Day 05 - Thu - 11/06/2025 - Funchal - Day 1

 After 3 days at sea, the sea conditions moderated overnight from the slight rolling motion to nice and flat.  Since the port arrival and clearance announcements are not made in the stateroom hallways, we just woke up naturally around 9am and proceeded to get dressed and have some breakfast in the LIDO.  Since we have been here before including just two weeks ago, our plan was to walk the town and take in the local culture.


The cruise ships dock at a very long pier and there is space for two of them plus room for a local ferry.  It's sort of a U shaped walk into town down the breakwater/pier and then along the waterfront promenade.  If one doesn't want to walk, then a shuttle is available for around $15US or the YELLOW or RED Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) buses leave from the pier.  


As avid walkers, we chose to walk the promenade and along the way we purchased some roasted chestnuts for 3E for 12.  These are very popular this time of year in Europe and we are very fond of them.  It was about a 40 minute walk to reach the very yellow fort John the Baptist.  The only thing remaining of this fort is the stone structure.  Everything else has been lost to the ages.  We climbed the staircases and went in Guard Towers and enjoyed the scenery from this ocean vantage point before descending back to street level.  The plan for the rest of the day was to visit as many churches and other sites as we made our way back towards the pier.




The first church that we toured was the Church of Saint Mary the Great.  All of the churches that we visited were large stone structures with interiors featuring lots of elaborate wood carving, many covered in gold leaf.  All were active parishes, and  all were open to the public.  From there we walked in search of a grocery store as we were looking for some chocolate pieces that we treat ourselves to every night.  We did find the farmer's market (Mercado dos Lavradores) and it was a fairly busy place selling fruit and produce, handcrafts, tourist items, textiles, wines, and there was a fish market as well.  On the second level we found a lovely cafe where we enjoyed a nice sandwich and a soda.  I had the tuna and Angela had the chicken.  Both were excellent with amazingly soft & tasty white bread.  Yummy!


Leaving the market we continued our stroll down the main shopping street (Rua Dr. Fernao de Ornelas) which is pedestrian only.  I had forgotten to pack a pair of dark dress socks, but we found a little shop that sold only socks.  So for 2E, I now have a pair of dress socks for the remainder of the trip.  Just off this street was another church (Igreja do Carmo) which was a Carmelite church.  Continuing on we came to the Funchal Cathedral.  It's clearly the largest of all of the churches we visited. And its interior decor was similar to all of the other churches except it had an organ in the back and a few stained glass windows high on the walls.


Our last church that we visited was Saint John the Evangelist church.  At this church we paid 2E each to climb the bell tower where we enjoyed beautiful views of the city.  From this church we made our way to the Santa Catarina Park and strolled through the gardens.  At the base of the park is a monument Statute Infante Dom Enrique.  A friend had sent us a picture of the statute and there was apparently a web camera there that displayed our ship.  We never found the camera (I suspect it's on a nearby building).  We then walked back to the ship to enjoy some dinner before the evening show.


Dinner was in the LIDO and we enjoyed it was Gary and Joanne.  Afterwards an officer stopped me and wanted to follow up on my complaint about the service in the LIDO.  I had lodged the complaint at the front desk and with the use of the medallion technology, they were able to find me.  I explained in person to Waldo what I was experiencing in the LIDO during breakfast and lunch.  Our observation are that there are not enough staff serving and those staff don't seem to engage with the passengers.  They're really good at picking up soiled dishes, but it's hard to get their attention for water and tea.  One literally has to flag them down and make the request.  This is so unlike Holland America where the staff is quick to greet passengers, look you in the eye, and get the requested item.


After this encounter, I went to the Princess Theater for the evening cast show, Spotlight Bar.  The cruise director raved about the show, but it didn't resonate with me.  We were in our seats and hour before the start, and just before showtime a group of 5 wanted to push their way into our row and make us move down.  Since I was there so early, I wasn't initially willing and one lady in the party got a bit snippy which caused me to dig in a bit more.  In the end I moved over and their group was reunited.  Afterwards we went to the 2nd audition for Voice of Ocean.  Angela sang but didn't get chosen.  


And so ended a long day just after midnight.  We'll do some more walking tomorrow.  Today was over 6 miles.  

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