Puerto - Ciudad #1: Funchal, Madeira! [Port City #1: Funchal, Madeira!]

Hello there again!  Let's get this cruise under way!  I'm going to attempt to write an entry for each cruise port, so that I can share as many pictures as I possibly can...and because if I tried to write about all of them, it would get too long! 

I had never been on a cruise before this, so I was really excited to see the ship and to have this wonderful experience.  We boarded  the cruise ship, the Norwegian Jade the afternoon of April 3rd, around 2pm, and then we set sail from Barcelona at 6pm, leaving the sun behind us and heading into open waters.  We sailed Tuesday night, all day Wednesday, and all day Thursday.  During those two and half days, we found plenty of things to do on the ship, from swing and merengue dance lessons, to “name that tune” trivia.  With Geo, our cruise director; Marni, my German dancing partner; and Tomas, our fantastic animal making housekeeper, we were set to have a wonderful experience!  While we were on the ship, we had ample opportunities to eat and meet many people from all over Europe.  We were in the minority on the ship, being all the way from the states.  

Wednesday night we sailed through the Straight of Gibraltar (7.7 nautical miles between Europe and Northern Africa), and it was absolutely beautiful.  I wish we would have sailed through it during the day at one point, because on our way back we also sailed through it at night…but either way it was an interesting experience.  On one side of the ship you could see the lights from Morocco, Africa, and on the other side loomed the dark outline of the rock of Gibraltar, surrounded by the lights of the city.  At one instance, we were looking at three different countries…Spain, Great Britain (they still own Gibraltar as a colony), and Morocco.  This is the best photo I could take of Gibraltar's city lights and the rock...it's pretty difficult to make out, but if you stare at it long enough, you can see it! 

Friday morning, April 6^th arrived soon enough and with the sunrise, we were able to see the city lights of Funchal, Portugal.  Funchal is located in the Portuguese archipelago named Madeira that lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the most outermost part of the European Union.  The archipelago is made up of 4 islands/groups of islands.  Madeira is not only the name of the whole archipelago, but also the name of the largest island, which is were Funchal is located.  

We arrived around 7am to the island now a part of Portugal.  Here's the proof that 1) I was up before sunrise and 2) I was functioning enough to take photos.  This, folks, is a very, rare occurrence.  But here is the city of Funchal, just before daybreak, with the city's night lights lighting up the sky.  This photo was taken off of our room's balcony, along with the next photo of the peach colored sky peeking around the edge of the mountain off in the distance.  I was so excited to get off the ship and start exploring - this would be the FIRST time being in a country other than Spain this semester!   

That morning we had an excursion to go see some beautiful areas of the island as well as taste some Portuguese wine and cheeses.  It was quite the island.  Madeira is hilly, green, and beautiful.  Houses are built into the sides of the hills, and fishing villages dot the coast.  Banana farms stretch as far as your eye can see, and beyond that, the ocean loomed in the distance.  We stopped first at Pico Dos Barcelos which was a look out over the city of Funchal.

   

This is a panoramic from Pico Dos Barcelos in Funchal, Portugal.  You can see from the hillside to the sea, and it's a perfect example of the houses built right into the hillside! 

You can see the beauty that captured my heart in this photo.  Being here felt incredible, and we passed a few people selling some embroidered items such as kitchen towels, shirts, and sweaters on our way to the lookout.  Funchal, and Madeira in general is known for their incredible handiwork in embroidery.  After picking out some kitchen towels, we headed up to the lookout for some great picture taking opportunities.  

After a brief stop at Pico Dos Barcelos, we continued on our excursion to Cámara de Lobos, which is a small picturesque fishing village about 20 minutes away.  Cámara de Lobos translates to "chamber of the wolves" in Portuguese.  Winston Churchill immortalized the beauty in this village in many of his paintings during the 1950s.  It's said that he returned several times just to create paintings so not to forget the beauty he saw here.  That basically sums up Cámara de Lobos' claim to fame!

There were brightly colored boats that dotted the beach, while fish were hung drying out in the sunshine.  It was like nothing I've ever seen before.  These are the fish that were hanging up to dry - at first I wasn't sure they were fish, but my sense of smell soon assured me that they were indeed, some sort of fish, sitting right in front of me, drying in the sunshine.

We also stopped at Estreito de Cámara de Lobos (a small parish outside of the fishing village) to taste wine, cheese, and garlic bread from Portugal - this little township is known for it's cultivation of grapes to produce Madeira Wine.  The drives throughout the entire island, and especially this stretch were incredible.  There were banana farms as far as your eye could see, cut into terraces on the sides of the hills.  From where we tasted the wine, you could see ships out in the ocean, and look out over the city of Funchal.  It was an absolutely beautiful island.  At that instance, I think I fell in love with Portugal.

 
After the wine, cheese, and bread tasting, we then headed to Cabo Giráo, Europe’s second largest sea cliff.  Unfortunately, our tour guide told us that the cliff is the second highest in Europe, but after I got home and did some research, I found at least 5 other sea cliffs that were higher...but tomato, tomahto.  It was still a spectacular sight I had the privilege to see.  The cliff is located between two river valleys that empties out into the Atlantic Ocean, and is approximately 1,932 feet above sea level. The blue of the ocean was reminiscent of a blue raspberry icee, it was so vibrant!

When standing on top of the cliff, you can either look straight out into the sea, which is what this picture shows you - the bright blue of the Atlantic, and the blue of the sky, melding together as if it were a puddle of rainwater on a rainy day... 

 OR, you can choose to look straight down, and you'll see a peculiar sight...I thought at first it was just some grassy open areas along the coast, but after further investigation, I found out they are actually vineyards at the foot of the sea cliff, right along the Atlantic Ocean!  You can see them in the photo on the left. 

After stopping at Cabo Giráo, we headed back on the bus to the ship in port, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sunshine.  It had been a wonderful day filled with some incredible times spent with my parents, and I was tired, but oh so very content with life.  I will move onto our second port in my next entry...Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands!  But for now, I will leave you with this incredible photo I snapped of the island from atop of Cabo Giráo.  I hope you all enjoyed this short tour of Funchal, Madeira!

besos y abrazos, 

Erin