Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Funchal, Portugal (Madeira Island)
7:00 am to 3:00 pm
Weather forecast is for a high of 73 degrees and a low of 61.
Sunrise was at 7:32 am; Sunset is at 8:10 pm
It is 856 nautical miles from the Port of Málaga, Spain to the Port of Funchal, Portugal (Madeira Island).
Captain Albert J. Schoonderbeek, a Travelling Master with HAL, is now on board the Oosterdam at Captain Robert Jan Kan’s request to assist with all the preparations that need to done for a ship returning from a season in Europe to the United States. In addition to disembarking approximately 2000 guests and embarking an equal number when the ship reaches Tampa, Florida on November 18th, there will be a full face crew inspection by CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), a full USCG (United States Coast Guard) inspection, heavy loading & provisioning, fuel bunkering, offloading of recyclables and the start of a Carnival Corporation 5 day audit. Captain Albert also rotates around all of the HAL ships to assist with crew training as part of HAL’s On board Team Support Officer Program. Captain Albert posts daily to his blog, so reading his blog will provide a different, more nautical perspective of our up coming eight day crossing.
Captain Albert’s blog entry for our day in Madeira: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/09/09-nov-2016-funchal-madeira/
Photo Credit: OpenStreetMap contributors
Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, 560 miles southwest of Portugal and 360 miles directly west of Morocco, Africa, Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal. Madeira is one of four islands (Madeira, Porto Santo, Desertas, Selvagens) in an archipelago. Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420
This morning the Oosterdam is in port with the cruise ship AIDAblu (2174 passengers) operated by the German company, AIDA Cruises. Cruise ships dock in Funchal about 2.6 km (1.6 miles) from the City Center. From the furthest cruise ship it is one mile or a 20 minute walk to the HOHO. Complimentary shuttle buses were operating for both ships to the city center.
There are over 168 tunnels on the island of Madeira and today there is a very good bus system. The airport runway is built on pillars driven into the sea. Our bus actually drove under the airport runway. The sign for Funchal aeroporto in the picture on the right is pointing along the runway.
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Known as the “Garden of the Atlantic” or the “Island of Eternal Spring.” Madeira has a rich volcanic soil and a mild climate with year round temperatures between 64 and 75 that produces an abundance of greenery. The island is colorful with flowers and fruit trees. The laurisilva forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island are designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The forests are 15 million years old and provide a glimpse of what subtropical forests in Southern Europe and Northern Africa looked like before the Earth was occupied by Humans. The forests are characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as “laurophyll” or “lauroid”. The laurel forests on Madeira are quite similar to the forests that grew during the Cenozoic Era that began 65 million years ago and lasted more than 63 million years.
Madeira is a mountainous island 35 miles long and 3 miles wide that was created by a volcano. There are no real sandy beaches on the island. Deadly wildfires broke out on the island on Monday, August 8, 2016, following weeks of hot, dry weather. Firefighters said the island’s steep hills and dense woodland made it hard to reach the flames. Unfortunately, August forest fires are common in Portugal and other southern European countries when winds are strong, temperatures are high, and forests are “tinder-dry.” Police, however, suspect the fires on Madeira were set by one or more arsonists. We saw some of the extensive damage done by the wildfires on our scenic bus drive. We also saw where many trees have already been replanted. Eucalyptus trees are being planted because they grow quickly.
Interesting fact: Winston Churchill was a famous visitor to Madeira. As a newspaper correspondent covering the Boer War, his ship stopped in Madeira on October 17, 1899. He returned again by ship with his wife Clementine and daughter Diana in January 1950 to relax, paint, and work on The Hinge of Fate, the fourth volume of his war memoirs. After just 12 days, his vacation was cut short due to his need to return to London to deal with pending politics. Clementine and Diana continued their vacation in Madeira staying at Reid’s Palace Hotel which originally opened in 1891 as a luxury hotel patronized by British citizens who were looking to avoid English winters. Today, the hotel is known as Belmond Reid’s Palace. Photographer Raul Perestrelo immortalized Churchill spending some free time painting Camara de Lobos, a small coastal fishing village located five miles west of Reid’s. Local shops sell postcards of Churchill hunched over a canvas, painting the cliffs with a cigar clamped firmly between his teeth. Today the location where Churchill set up his easel has been renamed the Winston Churchill Viewpoint.
Unique foods and beverages of Madeira
Small bananas. Madeira was a big European banana exporter until the EU regulations on the size of bananas changed. Many of the bananas that grow on the island of Madeira don’t grow large enough to meet EU standards, so they cannot be exported out of Portugal anymore. Besides being smaller, Madeira bananas are much sweeter.
English tomatoes, or tamarilhoes. They are red and look like a cross between a plum and a tomato and typically only grow in high altitudes.
Custard apple. an apple-looking fruit that really tastes like a peach flavored custard.
Philodendron fruit. a pineapple-looking fruit that tastes like a banana.
Madeira bay leaves. another great Madeiran specialty and an all around great spice to take home.
Poncha, an alcoholic drink made with Aguardente de cana (distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice), honey, sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice. It is all mixed together in a pitcher with a special Madeiran muddler called a mexelote. The taste is sweet, it doesn’t have a strong alcoholic taste, but you might want to sip carefully anyway because it packs quite a punch!
Coral. a local beer first produced in 1872, and produced by the Madeira Brewery.
Never having been to Madeira before we decided to book the 4-hour HAL Scenic Madeira Tour from 8:45 am to 12:45 pm. Our tour guide was Doris who was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Her home is located in Santo da Serra near the Clube de Golf Santo da Serra, about a 40 minute drive from Funchal.
Our tour bus made its way through the streets of Funchal, winding up to the small village of Monte 2.2 miles north of Funchal and 1800 feet higher in elevation than Funchal’s city center. This small village perched up in the hills overlooking Funchal was formerly a health resort for Europe’s high society and is known for its downhill toboggan ride on a two-seater wicker sled with wooden runners driven by two running men. Our vehicle continued upward past eucalyptus and mimosa trees en route to the Terreiro da Luta at 2,670 feet above sea level. The higher we climbed on twisty roads with hairpin turns, the more we were able to see fabulous mountain views until we reached Poiso Pass at 4,308 feet. The road came to an end at the 5,937-foot summit of Pico do Arieiro. This vantage-point offers magnificent views on clear days. Unfortunately, it was very foggy and misty so we only saw the gift shop where poncha was being sold as well as many souvenir items. We returned to Poiso Pass and the village of Santo da Serra and the Santo da Serra Golf course, where our bus stopped and we had a light refreshment of cake with our choice of either coffee or tea. The Santo da Serra Golf course is the official venue for the only PGA tournament scheduled every year in Madeira. From this course golf players have incredible views over the island and the Atlantic Ocean.
After our refreshment we re-boarded the coach and continued our descent down the mountain. We had another photo stop at the Camões Pequeno viewpoint for spectacular vistas and photo opportunities overlooking the Machico Valley. Machico is the oldest village on the island. It is the site where the island’s discoverers put to shore in 1419 and where the island’s oldest church, the Capela dos Milagres, can be found.
After our photo stop, our bus continued on to Funchal for a visit to Blandy’s, a wine lodge, established in 1811 (http://www.blandyswinelodge.com/).
Here, we were able to sample blends of the famous Madeiran wine before re-boarding our coach for the return drive to the pier. This is our third tasting of one of the “vinos nobles,” the most important historical wines of Europe that include Sherry from Jerez (Cadiz), Spain; Fondillón de Alicante from Alicante, Spain; and Madeira from Madeira, Portugal.
Madeira wine is a fortified wine (to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, is added); varieties may be sweet or dry. Fortifying the wine with spirits raises the alcohol content to around 19 – 21 percent, allowing the beverage to survive long journeys at sea. Madeira wine, as sailors soon discovered, improved with exposure to heat in the ship’s hold while other table wines did not do well. Additionally, sailors realized that the “pitching and rolling” the wine experienced in the ship’s hold improved the wine’s flavor.
Interesting facts: The Declaration of Independence was toasted with Madeira wine after the signing ceremony in 1776. Winston Churchill once commented when drinking a vintage from the late 1700s, “My God, do you realize this Madeira was made when Marie Antoinette was still alive?”
Some Literary references to Madeira wine:
In Shakespeare’s play “Henry IV” there are references to Madeira wine. The character named Falstaff sells his soul to the devil “for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon’s leg.
The Duke of Clarence was a noble Englishman who after being sentenced to death in 1478 for attempting to murder his brother Edward IV, chose to die by drowning in a Madeira Malvasia cask. The Duke of Clarence’s death is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play Richard III and Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War series.
It was beautiful and sunny in Funchal and we would have like to have stayed longer. We hope to visit Madeira again and next time we might take the cable car to the top of Funchal. The views from the cable cars are suppose to be amazingly beautiful.
Back on board ship on Lido Deck by the aft Sea View Pool, madeira wine and sangria were being offered as special beverages for Sailaway. As Linda, our On Location Guide, likes to say, “Sangria is just fruit in a glass.”
It was a gorgeous afternoon for a sailaway.
After dinner, the Mainstage featured David Meyer, a musician who plays an electric xylophone known as a Xylosynth as well as using laser lights to create music. His wife came on stage periodically to do some dance moves. He explained that he met his wife Dawn, a former dancer on a cruise ship, and wanted to include her in his performance. Meyer was incredibly energetic and creative and his music ranged from Led Zeppelin to Tchaikovsky. Here is his promo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKjWWj2xiOE).
Clue for our next port of call: It is located 4,101 nautical miles from Funchal, Portugal (Madiera Island) and will take us eight days to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
Granbytravels 