Madeira (Funchal) mini review

We recently sailed aboard the Legend of the Seas on a transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. I learned a lot from reading Cruise Critic before we left. However, it was hard to locate specific information about the various port cities. [Alicante, Malaga, Madeira, and Tenerife] So I am doing a mini review with pictures for each port.

If you are interested in the review of the entire cruise this is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40658244#post40658244

Our third stop was at Funchal, the capital of the island of Madeira in the Azores. These islands are part of Portugal. As we approached the pier we could saw that Funchal had lots of white-washed houses with orange tiled roofs. It was very picturesque. We could not wait to get ashore.

Madeira is about 2 hrs by plane from Azores

We arrived shortly before dawn.

There is a Hop On Hop Off bus available in Funchal, but we were part of a group tour arranged by one of our CC roll call members with Madeira Happy Tours. [22 € per person] This review is more of the island of Madeira rather than the city of Funchal.

The 18 of us set off in two vans to see as much of the western part of the island as we could. We stopped in Câmara de Lobos, a small fishing village near Funchal. Its claim to fame is that Winston Churchill visited the picturesque village and painted its scenes. We visited the small church in the village center. Câmara de Lobos is also home of the “poncho,” a mixture of lemon juice, honey and a liqueur made from sugarcane. We saw it for sale at several places, but did not try any.

Next we visited Cabo Girão. It is the highest cliff face in Europe and the second highest in the world. [580 meters—if my math is correct it is about 1900 ft]

The view was really something.

We walked out on the glass skywalk that just opened last year. The skywalk to similar to the one they have in the Grand Canyon. [a little smaller] There was no charge.

The glass part of the walkway is the small area that juts out.

Look at the first picture. . .you can see the shape of the coastline through the glass floor. Then look at the second picture. It is the same view. It is clearer in person, but hard to photograph.

We used the restroom here. There was an attendant charging 0.50€. This is common in Europe, but Americans are not used to paying to use the restroom.

Our next stop was Ribeira Brava (wild stream) a small town on the southwest coast of the island. It was a tourist town with a seaside promenade with many cafes and souvenir shops. There is a streambed in the middle of the town, but it only contains water after a rain.

I saw one of the more unusual souvenirs here. They were bottle openers made from wooden replicas of the male anatomy [all 3 parts and available in light and dark wood]. I have certainly seen similar types of things for sale in the US. What struck me about these bottle openers was that they were hanging on a turnstile on the sidewalk in front of the shop right across from the church. I had seen a similar souvenir in Malaga—in plastic with the name Malaga written lengthwise. These too, were prominently displayed, but they were inside the shop. [DH says you will label me as a prude—not the case. I just thought it was interesting product placement.]

Next we drove through Ponta do Sol (literally ‘Sun Point’) because it is where you will find more sun throughout the year than in any other part of the island. Of course, it was cloudy while we were there. LOL

We drove along the island motorway around the island. There are many tunnels that connect the seaside towns. These tunnels are up to 2 miles long. You can see that every inch of space is used as houses, businesses or to grow something. Farmers have terraced the land. There were lots of banana plants, potatoes, grapes and sugarcane.

The middle of the island is a plateau called Paúl da Serra and is a National Park. Our guide told us it is where most of the water for the island comes from. The water originating there is used to irrigate the fields all-around. Many tourists hike on the Plateau. They have huge windmills on the plateau to generate electricity.

We stopped for lunch in the quaint town of Porto Moniz. It has what they call natural swimming pools. We did not see true sandy beaches on Madeira. Much of what we saw were black pebbles.

You can see I loved taking pictures of this charming town.

Our guide Sergio called our order in ahead of time so we did not waste any time. He encouraged us to try the typical banana fish with boiled vegetables. So, we did. It was 15 €/person and included bread, wine, water, the meal and flan for dessert. It was delicious and a bargain.

We drove by São Vicente and saw the breakwater that had resulted in a beach in a small bay. [for some reason these two pics did not come out--sorry]

Our next to last stop was Bridal Veil Falls. It is much larger in the rainy season.

This was a shopping stop for us. Our guide Sergio had cautioned us to save our shopping for here as the prices were the best. He was correct. I bought several handmade-embroidered linen tablecloths for 15€ each and a Christmas table runner for 10 €. For 1.5 € we got a small piece of rum cake and a sample size of Madeira. I was good and I bought 2 bottles—6.5 € each.

I do not remember the name of our last stop. It was a quaint town. I saw poinsettia growing in the garden near the church.

We looked inside the church and the cemetery in back. It was November 3—so we were only 2 days after All Saints; Day. You could see all of the flowers and offerings still on the graves.

We made it back to the ship with a little over an hour to spare before we had to board. But, there was really nothing within walking distance and we were all tired. We need to come back to Maderia to visit Funchal. What a wonderful island to visit.

thank you for taking the time to post the photos and your review. It was very interesting. I'll be there next April and you help me out. Would like to talk to try that alcohol called Pancho. Thanks again lydia

Thank you for the wonderful writeup and photos. We're going in August - can't wait!

adding my thanks - for a comprehensive review with wonderful pictures. It really gives one a sense of what Madeira looks like. We'll be there in the spring on our transatlantic - perhaps we will be a bit luckier and get some sunshine!

Great job!:)

Nice review and pictures ............ but what about Funchal, did you see it? :confused:

adding my thanks - for a comprehensive review with wonderful pictures. It really gives one a sense of what Madeira looks like. We'll be there in the spring on our transatlantic - perhaps we will be a bit luckier and get some sunshine!

 

 

Great job!:)

Have fun! While it was not a sunny day and a little chilly in the morning the weather improved during the day. In the last shot of the church just above you can see it over the mountain.

Nice review and pictures ............ but what about Funchal, did you see it? :confused:

No we did not see any of Funchal. That was a surprise. I thought we were going to drive through the city when we first left the port.

It just gives us a reason to return. :)

Madeira is about 2 hrs by plane from Azores

Yep, I know my mistake. FYI

This is a posting to me from someone that lives in Madeira:

****************************************

Originally Posted by biaria

Hi DragonOfTheSeas,

I read your interesting and very informative review about Madeira and I loved it. Nice photos too. Thank you for posting!

I just need to rectify something: Madeira Island does not belong to the Azores. We are the Autonomous Region of Madeira, an arquipelago that consists of the Island of Madeira itself, the Island of Porto Santo, the Desert Islands and the Sauvage Islands.

I just want to update my review with information I have found. this is a post to me on another board regarding some souvenirs I bought. [mentioned earlier] Biaria mentions a seal to look for her is the post:

*******************************************************

Quote:

Originally Posted by biaria View Post

Hi DragonOfTheSeas,

Yes, Madeira is very famous for hand embroidery, but a genuine Madeiran hand embroidered tablecloth is way much more expensive than what you paid for yours. Depending on the size and how much embroidery is on it, a tablecloth may vary between 200 and 3000 euros. I'm sorry to have to say this, but your tablecloths must have been made somewhere else.

The real Madeiran hand embroidery always comes with a stamp of approval as you can see here: http://www.bordadomadeira.pt/certifi...enu-id-35.html

. . . and I write back:

OK--I am not unhappy. I got nice tablecloths [small square variety] that are hand embroidered from Madeira--even if they were not made there. They will remind me of your beautiful island. [if you turn them over you can see yarn going from one flower to another in a random way and even a few knots. Someone did them by hand. It was likely from Bangladesh or some such place]

It is like the hat DH bought in Alaska. It says Alaska on it--but, I am sure it was made in China. I do not think you can find a hat made in Alaska.

However, the next time I am in Madeira I will look for the seal you mentioned and get myself a genuine linen. Maybe a handkerchief--I should be able to afford that. :o

Thanks for all of your help. You are a real gem!! :)

We have read about this place but what would you say were the actual highlights? Thanks. Montelco :)

We recently sailed aboard the Legend of the Seas on a transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale. I learned a lot from reading Cruise Critic before we left. However, it was hard to locate specific information about the various port cities. [Alicante, Malaga, Madeira, and Tenerife] So I am doing a mini review with pictures for each port.

 

If you are interested in the review of the entire cruise this is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=40658244#post40658244

 

 

Our third stop was at Funchal, the capital of the island of Madeira in the Azores. These islands are part of Portugal. As we approached the pier we could saw that Funchal had lots of white-washed houses with orange tiled roofs. It was very picturesque. We could not wait to get ashore.

I just want to update my review with information I have found. this is a post to me on another board regarding some souvenirs I bought. [mentioned earlier] Biaria mentions a seal to look for her is the post:

*******************************************************

Quote:

Originally Posted by biaria View Post

Hi DragonOfTheSeas,

 

Yes, Madeira is very famous for hand embroidery, but a genuine Madeiran hand embroidered tablecloth is way much more expensive than what you paid for yours. Depending on the size and how much embroidery is on it, a tablecloth may vary between 200 and 3000 euros. I'm sorry to have to say this, but your tablecloths must have been made somewhere else.

 

The real Madeiran hand embroidery always comes with a stamp of approval as you can see here: http://www.bordadomadeira.pt/certifi...enu-id-35.html

 

. . . and I write back:

OK--I am not unhappy. I got nice tablecloths [small square variety] that are hand embroidered from Madeira--even if they were not made there. They will remind me of your beautiful island. [if you turn them over you can see yarn going from one flower to another in a random way and even a few knots. Someone did them by hand. It was likely from Bangladesh or some such place]

 

It is like the hat DH bought in Alaska. It says Alaska on it--but, I am sure it was made in China. I do not think you can find a hat made in Alaska.

 

However, the next time I am in Madeira I will look for the seal you mentioned and get myself a genuine linen. Maybe a handkerchief--I should be able to afford that. :o

 

Thanks for all of your help. You are a real gem!! :)

Did you use a ship excursion or a private tour?

Don