Our first day on land - how very exciting! We got up nice and early to watch the sail in to the town of Funchal in Madeira (well, as best we could in the dark!). Even from where the ship docked it looked like a beautiful island so we were excited about the day ahead. First stop - the gym - not to do any exercise but to weigh ourselves! (Any of you who followed our exploits last time may remember that the scales don't work when at sea, so you can only use them when the ship is moored, and we did this regularly - 3 months stuck in a place with unlimited free food is a dangerous concept, especially as we only have one set of clothes!) We then had breakfast and set off ashore.
We got our first proper look at the Aurora from the outside, which is always an exciting moment as it makes you realise quite how huge these vessels are! We wandered through the small cruise terminal, and boarded our coach for today's excursion - Cable Car and Monte Palace Gardens. Once everyone was on board we had an introduction by our guide to some of the history of Madeira, then drove to the first stop - the cable car entrance. The ride takes 15 minutes, from sea level up to the end point at the village of Monte - 560metres high. The views on the way up were incredible - the pretty town houses, gardens and terraces growing vegetables, bridges and tunnels, with the sea and our ship in the distance. There were quite a number of Santa Claus characters climbing up balconies still around!
At the top we admired the view for a few minutes and then set off for a guided tour around the Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. This is a large park built around the 18th century Monte Palace, with a huge variety of plants, flowers and trees, winding pathways, ponds of koi fish, beautiful painted tile panels, peacocks and swans, and gardens with different themes from different countries - the Japanese and Chinese gardens were particularly beautiful. There are also 2 onsite museums - one with a variety of stone sculptures from Zimbabwe, and another with a large collection of minerals and gemstones. During the tour we walked down through the gardens, finishing at the bottom at the terrace cafe with breathtaking views and a free glass of Madeira wine (which tastes a little like Banyuls - but not as nice of course!) which you could accompany by a piece of cake if wished (I wished!). It was then time for the journey back up to the top... JL looked longingly at the golf buggy which could be taken for guests with significant mobility difficulties, but was very brave and joined the rest of us in the steep walk! Luckily there were various stops to view the palace and hear about the different plant life.
At the top we had a short walk to find our coach, past Monte village (which, like the cafe, still had its Christmas decorations up!) My favourite were the Christmas trees made by local school children of different recycled materials. There was also a small marketplace where I bought my first magnet to start my new collection!
We also saw one of Madeira's most unique tourist attractions - the toboggans! These are made of wicker and fit 2 or 3 people sat inside. They are then pulled downhill by ropes, along the steep roads, round multiple sharp bends, reaching speeds of up to 30mph, by two men whose only method of braking is the soles of their special boots! It was not part of our tour which I was quite thankful for as it looked rather scary!
Once back on the coach, we rode along the narrow windy streets to a nearby lookout point - Pico do Barcelos. This offered incredible views over the bay, the surrounding hills, and the town of Funchal down below. After a few photos it was time to make our way back to the town. We took advantage of the drop off point in the town to have a wander round. Funchal is beautiful with lush parks, and many interesting buildings including the cathedral, several highly decorative banks, and statues of famous people in Madeira's history - such as Cristiano Ronaldo who was born here. We had a lovely walk around, and had a look in a few shops for an orange juice squeezer (sadly not to be!), before heading back along the harbour to the ship.
We had a light late lunch, then I had a lovely chat on the phone to my family before we went back to the restaurant for something I had been eagerly waiting for - my first afternoon tea!!!! Just as beautiful as I'd expected - mini sandwiches, crumpets, scones, teacakes, pastries, and a selection of teas and coffees. Not wanting to spoil our dinner we were very restrained (plus I know it's there every day if I want it - for free!). Delicious!
It was then time for sailaway so we went back up on deck where the sun was shining brightly and a few people had started using the swimming pool already! We watched the ship sail out, then made our way to the Crows Nest (which is a beautiful piano bar at the front of the ship) to have a cocktail (mocktail for me!) while we watched the sunset. Unfortunately the sun decided to disappear into the haze at the last minute but it was still a lovely experience!
We had a slightly later dinner than normal (as we were still full of afternoon tea!) and you will be pleased to know my Quorn arrived like clockwork - hurray! We then went to the theatre for the evening show - a magician called Matthew Mcgurk who was very impressive - my favourite trick involved him tying up one of the ship's crew, hiding her in a curtain, then her emerging 10 seconds later wearing a dinner jacket under the ropes - I'm still puzzling over how it was done! A fascinating end to a fascinating day!
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