Monk Seals is pleased to call them home. 

We headed back into the suburbs of Funchal, the island's capital for a chance to try the local drink--poncha! Potent and delicious, it's made of one part honey, one part lemon, two parts agricultural rum. It was a pleasure to sit outside on a flower bedecked terrace and enjoy views of this prosperous and peaceful place. 

Love the red tile roofs and fresh whitewashed houses!

It was a beautiful day, filled with the wonder of discovery and the joy of being together!

 Here's the DH's photo montage. As always, if you're reading this blog via FollowIt! be sure to click on the title of this post. You'll be taken to the blog where the Youtube vid will be available. Sorry it doesn't come through on FollowIt!

More soon!