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Touching down in Funchal, Madeira at the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, named after one of Portugal’s most famous explorers of the New World, one notices the immediate calming effect. It is much less hectic than the Lisbon Airport from where we departed only an hour and a half earlier.

Walking down the steps from the aircraft, the warm breeze caresses you and the fragrance of flowers permeates the air.  Welcome to island life, where the pace is slower than mainland Portugal (which is already pretty darn slow compared to US standards)!

In the 1980s, the airport’s short runway was expanded to accommodate larger aircraft. The extension is built on piers, which support the runway that hovers over the cars passing under the highway below. This was an incredible engineering feat that took six years to complete.

The extensions were necessary to welcome all the new visitors who were discovering the island, and to make the approach safer. Two deadly crashes occurred in 1977, one in November killing 131 people and another a month later, killing 36 people. It is still a challenging approach because of the tricky wind currents at the tip of the island. Everyone clapped as we landed. We were told that it is a tradition. I get it.

Then we caught a bus with David and Sharie, our traveling buddies, that took us almost directly to our Hotel Madeira. Living it up at the Hotel Madeira. Such a lovely place. What a nice surprise.

Our Madeira apartment was conveniently located in the center of Funchal. There was a nice park across the alley with lots of benches. Bench sitting is one of my favorite activities.

Madeira Island has been at the top of our “Must See” list since arriving in Portugal. Covid restrictions delayed our visit until now. And it was worth the wait.

Brief History of Madeira

We did one of those free walking tours of Madeira. Those free tours of different tourist locations around the world are a great way to get to know a place. Then you tip the guide at the end. It is not an easy job talking for two and a half hours straight, several times a week. I always appreciate a good guide. Our guide had the most incredible tattoos. I wish I had gotten a picture, but I didn’t notice them until she took her jacket off. They might have told the entire history of Madeira for all I know.

Back in the 15th and 16th centuries, slaves and indentured laborers (like slaves, but with an expiration date, supposedly) were used to clear land and grow sugar cane. Later, pirates came to raid the island and take slaves, laborers and anyone else who wasn’t fast enough to get away, and sell them to other merchants in need of free labor.

Fast-forward to the 20^th century.. after Portugal’s dictatorship ended in the 1970’s, Madeira became an autonomous region of Portugal. Alberto João Jardim became President of Madeira for 37 years, from 1978 to 2015. One might think that a leader for that long would be destined to become another dictator, but he was a popular leader who always seemed to have Madiera’s best interests in mind. That is how he kept getting re-elected.

One of his projects was tunnels all over the island. There are over one hundred of them, all built within the last thirty years, and funded by the European Union. I’m pretty sure we drove through half of them. I can’t imagine how people got around before the tunnels, with all the hills and valleys on the island. I suppose a lot of locals never saw the other side of the island from where they were born.

Our Most Excellent Tour Guide

If you are visiting Madeira, I would advise against renting a car, at least on your first visit. Roads are narrow and winding and the driver will miss all the incredible views to the right and left.

Two of our days on the island were spent touring the west side and east side with Liana’s Best Walks & Tours, who I would highly recommend. Liana does the walking treks while Ricardo does the driving tours. We signed up for the driving tours, and Ricardo was a superb driver and informative guide.

Traditional Espada com Banana

At one of our restaurant stops, we had a traditional dish called Espada com Banana. It is a delicious meal with Black Scabbardfish prepared with bananas, olive oil, flour, eggs, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and oregano. It was quite delicious.

Ricardo advised us not to look at the fish before it is prepared. Otherwise, we may not want to try it and we would be missing out on a delectable experience.

Swimming in the pools of Porto Moniz

One of the highlights for me was swimming in the natural pools of Porto Moniz. Cathy and I have gotten into the habit of early morning dips in the cold Praia do Sul on the Ericeira coastline. We forgot how pleasant swimming in water a few degrees warmer can be. If, or when, we go back to Madeira, we plan on spending more time in Porto Moniz to enjoy the pools for an entire day rather than just an hour.

If you do visit the pools, be careful with the slippery steps covered with algae. As is the case all over Europe, railings are not necessarily a thing. And neither are warning signs. This also goes for cliffs and hikes and stone steps and on and on and on.

As a matter of fact, while I was walking to get a massage in Funchal, I was looking down at my phone for walking directions and I came one step away from falling into an open manhole. The guy was down below working on something, but there were no signs, no cones, nothing. If I had fallen in, I am sure the local authorities would be shaking their heads and saying, “What a dumbass.” Or however you say “What a dumbass” in Portuguese. And then someone would probably say, “Okay, whose turn is it to clean up this mess?”

Painted Doors in the Old Town District

In the old section of Funchal, where the roads are even narrower than the rest of Funchal, there are dozens of painted doors. I don’t know when or how this custom started, but it is fun to walk through and look at the creative artwork. There are also many interesting restaurants and bars spilling onto the alleyways, but we ran out of time to eat or drink in any of them.

Across from the painted doors are the cable cars that rise high above the city. We did ride in those and walked through the botanical gardens on the way back down to town.

Downhill Basket Rides

One way down from the top where the cable cars let you off are the basket/sleigh rides. One of the things many tourists do when they come to Funchal is to be pushed downhill in a basket. It costs 30 euros per couple. Many people feel like they have to do it, like the traditional gondolas in Venice. Needless to say, we didn’t take a gondola while in Venice and we didn’t ride a basket downhill in Funchal.

We did watch from above, however, and I calculated that they were launching a basket about every 45 seconds. In other words, somebody is banking around 2,500 euros per hour. That is not bad considering there is no product actually changing hands.

Final Night in Funchal

On our last night on Madeira, Rose invited us to Wilfredo’s birthday party at Restaurante A Parreira. Cathy, Sharie and David walked while I took a Bolt (an Uber competitor). I couldn’t believe how steep the hill was driving up there. I am sure the streets weren’t any flatter walking up for the trio of step-counters. The sweat on their brows confirmed that to be true.

As we were all seated, many others filled the remaining seats in the restaurant. It became quite crowded and noisy. The waiters hung skewers of beef and chicken grilled to perfection. Also polenta cubes, a tasty fried cornmeal. They served drinks before, during and after dinner. Lots of wine and a good portion of rum as well. That is why, when the folk dancers came down from the stage to grab partners to dance with them, I didn’t resist. Resistance was futile and it turned out to be lots of fun.

We met Rose and Wilfredo a few days earlier at dinner. Wilfredo and David had been communicating on Facebook for a long time before realizing that we were all going to be in Madeira at the same time. Wifredo’s birthday party was one to remember and a great way to end our vacation.

A Special Visitor in February

When we decided to move to Portugal, people would ask, won’t you miss your grandkids? Of course that is a major consideration when listing pros and cons! But how long do you actually get to spend with your grandchildren now? If it is on a regular and frequent basis, then great! But, as the grands get older, they tend to have their own friends and activities and interests that supersede a visit to see grandma and grandpa. It is a natural and understandable progression.

Last month, our 18-year-old granddaughter, Satya, came to visit us in Ericeira for three weeks. If we had gotten three hours with any of our grandchildren back in the US, we would be totally grateful. Three weeks here in Ericeira was beyond our wildest expectations, and it only happened because we are here. So, chalk that up in the “pro” column.

Monsanto and Marvão

We had recently visited Monsanto with our friends, Rob and Rita, back in December. It was worth a return visit with Satya and Foxy. The weather was nicer this time around.

And then we took a detour on the way home and stopped in Marvão, which was a delightful little walled town perched high on top of a ledge. Hardly anyone was out on the streets and we practically had the entire castle to ourselves. It was truly a hidden treasure which I would recommend to visitors. Entry fee is only 1.50€ per person. Foxy snuck in for free.

Before Satya left us to go back to Portland, she and grandma took a bus to Seville. Foxy and I hung back here in Ericeira, but Cathy and Satya had a wonderful time visiting Spain. It was another country Satya can put in her life experiences.

About Cristiano Ronaldo..

Yes, I really do know who Cristiano Ronaldo is. I just wanted to know if you were paying attention! For those of you who do NOT know who Ronaldo is, he was not one of the early explorers. He is the most famous futbol player to come out of Portugal, having been born in Funchal.

He is still playing at the advanced age of 38 and has scored more goals than Pele. Fortunately, they decided not to wait until he passed away to name their airport after him. By the way, for you Ted Lasso fanatics, some say that Richmond striker, Jamie Tartt, channeled Ronaldo for his role on Ted Lasso.