Our first port is Funchal, the capital of Madeira, some 200 miles north of Tenerife, famous for its fortified wine of the same name. This gorgeous produce is actually (well, allegedly) a consequence of the location of the island, more about this later.
Before we dock, we watch our arrival with breakfast on our balcony, opting for room service which is more simple than Seabourn or Holland America, and I nip down to the Costa shop to get a proper drink.
The port has grown somewhat since my only other visit 31 years ago, but I still remember quite a lot of that day when QE2 brought me here. Today we’re berthing on the new harbour arm which is huge, long enough to accommodate us alongside side a new megaship, the Aida Cosmos, which can carry well over 5000 Germans at a time. Later in the day we have a conversation with a lovely couple from this ship, she’s mostly happy but says the MDR is horrendous and indescribably noisy, with babies and children everywhere!
Our walk heads us up into town, past the casino and into a small gardens where the president is receiving visitors, however we are still allowed to walk around, just keep off the roped area. It’s only small and on route to our first stop, a Madeira vintner of some repute, the Blandy estate.
This family are credited with forming, and subsequently maintaining, a substantial enterprise which has been headed by Blandy children for over three hundred years. The history is palpable, the process fascinating, and lastly the tasting very good! As I said earlier, the story has it that Portuguese sailors on their way out to Madeira noted the warmed wine onboard improved with exposure to the heat of the sun, which, with a little experimentation, because the process by which Madeira is made, quite unlike sherry and port, both of which need cool caves or tunnels to develop their flavours after fortification.
As we walk through the familiar old town we stop at a street café to get coffee and Pasteis de Nata, the famous custard tart of Portugal which is just sublime!!
Suitably replenished we queue for ages to catch the cable-car up the hill-side towards the palace gardens, not that we have time to visit them now, but the church Capela de Nossa Senhora do Desterro is good. A palace needs a royal family, and the one in question is Charles I, the exiled last Hapsburg emperor, he of the Austro-Hungarian empire, who was overthrown during WWI and died young only a few years later. The church is dedicated to him, and it’s noteworthy that he has already been beatified, so clearly a significant person in certain circles!
We watch and deliberate if we should take the infamous return by toboggan, but this queue is also huge, and so we opt to walk back down to town. As we see some pass us we’re happy it was a wise choice, there’s no screaming and the whole thing seems relatively tame (and rather expensive!)
Our walk is a bit tough on the knees but we enjoy the different neighbourhoods and amazing view, until we’re back in the old centre to see some lovely buildings and gardens.
Our final goal today is Reid’s, the iconic hotel much loved by Churchill and as famous as the Ritz, Waldorf or Raffles to international travellers from ages past. We enjoy afternoon tea on the terrace overlooking the gardens which descend into the barranco – unfortunately the tour of said gardens only happens on Wednesdays and Fridays so we cannot visit them.
Undoubtedly an excellent afternoon tea, the tea-pots are stupid and a classic case of style over function, but hey-ho it’s a small grumble in an otherwise fabulous experience. Reid’s blend tea is lovely but they also have about thirty other choices. With five fingers of sandwiches, then two scones, we can only share half-portions of cake without risking relinquishing a belt hole!
The walk back is short and we’re onboard with an hour to spare before it’s time to dress for dinner, but canapés have mysteriously appeared, so we need to test those first. Tonight we’re going to Glass House, which is a modern small-plates venue, intentionally chosen since we don’t really need much else.
A very trendy space which is informal, has both dining and lounge tables as well as a bar dining, we opt for the comfort of sofas and take a lazy graze though the menu. We still manage two courses including fish & chips and pork two ways. It’s very nice that each dish has a matched wine chosen by celebrity chef Olly Smith, and their list is definitely the best onboard.
The turn is three girls channelling Aretha via Diana and Dione to Whitney, plus others in between, and is very good.
