Once off the ship and in town we could see it was just like Portugal, black and white mosaic tiles as pavement, terrace bars, all the European outlets, but with a climate like Tenerife and lots of bananas! We used the morning time to spend catching up on Facebook, uploading pics, drinking lovely strong coffee. We went back to the ship by shuttle to have lunch and then came straight out again to catch the Yellow Bus for a 90 minute round trip with multi-lingual commentary, just like London.
The trip was the blue route and took in Camara Lobos and Cabo Girao. We found it so good we stayed on it twice, mainly so the hundreds of nuggets of info had time to get into our heads! What have we learned? - a lot of historical information but the accurate discovery dates and discoveries have already left me (13th and 15th centuries). There was the usual uncomfortable part about colonisation, I never like hearing about how one or other European power of the past plundered all the wealth of the countries they "discovered". Every now and again though the commentary mentioned something like a national drink with European influence, like a mix of lemon honey and absinthe! So it wasn't all bad. Anyway Madeira is now home to 250,000 people mainly of Portuguese descent with a smattering of British and German residents. It is known as a holiday resort for former British Prime Ministers notably Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
Funchal is famous for its Reids Hotel, which still also popularly does afternoon tea. This was a possible excursion we didn't take. The island is also renowned for bananas, grown on terraces lining the whole of our bus route. Several unusual sculptures and fountains were pointed out with interesting commentary along the way too. A stunning coastline, winding roads up into the hills, various palms and cacti. There's a daily ferry to the other island, Porto Santo, and it was recommended as a day trip, but we just didn't have time. I have pictures of them all and will add them as soon as I can!
Then it was dinner, a table for two for the first time this cruise, next to the window on the starboard side, so we could see everyone getting back onto the ship after their hard day's tourism. Our entertainment for the night was a little bit different. At 9:30 we listened to Clare Bonsu again, this time in Carmen's lounge. She performed Eta James, Dusty, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and another Shirley Bassey song by popular request. She's good, does drama, has a big range and can switch styles really easily.
Then up on deck 8 where the children's pool and kids club are situated a local group came and danced with massive feathers, and very stylish bright green and orange feathery boots! This was followed by the kind of firework display we get in Glossop on November 5th - it was big and went on for ages, and was launched for a small boat alongside the cruise ship. This was in aid of the cruise coming to an end, and Funchal being the final port.
Next stop Southampton, but not until we have done 3 days at sea. Bye for now! x
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