Funchal, Portugal

After another sea day, we arrived in Funchal, Portugal on the island of Madeira. We arrived before sunrise and the hills of the town were lit in orange. The city of Funchal is surrounded by mountains in a semicircle and the sea. The city was founded in 1421 by João Gonçalves Zarco. Because of all the fennel found growing the place was called Funchal. Funchal is the capital with a population of 110,000. All the islands in the archipelago (4) have a total population of 250,000.

It was always a stopping point when explorers were going from Spain and Portugal to the new world. It has been famous for Madeiran sugar and wine.

Our first stop was at Pico dos Barcelos. It was an overlook with nice gardens. The famous soccer player Rinaldo is from this part of the island.

Our next stop was deep in the mountains to Eira do Serrado. We were on a very narrow twisty turny road. It was recently built to replace the very twisty turny steep road. Many of the villages have a road leading to them, but no road into the actual village. To get to a home you park and then walk. The view of the valley and small villages was interesting. We also had a wine tasting of a cherry cordial which was just ok. Someone asked our guide how the old people got around with all the steep walkway and streets. She said that they either stayed at home or if they could afford it go to an old folks home.

One thing we noticed was that the hillsides were terraced, both for homes and for the agriculture. Every where we looked they were growing bananas. The plots of land could be small, but full of bananas. They also had vineyards and sugar cane areas. Other than tourism, agriculture is the way the people earn a living here.

Our next stop was at Cabo Girão. This is a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and up and down the coast. It is one of the highest cliffs in the world at 589 meters. The view was wonderful and looking through the glass observation platform gave you a real feeling about how high you actually were.

Our last stop was at a small fishing village where Winston Churchill used to come to vacation and paint. It was charming with lots of cafes lining the waterfront.

All in all a very interesting day.