Sunday 19 June 2022 - Lisbon

I don't know why, but I don't have a blog post for this day. So go to Peter's instead:- Riding the lift in Lisbon

Tuesday 10th January, Funchal, Madeira.

At 7.30 this morning, the shipped berthed into Funchal, Madeira.  We were still in bed at the time, and, as often happens, we ended up having to close the curtains quickly.  We did't want to scare the guys on the dock with our pink and crinklies!

Now we've been to Funchal quite a few times, and decided that we weren't in a hurry to get ashore, since we knew the city quite well.  We were just going to have quiet meander and get ourselves some bottled water for the forthcoming days onboard.  We caught the shuttle bus in, and with camera's in hand, started to wander the streets looking for a supermarket or a Spar. 

I loved the bright colours here.  Apparently the blue post box is for mail across the island, and red for international post

A charmlingly decorated tuk tuk

As we wandered, we came across the Cathedral, which is celebrating a 500 year anniversary.  For the first time during our visits to Madeira, it  was open to tourists.  So we took a look inside.



<<< One of the very highly decorated chapels.  Really very lovely.

Like many Portuguese cities, pavements, roads and buildings are all decorated in symmetrical  black and white

We also managed to visit the College church, which was even more highly decorated than the cathedral.  For 1 Euro, you could visit the bell tower. 

 I was practising my composition lessons again, but you can see from the photo above what glorious weather we were having.  And below, the hills of the island look so inviting.

And last, but not least, as we were walking back to the shuttle bus we came across these little fellas under a fountain in one of the courtyards.  They were so still they looked like statues.  Awesome.

We didn't find the water until the last minutes as we made our way back to shuttle bus.  But we've had a lovely morning.  The ship sets sail at 2pm and we'll be on our way to the Cape Verde islands.  We've visited them quite a few times, but I'm looking forward to seeing the changes since my last visit in 2014.

Tomorrow will be another sea day, more classes and more sunshine hopefully.  Fingers crossed. 

Sunday 8th January - Lisbon

The Statue of Christ the King, on the South bank of river Tagus and watching over Lisbon on the North bank

OK. what I should have mentioned in my last two posts, but I didn't. is that the sea's been flat!  I mean! We've crossed the Bay of Biscay and I haven't been seasick.  First time ever and I've loved it.  And this morning, as the ship approached Lisbon, the sea remained calm and we woke to glorious sunny day.  We weren't due to dock until 10 am but everyone was out on deck, loving the sunny warmth.

Peter and I were tour escorting later, Lisbon Highlights and Estoril, so we decided that we since we had an hour or so this morning, we'd pop up and see the Church of Santa Engracia, also known as the National Pantheon, where the important and famous of Portugal are buried.  It's only a few minutes up the hill from the cruise terminal, and we'd really enjoyed our previous visit.

The National Pantheon, or Church of Santa Engracia

I'm beginning to think we have a good luck fairy sitting on our shoulder at the moment.  The decent cabin (apparently the port holes have been battened down on the bottom deck where we usually stay), the flat sea, the good weather, and it now turns out that although the Pantheon is free to visit on the first Sunday in every month, they made an exception this month because of New Years Day, so we got in for nowt.

One of the things we love about the place is the fact that you can take the stairs up to the walkway at the top of the building inside the dome, and to the terrace just outside.


<<< Looking down from inside the upper dome.

View from the terrace of the National Parthenon

The building itself is pretty wonderful, but we'd spent so much time messing about upstairs that we didn't have time to have a good luck around the lower floors.  Maybe next time.

So, after a quick lunch, we went back out again to escort the tours.  They were pretty uneventful, but we got to see a few of the sights.

The view down to Lisbon from the top of King Edward VII park

The beach in Estoril.  We spent a happy hour in a cafe here, completely chilled enjoying the sunshine. 

We've arrived back in the cabin starving, and plan to go for dinner as soon as it could be deemed respectable.  Our neighbours arrived back shortly after us and have had us in stitches as he always seems to be behind the curve, and she constantly corrects him. Quite bluntly usually.

Anyway, nearly time for dinner, so I'll finish this and get changed.  Tomorrow is another sea day and the day after we'll be in Madeira.  Awesome.

New Years Day - on our way back

So the Horn Chorus was a bit like the Dawn Chorus - a complete mishmash of 6-8 ship horns as opposed to bird song.  There wasn't a lot of tune about it, but it was certainly fun.

And then the fireworks.  8 mins of colour all the way across our vision from left to right.  The fireworks used are massive and can probably be seen miles out.  The ending is particularly  impressive as the fireworks change and become a serious of massive firecrackers - the noise is exhilarating.  The partying on board carried on until way into the wee hours - I know there were a few bad heads the next day -including those of the crew.

New Years Day started well - the sea was calm and the sun was out.  We managed to get a little time on the back deck.  Peter's classes in the afternoon went well, but as he finished, the sea turned on us and the waves started to get higher.   I've got my sea legs now though, and it doesn't feel so bad.  

We went to see the show as usual, "From Russia with Love".  I managed to wear the same dress as one of the other passengers, and afterwards we sat in the Captains Club for another drink.  By bed time the sea really was lifting the boat all over the place - it wakes you up at night.

Tomorrow will be a a sea day and more of the same, with a bit of a leg stretch at a port called Vigo in Spain tomorrow night.  Then we'll be on the last leg back to England...... and work.  

New Years Eve in Funchal

So this ship is not due to dock today, but sit out in the bay near Funchal and use the tenders to get ashore.  Trouble is, the weather is crummy, and they can't get the tenders ashore to start off with.  Visibility was poor, it was miserable, foggy drizzle over on the island and swell caused all sorts of problems.

Low clouds over Funchal in the morning.

As the day progressed, several announcements kept us up to date with progress.  To start off with, they could only use the larger tenders, on the port side, but eventually the smaller ones came into play, and then one of them got damaged due to the rise and fall of the swell. 

We sat in Scott's bar, making use of Peter's mi-fi (a really neat gizmo which has made using the internet much simpler for us this trip), and waited our turn. As we waited, I could hear the other passengers complain.  I sort of feel sorry for the crew, they have to listen to these complaints all the time. 

We finally got our tender after lunch, and after 30 minutes, we were on dry land again.  We know the main streets of Funchal reasonably well, and immediately aimed for the centre, where we knew the Christmas stalls were set up.

The stalls set up to make a speciality bread that's obviously very popular

And soup

Christmas costumes for the girls around the stalls. 

Moving on past the stalls, we eventually got to the Ritz, a wonderful little street cafe which serves the most delicious cakes and icecreams.  Unfortunately they'd run out of vanilla, which meant we settled for drinks on this occasion.  

Right across from the Ritz is a wonderful little park, which is pleasant at anytime, but especially so this time of year because they fill it up with wonderful little story book houses

The little park is set up like Santa's grotto

It's a wonderful place for kids to explore.

Eventually it was time to go back on board ship to prepare for the evening's festivities.  It's a formal night, and Peter is all dressed up in black tie.  He always looks good.  Looking out from the rear deck, Funchal looks quite gorgeous. 

The ligts from Funchal in the evening were quite wonderful.  

So now we're sat in the Palm Gardens all dressed up and ready for the main events.  11pm is the "Horn Chorus" - I think that's when all the ships let loose and make a racket.  And then of course at midnight we are due to see a firework spectacular spread right across the island.  Time for another cocktail I think.  

Day 8 - Sunday 12th January - Marco Polo at Madeira

Whenever I am in a strange place, I wake dead early, and the B&B in Funchal was no exception. I first opened my eyes at 5am, and though I tried, I never got back to sleep. I gave up at 7.15 and was quickly washed, dressed and ready to leave. I'd already told the lovely landlord not to expect me for breakfast, but he won me round with coffee.

And then I was off, walking around the port to get to the Marco Polo which I could see was tied up on the other side. Peter was waiting, and within a few minutes I was being warmly welcomed back on board. Peter was really pleased to see me, as I had brought new trainers, a printer cartridge and best of all, wi-fi! (I get a good deal on my phone, and this meant Peter could now sit in the cabin and catch up on all his emails and work.) 

After breakfast, Peter made use of the wi-fi and I went back into Funchal, looking headphones for Peter and pencils for his class. I should have remembered that it was Sunday and that everywhere was closed, so I didn't find the headphones and the pencils were of the souvenir kind. It didn't matter though because I also ended up walking with a couple we've known since our first Amazon cruise 4 years ago. Moss and Robina are passionate bird watchers, and I love talking to them as I learn so much. If it wasn't for meeting up with them again, I wouldn't have known about the Monarch butterflies in the gardens.  

Monarch Butterfly.  Apparently they fly across the Atlantic to Mexico.  

Nor would I have found out that a bird I noticed feeding down in a waste outflow was a Common Sandpiper.

Little Egret

Common Sandpiper

It's going to be good to have Moss on board for the Amazon and all that wildlife.

The ship left Funchal at 2pm. Next stop Mindelo, Cape Verde islands in two days time. Now I feel like I'm on holiday.

Marco Polo at Funchal

Funchal, Madeira 2011
Funchal, Madeira 2012
Travelling to Funchal, Madeira 2013
New Years Eve Fireworks, Funchal, Madeira 31 Dec 2013
B&B in Funchal, Madeira 2014

Amazon Cruise on the Marco Polo - shortcut to Day 7 - Saturday 11 Jan 2014

Anybody reading my blog is probably going to say "Huh? She got off the Marco Polo in Tilbury last Sunday. What's she doing getting back on it again in less than a week?"
Well it's all down to work. I had to work for a week, and now I'm heading back to the ship. Yesterday I left work early to drive to my daughter's home in Oakham, Rutland and enjoyed a bit of family time. This morning I set off to meet the ship in Madeira using planes, trains and automobiles. As usual, it takes some planning and went as follows:
Step 1 - car ride to Peterborough station (It worked out £50 dearer for a train ticket from Oakham to Gatwick than to get one from Peterborough to Gatwick! Scandalous when you consider Peterborough is only a 25min car drive from Oakham. You could get a taxi for less!) Thank you to my nearly son in law for the lift.
Step 2 - Train from Peterborough to Kings Cross, tube from Kings Cross to Victoria Station, and then miss the planned train from Victoria to Gatwick. I was having one of my numpty moments and got the train times all wrong. Fortunately nobody worried, and I was able to get another train thirty minutes later and still be at Gatwick in plenty of time.
Step 3 - Flight from Gatwick to Madeira, on a lovely cheap flight with Easyjet. I saw the queues to check in and then realised that I had checked in online and I didn't have any luggage for the hold, so I didn't have to join them. Yippeeeee. I just went straight through to departures. The only downer was that I couldn't get my kindle to work. Methinks I might have broken it somehow?
Step 4 - I got a taxi from the airport to B&B I had booked in Funchal. That was a rip off, he charged me €35! I recommend anyone else doing the same thing do as I did last year and book it online with one of the transfer companies. It was a lot cheaper.

Step 5 - The B&B I am in is weirdly brilliant. It's a bit of a cross between Fawlty Towers and Rising Damp. I'm in a room with furniture that goes back to the 60's and threadbare carpets. The bathroom has a bath about the size of a child's cot, faulty plumbing, the most gaudy green tiles you've ever seen and a little shaving mirror over the sink. Something in the room smells musty and damp (I think it's the wall behind the chest of drawers), and the twin beds have old brown blankets and the oddest pillows? But it's still brilliant......... Because despite everything, it's clean, it's very, very cheap, it's very close to the city centre and to top it all, I am two floors up and have a little balcony looking out onto Funchal, not a sea view, but I can watch the cable cars go up, and see the lights and the life of the city. How fantastic is that! The little dining room is brilliant, fantastic coffee, and the owner is really friendly and speaks excellent english.  What more could you ask for!

It's called Mirasol Pensao Residencial if you're tempted.  

So I'm here, but the ship isn't. I've had a quick walk down the front, had something to eat, and watched a couple of cruise ships leave the port. Tomorrow the Marco Polo will arrive and I'll be waiting. Time to start another wonderful adventurous trip to the Amazon. I am so excited!

Funchal, Madeira 2011
Funchal, Madeira 2012
Travelling to Funchal, Madeira 2013
New Years Eve Fireworks, Funchal, Madeira 31 Dec 2013
Funchal, Madeira 2014

Day 10 - Tuesday 31st December - New Years Eve in Funchal, Madeira

The ship doesn't have a berth in Funchal today. This would be because there are only four, and they have to be booked six years in advance. When we arrived, there were four ships ahead of us already berthed, (The Balmoral, The Saga Saphire, The Aida and The Aurora), The Braemar and the Saga Ruby had also arrived ahead of us and were anchored out in the bay. Our ship took up position a little way from them and then let down an anchor.
Without a berth, the only way ashore is by tender. We were in no hurry, and the excursions had to get ashore first, so we didn't get out tender ticket until about 10.15. Trouble is, for whatever reason, the tenders were running very slow. We ended up having lunch before we got onto ours at about 1pm.
It was a frustrating start to a frustrating day. Our plan had been to go and find the tourist office, obtain a map of walking routes on the island, get the cable car up to Monte and then take a scenic walk back.
First, we couldn't find the tourist office, despite wandering about according to various instructions for at least 30 minutes. In the end we decided to wing it and go to the cable car anyway.

The cable ride is a lovely trip, with views across the island and down onto the bay. It takes about 8 peaceful minutes to get to the top, and on a sunny day like today, it should have been brilliant. And it would have been if it wasn't for the two disgruntled passengers we shared the car with. They moaned about the ship all the way up and completely spoilt the ride.


At the top, we went to visit the wonderful little church in Monte.  They've opened the bell towers, which extra to our last visit, and we were able to go to roof height and look out across the bay.

The view from the church at Monte.  The Marco Polo is on the left, and you can see all the other ships around the Port

Then made a decision about the way down. I wanted to walk down alongside a deep valley, underneath the cable car. Peter wanted to follow the sledge route because it was a way we knew. We followed the sledge route which I found disappointing as I was looking forward to views but the high walls along most of our way prevented them.

But it wasn't all bad. We'd done a quick circuit of the town centre before making our way to the cable car, and we wandered back after our trek downhill. The streets were buzzing with New Year festivities, with craft stalls and costumes everywhere.  Every bar and cafe getting busier by the minute as more of the locals came out to add to the crowds. The tourists would all return to their ships by dark, and then the people of Funchal could have their city back to let the New Year in Madeira style.

As we made our way back to the Marco Polo, we could see that several more had arrived into the bay, including the huge Mein Schiffe 1 that we'd seen yesterday. As the evening wore on, we watched as the ships manoeuvred themselves around the bay, vying for the best position. You could feel the excitement building up amongst the passengers as the night progressed. We were all waiting for midnight. Dinner was eaten, the ships entertainment enjoyed, but everyone wanted to be out on deck to watch the sky.










Madeira lets in the New Year in record breaking style with one of the most spectacular, awe inspiring, explosive, heart stopping and ear popping firework displays in the world. At midnight, the whole sky above the island suddenly lit up. The noise and the colour was incredible, you could feel the sound in your chest as you tried to take it all in through the eyes. And it went on and on and on.
Absolutely truly amazing, and one of the main reasons why so many people decide to go on a Canaries Cruise at Christmas.

Beginning of the New Year fireworks display, Madeira 2014

Everybody was in a good mood after that. The ship immediately set sail, the music played into the wee hours and the passengers of the Marco Polo gave 2014 a very warm welcome with a raised glass, music, dancing and a big smile.

Funchal, Madeira 2011
Funchal, Madeira 2012
Travelling to Funchal, Madeira 2013
B&B in Funchal, Madeira 2014
Funchal, Madeira 2014

Funchal, Madeira

We woke up this morning to see Funchal under a lovely blue sky through the portholes of our cabin.  Not only that, Peter is starting feel and sound better.  The ship was only scheduled to spend the morning in Madeira, and since we’ve been here before, we decided we would take a stroll, pick up a couple of things like soft drinks for the cabin and soft face tissues, and enjoy the free wi-fi.

Our first job was to find the items on our shopping list, and I remembered a supermarket that was able to provide just about everything except thermos mugs.  We wanted these so that we could take tea and coffee back to the cabin.   We didn’t find them, which was hardly surprising.  I mean, who needs thermos mugs in Madeira?
But we enjoyed our meander.  Funchal really is a beautiful city and we took several photo’s to add to our previous collection.

The city is also noted for its New Year Fireworks, where loads of cruise ships arrive purely for the occasion, vying for the best positions just offshore.  Obviously we missed all that, but during our walk we noticed that the Christmas decorations and nativity were only just being dismantled, althoough I managed to get a photo of the snowmen before they were taken away, they were just so cute.

Then we indulged at a cafe on free wi-fi, tea, coffee and a sickeningly gorgeous cake for me in the lovely warm sunshine.  We updated a few bits n pieces on the internet, and I was able to use the wi-fi to say hi to me Mum and Dad on Skype before we made our way back to the ship. The ship sailed at 2 this afternoon, passing a couple of smaller ships - the Saga Pearl II and the Saga Ruby on its way out of port.   I had a good look as we went past.  I wonder what a Saga ship looks like alongside one of the Royal Caribbean “Oasis” ships?  A lifeboat probably! 

We’ve had a really lazy afternoon and evening, (another nap), and enjoyed a pleasant meal in the Marco Bistro.  I remember that on my last cruise, I commented that I was fed up of having to dress for dinner.  On this ship however, they do have a “Casual” dress code, which they seem to use for those evenings when we’ve been in port.   We can go to dinner in jeans. Yipppeeeeee. 

Now I will go on to the second real downer of the Marco Polo – no launderette.  Something we didn’t pick up when we read all the reviews.  On a two week cruise I would imagine you could cope without washing anything, but for the people who got on in Tilbury, this cruise is 45 days long!  You can put your clothes in for the laundry service, but I am not paying a £1.00 a pair to get me knickers washed and  “ironed”.  (According to the price chart you can’t just have them washed.)

So when we were out today, we bought soap powder.  There are little washing lines in the bathroom, so it looks like I am going to have to get me rubber gloves on and get scrubbing.  (Feel sorry for me......... I have to wash Peter’s socks!)  Tomorrow is a sea day.  More relaxing methinks.

Funchal, Madeira 2011
Travelling to Funchal, Madeira 2013
New Years Eve Fireworks, Funchal, Madeira 31 Dec 2013
B&B in Funchal, Madeira 2014
Funchal, Madeira 2014

Lisbon

The front entrance to the beautiful Church of St Engracia

It’s been a long 24hrs.   It started yesterday at about 2.45 pm when I waved goodbye to my grown up children, (together to celebrate the 18^th birthday of my youngest), to be driven by the newly adult g child to Darlington Station.  My  journey of trains, planes and automobiles went so smoothly it was amazing.  I can tell you that St Pancras Station is awesome and the Holiday Inn Express at Luton is really nice and comfortable, although the food wasn’t the best.

 Altar inside Ch. St. Engracia, from upper level

Due to worry about missing the flight, I didn’t get much sleep though, about 3-4 hours.  Luton airport is extremely efficient, and Easyjet managed to get us to Lisbon 25 mins early.  I’m never really comfortable on an aeroplane, the slightest flicker of turbulence makes me uneasy, but today’s flight was made so much better by the little boy somewhere behind me asking questions of his mum:  When the plane banked, he asked “is it going to go upside down?”, when the captain talked about descent, he wanted to know if we were going to land in the sea. 

One of the many examples of run down buildings in Lisbon

And finally, when the plane suddenly smoothed and quietened approaching Lisbon airport and we were still a couple of thousand feet in the air, and he asked “Has it stopped?”

The taxi seemed a little expensive, but at least the driver spoke English, and bothered to ask a colleague about the location of the ship.  I’d already checked with Peter, and the Marco Polo was supposed to be at the the “Apolonia Pier”.  And it was,with Peter sat outside on the dock, waiting for me.  Awwwwwww.

So, I finally boarded the Marco Polo on a beautifully sunny day in Portugal.   

Lisbon Cathedral main entrance

No trouble getting booked on, a quick coffee and a little bit of lunch  and we went back out to explore Lisbon.  Admittedly, we have only seen that part of the city which is within walking distance of the ship, but our last visit here didn’t leave a very good impression.  And today’s walk confirmed that Lisbon is still tatty and run down.  Some areas were downright awful.  But when we got away from the graffiti and the most decrepid of the buildings, Lisbon started to grow a little on me. 

The main altar, Lisbon Cathedral

The only word I have been able to conjure up is Bohemian - Juliet balconies, carved wooden doors,  tiled walls and pavements, antique little trams and glorious architecture.  Sadly the paint has blistered, the tiles are falling off, the pavements are full of holes and the plaster and carvings are crumbled and damaged.   But the place has still grown on me a little.

Our walk today included the The Church of Saint Engracia, which is national monument, not a working church and also a “National Pantheon” which means it is a place dedicated to housing the remains of important figures from Portugals history.  It’s other claim to fame is the inordinately long time it took to build it, 1682 until 1966!  It is a wonderful, beautiful building where we were allowed travel up to the higher levels and admire the views of the altar and chapels from on high.     

We also had a quick look at the Church of St Vicente,  and the Cathedral.  I don’t understand all the nuances of the catholic religion, or why there are so many chapels in the cathedrals. 

Central monument and gateway, Praca do Commercio, Lisbon

But I do appreciate the beauty of the buildings and the craftmanship involved.  This cathedral was built about 1150  I think.  Amazing what they did without cranes and power tools.Back on board ship, our evening meal was very nice, but marred ever so slightly by the fact that our copy of the Daily Blurb detailing activities and evening dress code was in dutch!  Our guess of “informal” on a casual night meant that I felt overdressed.   Dinner was good, not a lot of choice,but well cooked and presented, and we finished just in time to go up on deck and watch the lights of Lisbon slide past as the ship left port.   A thoroughly lovely day.    Tomorrow is a sea day, and a chance for me to better explore the ship.  I’m looking forward to it.