Teacher Aboard Logs

Olá from the Ilha da Madeira (The Wooded Isle)!

We've come 1,000 km from mainland Portugal and we're approaching the offspring of a volcanic eruption 35 million years ago. The island is 57 km long and 22 km wide, with approximately 300,000 inhabitants. In 1419 Portuguese Navigator, Joao Goncalves Zarco, discovered the islands. With an average temperature of 23 degrees Celsius in the summer and 19 degrees Celsius in the winter, the island of Madeira is covered with lush vegetation and capable of producing wonderful crops of dwarf bananas and grapes, while flowers, some rare, are plentiful. This Portuguese archipelago is comprised of the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and the uninhabited Desertas and Selvagens. We dropped our sails and I snapped this photo of the crew going aloft to stow the tops'l.

As we rounded the southern side of the island, it began to take shape before our eyes. We approached the harbor of Funchal, the city that would be our home for the next few days, on a beautiful day with clouds dancing around the distant mountain peaks. By the time we finished tying up to the breakwater and were checked in with Customs and Immigration, it was already 1930 hours, so I headed off into town to locate money machines, telephones, and a cybercafe. All these are important to a seafaring crew! I managed to find all three and returned to the boat for some sleep.

The Sights of Funchal We were greeted by sunshine the next morning and I set out walking, cameras in hand. One of the first things I came across was a park beside the main street with several roosters penned up in the middle. The rooster is the symbol or mascot for Portugal, so these guys were living in style with no dinner table looming over their future!

Across the street, a woman was selling flowers. Not only were the flowers very beautiful, but so was the sidewalk on which she was working. All of these tiles were laid by hand, and there are many places in the town where this sort of work abounds. The tiles are all very small, which makes this a very tedious task!

I headed down the Avenida Arriaga into the town and toward the market, Mercado dos Lavradores. What a great place to shop! Here's the incredible tile work that adorns the front entrance.

The market was indoors (as many are in Europe) and offered everything from shoemaking to fresh fish. This is the "black scabbard" fish that lives 1000 meters below the surface.

On the next table, they were selling chunks of fresh tuna.

Most of the market interior was taken up by stands of flowers and fruits. I bought 3 kilos of tangerines and mandarin oranges to take back to the boat. I left the market and sought out the local tourism office. Since I had two more full days in Funchal without schools to visit, I thought it wise to see the island with the help of a guide. I didn't want to miss anything, so I was REALLY glad there were no trains here! I found the office and made reservations for all-day tours for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Around the corner and up the street, I found the Madeira Wine Museum. The island is world renowned for its wine, and though most of the wine I buy goes into my cooking, I figured I might as well pay the museum a quick visit. As you can see, these casks hold a great deal of wine. The better vintage wines are left in the barrels for many years and then bottled. Accordingly, the prices are higher for the older wines. The prices ranged from $20.00 to over $200.00 per bottle! I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed for the cybercafe to email my last log and pictures to the Pride office. By the time I was finished, twilight was fast approaching. I walked along the harbor as I headed back to the ship.

Cultural Differences I found some of the local students working a "half-pipe" on the shoreline. Some were on skateboards and some had trick bicycles. The city installed the pipe and anyone may use it, but users are responsible for their own safety.

Several times I've been asked about differences between the U.S. and foreign countries. One major difference that comes to mind at this moment, is that Americans have become a society based on litigation. Every day, somebody finds a new reason to take another person (or company) to court in hopes of winning a lawsuit worth millions of dollars. How many U.S. cities, towns, and villages would not set up a half-pipe for kids because they're afraid of parents suing the city when a son or daughter broke an arm or leg? At any rate, these kids were certainly having a good time.

The Ship's Activities Meanwhile, Captain Parrott and the crew took Pride II out of the harbor for a few hours, as there were cruise ships that needed the space to unload. They motored back around 2130 hours and turned her around to tie up once again. As you can see, they used the dinghy to push the bow around as she turned herself to point out of the harbor.

On the walls of the breakwater, visiting ships had painted pictures of their boats or logos as a reminder of their visit. Several ports around the world allow or encourage visiting ships to leave their moniker. Several of our crewmembers decided to leave something representing Pride II, and they painted into the wee hours of the morning.

Dayle and Christine worked over the next two days and nights on the wall. Needless to say, ours is the most attractive of all the paintings!

Madeira - Day One

Bright and early Tuesday morning, I was at the pickup spot and managed to get a front seat on the bus. We picked up the remaining passengers and headed for the quaint fishing village, Camara de Lobos. This town is well known for its fishermen who bring up the black scabbard fish from great depths.

Winston Churchill came here for vacation and always stayed in the same place, while he painted the surrounding scenery. The name of this restaurant was no surprise!

Around the corner is the balcony where Churchill sat with easel and paints and watched the fishing boats come and go. A memorial marks the spot.

As we left the village, I took this picture to show how most of the crops are grown on the island. Thousands of terraces (poios) are cut right into the mountains. Many of the elderly people walk the terraces to pick fruit from the vines.

From Camara de Lobos, we began our ascent to the second highest sea cliff in the world, Cabo Girao, which is 580 meters above the sea. This is the view as I leaned over the cliff and looked straight down! Glad I had good footing!

As there are almost no trees in this area, there are only a few inhabitants. Here's one!

Looking out, we could see our next stop - the peak of the highest mountain on the island, Pico Ruivo. We had quite a ride to get there, but after a while we parked the bus and walked the rest of the way.

Here I am, with a fantastic view!

It was almost noon, so we headed off to the other side of the island and the village of Porto Moniz. This village is famous for its natural volcanic swimming pools that were formed when the island was created. We had a wonderful lunch of filleted black scabbard fish with vegetables and rice, followed by caramel pudding.

After lunch, we all inspected the volcanic pools and took photos of each other! I was so tempted to jump in!

We boarded the bus and headed for Funchal, a drive of roughly 40 minutes. When we arrived, I headed back to the boat, stowed my souvenirs, ate some dinner, and went to bed.

Go to Part 2 of the October 20, 2000 Log