Today was our first island day, and the only one in a
Portuguese island. Good thing we took our half hour Portuguese class yesterday!
The scheduled time at port was pretty short—only from 9am to 4:30pm. But based
on the map, that is plenty of time to see all the highlights in Funchal by
foot. There were some tours that went more to the interior of the island to see
some of the wildlife and the tropical mountains, but we opted for exploring the
little town on our own instead.
This decision had the added benefit of allowing us to sleep
in. Which ended up being until about 8:00am when the sun had finally become so
bright as to make the curtains almost superfluous. By the time we got out of
bed and dressed, we were already at the port but the ship had to be inspected
and cleared by the local authorities so none of the passengers had been given
the go ahead to get off yet. Instead, as we soon discovered, they all decided
to wait it out in the dining room. We waited a bit for things to clear out and
the found a two-top table near the window with the perfect vantage point to
watch the sunrise over the village built right up the island mountains. It was
so enchanting to watch that we ended up just sitting and enjoying watch the sun
slowly brighten the mountainside for nearly an hour.
We finally got going and headed off the ship for a day of
exploring. We were given a map by the local tourist authorities and took a look
at some of the options for the day—shopping, eating, even a little Christmas
market. But the one thing that stood out the most was the half-hour long cable
car ride to the top of one of the peaks called Monte. We had seen it advertised
on one of the shore excursions, but weren't sure it was worth the $80 each to
go on the tour so were very glad we would get the opportunity to do it on our
own.
We ambled towards the other side of the village along the
coastline, passing by the marina and over the pebble beaches. I was really
surprised to see that the “pebbles” were more rocks than pebbles—most were
about the size of my fist! Though beautiful, I can see why were discouraged
from trying to sunbathe on these particular beaches! We also got to remember
some of our geography lessons when we saw tetrapods, a unique type of coastal
defense that is usually reserved for volcanic areas (thanks to Scott for his
vast knowledge of coastlines!). Of course, we had to take a picture of Scott
pointing them out. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words in the
classroom. Especially one in which the teacher is being really weird.
When we reached the base of the cable cars, we saw that
there was a Christmas market set up just underneath it. The stalls were mostly
run by locals selling handmade goods. There was a bit of a line for the
tickets, so we decided to check out the stalls while we waited for things to
clear up. There were a lot of fairly typical arts and crafts, and then some
unique things as well. There were some really cool purses made out of recycled
coffee bags! I was very tempted buy on at only €5, but then remembered what
usually happens to all the bags that I buy on a whim while on vacation (hint:
they end up hidden in the closet until my next move!). We did stop at one stall with a woman selling
traditional Portuguese cookies that she made herself using recipes passed down
from her grandmother. She let us have a sample of each flavor, and told us that
the honey and the butter flavors were particular favorites of the Portuguese at
Christmastime. Of course we had to buy those ones!
Finally we made it back to the cable cars where the line had
died down a bit. Each car could fit up to 8 people, and we were paired with a
German couple who weren't very interested in talking. But just as well because
the view was magnificent! I don’t think I've ever seen anything like how the
sun makes the waters sparkle here. It was also very interesting to see the
variety of houses and buildings stuck right into the side of the hills, pretty
much wherever they fit! And the contrast between huge lavish houses with
private pools and three cars right next to a burnt-out shell with no roof and
only blankets to cover the windows was an odd site. We even saw goats grazing
inside one of the abandoned houses!
When we finally reached the top, we were greeted by a woman
trying to sell us a photo of ourselves that she had taken when we first entered
the cable car. It was a very entertaining photo—Scott can give some excellent
side-eye—but in the end we opted out. The road to the left went up and to the
right it went down, so obviously we went left. We passed by a group of men with
(traditional?) hats with “Madeira” written on them standing next to giant
sleds, ready to pull the next willing volunteer all the way down the hill for
only €25! This historical activity, called carreriros do monte in Portuguese,
apparently dates back to the 19th century when the village on the
top of the hill was fairly isolated from the village of Funchal at the bottom.
Local residents would use the toboggans as a quick way to get between the two.
According to the guides, it only takes 15 minutes to be pulling down by the two
runners. We didn't partake, but it was good fun to watch the look of terror on
others’ faces as they began their journeys!
We continued our upward descent to the church of Monte. We entered through the side door and were taken
on a tour of the most elaborate nativity scene ever! Completely constructed, it
was about 9 different rooms showing the whole history of Jesus’ life from birth
until death with life sized mannequins! We had also seen other nativity scenes
on the way up (and would see quite a few
more before the end of the day), so we gather that this a fairly important
Christmas custom for Portuguese, or at least for Madeira-ians(?).
After exploring the church and the nearby square, we noticed
a small pathway of winding stairs that seemed to lead straight to the top of
the hill. Naturally, we followed it. We passed by some beautifully ornate gates
that led to—I can only image—equally ornate estates. I did wonder how any of
the residents of these massive homes managed to get their cars anywhere near
their houses though, because this pathway was at times only one enough for us
to go one at a time. We followed it up to the top where we discovered a huge
abandoned house/ villa/ hotel/ something equally as grand. We stood for a while
and marveled how anyone could just let something so magnificent fall into total
ruin. In the end, we couldn't come up with any good answers. Maybe when we get
back home we can see if we can find it listed on the real estate market—it
would definitely be a good “fixer-upper!”
By the time we reached the square again we were starting to
get hungry so we decided to try some handmade Portuguese garlic bread and some
Maracuya (passion fruit) soda—the official drink of Madeira! We watched as the
baker rolled out fresh batches of garlic bread and lay inside of them long
chorizos. Then, a woman slathered the hot bread with heaps of freshly whipped
garlic butter (yes, more). Um, it was delicious! Like a beautiful marriage of
thick garlic sticks and the pizza all rolled into one. Scott was fairly
impressed as well. More and more I am beginning to think that I should start
researching some jobs in Portugal!
We had intended to walk down the hill, but with the long
winding streets (without sidewalks), we weren't sure if we would be able to
make it back down in time to catch the ship. So we bought another ticket to
ride the cable cars down. The line was pretty long again so we entertained
ourselves in the gift shop while we waited. We even got to try some of
Madeira’s famous wine—100% grown and produced right here on the island! Strong
stuff too—18% alcohol! We figured that would be a good souvenir of the island,
and would go great with our cookies from earlier.
On the way down in the cable car we got paired up with
another couple from the cruise, this time from California. Scott said they
reminded him of his aunt and uncle, who are also from Southern California. They
said that cruising is their preferred method of travel and in fact they have
seen nearly the whole world via cruise ship! They also gave us some advice
about getting teaching jobs in California—“just tell them you’re a math
teacher!” Apparently, one of their friends was trained as an art teacher but
couldn't land a job with that credential so just applied as a math teacher
instead. He has been teaching math in California high schools for over 20 years
now.
Once off the cable cars, we decided to head back towards the
ship but this time via the town. It was totally decked out and ready for
Christmas, complete with plenty of nativity scenes. My favorite part was, of
course, the Christmas train! I was sorely disappointed that it was made specifically
child-sized so I could not fit into the doors to go inside. I settled on taking
my photo in front of the engine. We also watched a troupe of dancers perform
some traditional dances from Madeira. The most interesting part of that was the
instrument that was basically a “tree of bells.” I really can’t think of any
other way to describe it—it looked like a Christmas tree but had little people
dolls holding bells all the way around it. The player would shake it up and
down like a maraca with the beat of the music. I took a video, so hopefully
that will help you to understand my description.
We walked the rest of the way back towards the port,
admiring the old buildings and tile work along the way. When we were also
there, we noticed a very large rock with some stairs spiraling around it. And
up the stairs ran about 4 cats! At the bottom there were another 3 sleeping.
This of course warranted some investigation. We climbed the stairs until we
reached a doorway jutting right out of the rock. A man came out and invited us
in to the “cave” inside of the rock. He handed us a piece of paper and told us
“welcome to the kingdom.”
It turns out that this little rock to the side of the
Madeira port is, in fact, its own sovereign nation! The Principality Islet Pontinha
is officially a separate country, complete with a national flag, national
animal (the cat), and even a national gastronomic specialty (takeaway). The man
told us that all of the cats are adopted by the king of the island and are
therefore royal cats—prince and princesses of the island, as it were. They
don’t have names, just numbers. We were cordially introduced to their royal
highnesses Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen. They cordially ignored us. We got to explore some of the “royal palace,” which had
previously been the ancient Fort of San Jose. You can learn all about this little country on their official website here!
After our royal visit we headed back to the ship where we
took a nap, watched some TV, and freshened up for dinner. We decided to eat in
the smaller of the two main dining rooms this time around, so headed over to
the Garden Restaurant in the midship. I enjoyed some shrimp ceviche as a
starter (more like a cold shrimp and diced pepper salad), and a cold swordfish
steak salad for my main. I was a little apprehensive about having the swordfish
cold, but I’m now a believer—that was delicious!
After dinner we went back to our room for a quiet night in.
We read for a while and watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” before
heading off to bed.
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