Madeira November 12

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Madeira, November 12, 2007

Our on-board newspaper said sunrise was 6:25 and there was a light we were going to pass early in the morning, so I got up to get the photo. This picture is taken at 7:30, so it might explain why all I could see at 6:30 was a light flashing over the stern. That one's just going to have to wait for another trip.

Eighty percent of Madeira's income comes from tourism. Of that 80% of the tourists come by plane. However the day we arrived there were 6 cruise ships in harbor (which pretty well filled it).

They are planning for 14 cruise ships for New Year's Eve. That is going to require tenders to carry people in and out.

You may note a red striped tower on the breakwall at the rear of the ship. Yes, that is a light house (but not a large one).

Madeira is a volcanic island with very steep sides. As such, it makes a very pretty picture to see. Building code requires the red tile roof and light matching colors on any building.

The put us on the expected 6 busses and off we went up the hills. Our guide this morning had a stronger accent than on previous days so you had to listen more carefully.

As you can see, most of the hillside is occupied. What isn't occupied by houses is banana trees (on the right) which is an export crop.

The expedition today was to ride these little sleds down to the bottom of the hill. This used to be a quick way to get your produce to market, but now it is a tourist business. They bring the sleds up on the truck you see in the background.

This is a cooperative business; the escorts share in the days profits based on the number of runs they make. And you will be greeted at the bottom with a 8x10 photograph they shot as you went down the run (only 10€).

The rest of the morning was spent touring an embroidery factory and a market area (no pictures).

We had lunch on board the ship, then took off to see the scenic views of the island. Our first stop was high above the fishing village (Câmera de Lobos) you can see on the right. What you can't see at this resolution is that there is a lighthouse on the volcanic point but the long lens pulled that in. You can see that on the lighthousesRus site.

Our second stop was "the 2nd tallest vertical cliff in the world." (First is in Japan.) It was impressive, but we saw the lighthouse again. This is with the long lens, but it gives you an idea of the height and also what you can see from here.

Once more we headed up. Our final vista was this mountain valley. Photo take from within the bus, no way we could get out on this road.

Madeira suffered from many "pirates". Like the British, Spanish, Portuguese navies. At one point a group of Nuns retreated to this valley, and founded this settlement. It still exists.

There is a very pleasant little restaurant, tourist shop, etc. at the "top" of the hill. As you can see here, the mountains continue to go up, but there are no roads to take you any further.

Our final stop was a downtown purveyor of Madeira wine - the Blandy Wine company. We got to sample some wine and, if we chose, could purchase as well.
Madeira wine is actually several kinds of sherry, from very dry to very sweet.

They had an attached room where you could purchase vintage wines. In this room you could purchase, for example, a 1920 wine that was in the cask until 2007 for only 275€ per bottle (or 85€ per glass).

On the walk back to our bus, I saw this pretty fountain and thought I'd add it to our collection. It shows that while Funchal, the port city, is pretty touristy it is also very pretty.

The sun set before departure but it was fun to stand on the front deck and watch the lights come on in the village as we left. I have more pictures, but the light was very poor and the shake is visible.

Next stop, the Island of La Palma in the Canaries.

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