MADEIRA

As idyllic as shipboard life is, we were happy to get two days on land, exploring Funchal and doing some hiking on a levada.  A little background on the island, an autonomous region of Portugal and the outermost region of the EU: . Discovered 1419 by Portuguese navigators, colonized for the hardwood the Island is named for; later wealth came from sugar, today wine and banana exports.

Funchal, the capital, has a population of 130,000, named for the fennel plant found here.  We were here two years ago when we enjoyed a half-day tour; this time we opted to explore on our own.  It's quite a walkable city, especially along the waterfront.

We did take a "hop on, hop off" bus to go to a nearby traditional and still working fishing village, Camara de Lobos.  This colourful village inspired Winston Churchill to paint seascapes here in 1950, and local tourism still plays on that with "Churchill's bar" and Churchill's hotel.". It's also known for poncha, a local drink made from lemon juice, honey and sugarcane spirit (aguardiente.)   Lobos are Monk Seals.

Looking up to Cabo Girao, 580 metres above the village

Camara de Lobos

One of these hotels is where Churchill stayed

On the second day we caught a local bus taking us 15 kms north to Ribeiro Frio where we started an eleven km hike to the hamlet of Portela.  Known as the  Levada do Furado, the hike followed irrigation channels through forested terrain covered by heather and laurel trees.  There are more than 2100 kms of levadas which are unique to this island, which originally irrigated the terraced farmland and supplied drinking water.  In recent years they've become narrow walking paths, attracting tourists from Europe primarily.

 Back on the ship, we were treated to a performance by a local folkloric dance company.  We pulled away at midnight for our last two days at sea, reaching Lisbon early Sunday morning, disembarking in fog and cooler weather than we'd encountered the whole crossing.  Now the ship will go into drydock in Palermo, Italy, for extending, adding 50 more cabins and upgrades.

Star Legend, in Funchal

Folkloric dance performance