FUNCHAL
13 March 2025

Although the Canary Islands are Spanish, our cruise itinerary included a bonus day on the Portuguese islands of Madeira. With only the one day to explore, we decided to focus on Funchal and do it properly. We booked tickets for the Funchal Yellow Bus hop-on-hop-off experience through the travel desk on our cruise ship which gave us access to the tour bus that came right onto the quay in front of the disembarkation point.

The bus itself is exactly what you’d expect—open top, audio guide in 10 languages. The route winds through the old town, past the cable car station (mental note: do that next), and up into the hills where the views get increasingly smug-worthy. The commentary was just enough history to feel cultured, not so much that you start checking your watch.

We hopped off the bus at Camara de Lobos; a fishing village so pretty that it looks photoshopped! Its claim to fame is that Churchill stayed in the Reid’s Palace Hotel in 1950 and set up his painting easel outside to capture the picturesque colourful boats, whitewashed houses and dramatic cliffs. We set Dorothy down on the bench next to Winston for a snappy for our holiday album before the inevitable fridge magnet hunt.

We hopped back on the bus to take us to the Lido promenade. The promenade stretches for about 2 km, linking the Lido area to Praia Formosa beach on a decorated tiled path. It was lined with palm trees, lush botanical gardens, and benches where locals less on-a-mission than we were took time to sit and stare at the ocean for a while. (Of course, being the Atlantic, the water is freezing so staring is probably the best way to experience it!)

After some discussion when we got back on the bus, the mothers, petered by the long walk and a few steep-climb hills, decided to hop off at the bus stop at the quayside to retire back to the ship while Chris and I continued back into town with full intention of cashing in the wine-tasting that was included in our bus ticket.

We walked along the pleasant shaded avenue in the city centre, admiring the seamless combination of understated modern conveniences alongside the authentic old-world charm until we found Blandy’s. We cashed in the complimentary tastings and topped up with a pay-in to complete the flight of their Madeiran sweet wines. Did you know Madeira wine was used to toast the signing of the US Declaration of Independence? Neither did I. Cheers, George Washington.

Although not to our usual palette, it was worth it to have the experience in the motherland, and we bought a combo pack to take home for our Wine & Dine tasting club.