Azores, Madeira, Spain and Gibraltar: Day 8 Funchal, Madeira

Already docked in Funchal

Arcadia docked at about 7.40 am and I was soon out on the balcony grabbing some pictures.

We had had a notice that work was to carried out on our balcony during the day. Sure enough later as I looked out past the curtains, there were three crew members on the balcony painting the walls and ceiling and sanding down our balcony.

Outside our room we could hear a buzzing noise coming from a dehumidifier in the corridor just a few doors down from our room.

We just made it for breakfast in the Meridian at 8.45 am.

As we were leaving the ship we passed by the Ocean Grill on our way to the gangplank. We paused to watch a crew member remove a ceiling tile in the nearby bar and a cascade of water came down. Luckily(?) he had laid sheets of plastic to protect the carpet below. Clearly there were leaks in the many pipes above.

Into Funchal

Looking out we could see two other cruise ships in the port. It looked like t was going to be another busy day. We caught the shuttle bus into Funchal. Arcadia was docked at one of the cruise terminals and it would be clear to walk out the quay area if we’d wanted. The shuttle bus was a ‘paid’ for service, £4, for passengers who had not paid for the so-called Select Fare. As we queued for the shuttle bus a passenger was being carried on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.

We were dropped alongside one of the shopping malls and we set off walking along the avenue past the restaurants and bars and the remaining exhibits from the flower festival. When then turned right towards the sea and walked to the cable car station. On the side of of one of the car parks was this mural.

The cable car

At the cable car we bumped into our friends who were also queuing for tickets. They planned to go onto the gardens further up the hill after leaving the cable car, as for us we planned to ride the Carros de Cesto toboggans back down.

Riding up we passed over the houses on the hillside.

At the top we looked out over Funchal before we walked around the lower gardens to the start of the toboggan run.

The Carros de Cesto toboggan

There we joined the queue and watched other tourists begin their run down the streets.

As we waited in the queue, groups of the toboggan drivers filed past us to pick up their next passengers. The toboggans were all loaded on a small truck for their journey back up the hill. We watched as everyone in front of us started….

We had to wait 40 minutes before our turn.

Our drivers set off at a fair lick and soon we were screaming our heads off just like we had heard everyone else as they had set off ….

We crossed roads with cars passing in front of us, kerbs flashed by and we were going so fast by now (usually sideways) that we caught up with the two toboggans in front of us.

One of the drivers whispered that if we’d liked the trip then a generous tip would be a good idea!

From Livramento back down

We had been warned that the end of the run was no where near the cable car but was just about halfway down the hill. It was a taxi or a long walk to get down to the town centre. We opted for a taxi and discovered that this would be the extortionate fare of 30 Euros.

We shared the taxi with a couple who were on holiday on Madeira. They told us that the weather had been so windy earlier in the week on the island that their plane had been delayed by 24 hours before being allowed to fly to Madeira.

The taxi ride may have been expensive but the driver clearly wanted to get back up the hill for his next fares as he drove down very fast, dodging around parked cars and I sear missing raised gutters by the smallest of margins.

Lunch on the Avenida Arriaga

The streets were now getting busy and we stopped at the first restaurant on the Avenida Arriaga for a beer.

Outside under their marquee we were sheltered and we watched people walking by as we relaxed with out drinks.

I went inside to use the loos and had a good look at the inside of the restaurant and at some of the meals that were being served. Once outside we asked the maitre d’ to transfer us to a table inside and we settled down for a good lunch.

To Rua de Santo Maria

After lunch we went looking for the row of decorated doors that we had heard so much about. On our way we stopped and did some shopping for locally made cork mats and to take in the sights.

Rua de Santo Maria

We joined the street some way down as we came to it from the the cable car station. The street ran parallel to to the sea. It was narrow and was a pedestrian only street with restaurant after restaurant along it. Their tables making the street even narrower.

Once on the street we turned right and I was busy photographing the decorated doors and walls.

Further up the street after crossing a small bridge the street widened and we now had to dodge cars as we walked along. At the top of the street we reached a small church on our left and on our right was the sea. Below was a swimming pool and to our right we could see the port.

I walked out along a walkway at the side of a restaurant to have a better view.

This was the end of decorated doors and walls and we turned back to retrace our steps.

The patisserie on the way back

We passed a patisserie with a queue of customers. This was clearly a popular shop from the queue. We joined it and bought a couple of the local speciality custard tarts to keep us going.

We soon reached where we had joined and now I had more decorated doors and walls to see as we walked towards the market. Our friends were on the street also looking at the doors. We all walked to the end of the street just below the covered market.

Along the Avenida Arriaga we passed young ladies still wearing their costumes after the flower festival.

We all then walked to the ship along the promenade rather than catch a shuttle bus. We watched the Costa cruise ship leave later in the afternoon.

 

Disappointing meal in Marco Pierre White’s Ocean Grill

Once back on board we settled down to watch one of the movie channels in our cabin to rest our feet. We had booked a meal in one of the speciality restaurants on the ship. This meant getting changed for dinner into smart casual.

Our meal was in the Ocean Grill, this was the Marco Pierre White restaurant on board. There were lots of empty tables except for the a few of the small tables along the windows. I had the baked English Camembert, an 8 oz Sirloin Steak and we shared the dessert taster for two.

Frankly the meal was a disappointment.

My Camembert was cold. The main on the menu was offered with a choice of sides. But no mention was made on the menu that the steak came with chips. So my Marco’s Great Chips as one of my sides was superfluous!

Equally the taster was a disappointment especially the over rich chocolate tart and the weird ‘Eton Mess’. This bore no relationship to any Eton Mess that I had ever had anywhere before.

The restaurant deserved to be empty every night if this was the standard of food delivered. We had chosen to eat early as we planned to leave the ship for a visit to Funchal in the evening. Despite arriving for dinner at 7.30 pm we finally left at 9.45 pm having sat for long periods of time with either a clear table of dirty plates in front of us.

Funchal in the late evening

The shuttle bus service was still running and we left the Avenida Arriaga and headed down towards the sea. There we went into the still open Sports Bar.

This was below the level of the pavement and had a large open area filled with tables outside. We sat and enjoyed our beers but the ladies had chosen white wine and it was not of the best quality.

The toilets in the bar provided us with a good laugh as the walls were covered in cartoon tiles.

By now the shuttle bus had stopped so we walked back to the ship along the promenade.

We took a detour to look at the Cristian Ronaldo museum (and his statue) as we passed by. Once near the ship crew members were walking the opposite way into Funchal their work on board over. The harbour walls are decorated by the ship and we noticed this sign, the footprints and this dog’s silhouette.

The good news for us was that the dehumidifier along the corridor from our room had been unplugged so we were spared its noise overnight.

Our second day in Funchal.