Funchal, Madiera

First stop after eight sea days was beautiful Funchal, capital of Portugal’s autonomous Madeira archipelago.

We got up way too early to watch the approach and docking, a sort-of tradition for us. No matter where we are, there are always lots of other silly people on deck for the same reason.

A misty morning burned off into a beautiful day.

 Shuttle into downtown dropped us off near famous garden, lovely bright colors.

Still quite early in spring.

The town’s narrow streets and black/white stone sidewalks reminded us of very similar sights in Porto Delgada in the Azores.

Lovely Madieran doors

Loved the tiles used all over, made in Madiera.

Madeira winery tasting room.

We had our back on board the ship.

Obligatory luncheon stop, Jesuit University courtyard

Obligatory church interior stop

We walked up, up, up through residential neighborhood to be rewarded with stunning views. Note the Russian yachts in the harbor.

Just liked these little guys that were all over the trees.

Beautiful tiles in the city hall reception area.

Obligatory town fortress

Allen and Australian friend, Paul, had many conversations re sailing (Paul has a big catamaran) and maritime lore. We exchanged contact info with him and wife Gina, really nice people, so if we're ever in Australia...

Funchal’s airport extended its runway by building the trestle structure on the right, interesting to me.

Passed some of the Madieran archipelago’s other islands on departure. Stunning weather change. After a mid-70’s sunny day in Funchal, we sailed out the harbor and in an instant were in a cold high-wind blow. 12-15-foot seas, a northwest wind of 22 mph+ while we sailed northeast. It was a body-slamming kind of night, lots of creaks and banging. and reports of seasickness abounded. The evening’s show was cancelled and the casino and dining room were quiet.

Amusing to watch the pool on the boat in the weather. Bedtime was like a horizontal box step, interesting seas for 1.5 days, but par for the course, certainly.