Island Odyssey: Final Day of Madeira

The first stop on our last day was the Funchal Market. All four of our Lindblad group buses stopped here first, and we weren't the only tourists or tour group, so the Market was packed. But it is one of the places one must see, and it exemplifies the three Fs of Maderia -- flowers, fish, and fruit. Lots of fruit.

The fish market was in a separate section, and we barely had time to visit ...

... but we were finally saw the black scabbard fish, a citizen of deep waters (600 to 1600 meters) and considered a Madeiran delicacy. We tried it during this trip and found it a good, slightly sweet white-fleshed fish. However, it looks ferocious, as do so many of the creatures who live in the dark, deeper ocean.

After the market the group had options. Joan and I were among the those that had chosen the walk on the Sao Lourenco Peninsula. This peninsula forms the easternmost trip of the island, and is much drier than the rest, for which we would today be thankful.

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At the parking area Jim Kelly gave us the geological explanation for pillow lava -- mounds that form from underwater extrusion of lava.

The Sao Lourenco walk has a well-marked, there and back again trail, with much winding and going up and down (just look at the map above!). This gives the fast, "how far can I go" walkers plenty of legroom, while avid birdwatchers can find a good place to sit. Joan and I occupy the middle ground, neither too fast to see things, nor too slow to get somewhere. We learned early on from Karen Copeland, a Lindblad naturalist, to always take your binoculars whenever you go on such trips. In fact, the first corollary of her rule is to take binos everywhere, even including the dining room on board ship, for you never know when a whale or other creature might be spotted.

The rocks and the sea make a strong contrast. These two rock formations, one in front of the other, also make a strong contrast!

From this point, as far as Joan and I hiked, you can just see at left the final islet.

There was some occasional light drizzle. We were much better off than the other buses, towards the middle of the island, where we later learned the rain had been torrential.

After the hike we lunched in the nearby town of Caniçal, and returned to Reid's Palace to finish packing our luggage and clean up before dinner. Joan and I also took a turn through the gardens at Reid's. One of the first things I noticed was the replica of the Santa Maria, Columbus' largest ship, sailing in front of a stiff breeze; they took her out, I imagine, as part of the Flower Festival. It pitched and bobbed; I would have needed a double dose of seasickness medication. (This is not our ship, the National Geographic Explorer.)

This is a good example of the floral exuberance at Reid's. It's also the only photo I took.

We finished our packing. During this time, a Very Large Ship  (not ours!) left the harbor.

Dinnertime arrived, and our group was seated again in the formal dining room. Both Reid's and Lindblad had been nimble, given that our group had needed a 12 hour extension of our stay at the hotel. Then we left Reid's for the last time, and boarded our buses for the harbor. There she was!

It took some time to get all the passengers aboard, and to conduct the champagne reception. We departed Madeira in complete darkness. The lights of Funchal were a tempting scene, even if I had only a point-and-shoot camera. If I took enough pictures, my hand might be steady enough for one good one.

This interesting shot looks back along the Explorer.

Having undergone a complete rebuild a handful of years ago from her previous incarnation as a Norwegian coastal ferry, the Explorer has a wonderful library and observation lounge on the top deck. You can see the windows at left, and you'll see the interior in a later post. The fully enclosed lifeboats are impressive. The Explorer's wake has a ghostly appearance because of the long exposure time.

I held up well during the reception and taking pictures, but by the time we went to bed, now exposed to long swells in the Atlantic, I decided to observe the maxim of safety first, and took one seasickness tablet after lying in my bed for a few minutes. I find tablets much preferable to patches because I can vary or even skip the dose with a tablet, depending on the weather and my sea-legs.

After a full day on the broad ocean, the morning after next would find us approaching the Azores.