Madeira
Although the National Geographic Endeavour was at sea this morning, we could see various islands of the Madeiran Archipelago from the time everyone woke up. The main island of the group, Madeira, consists of a massive chunk of volcanic rock which rises about 20,000 feet above the sea floor, reaching 6,107 feet above the sea. This mountainous island measures 38 miles in length and 16 miles in width, and is sometimes referred to as the "Atlantic's floating flower pot", because of its exotic flowers and lush vegetation. The Madeiran islands were certainly known to the ancient Phoenicians some 2,500 years ago, and it existed on Genoese maps in the early14th century, but the first known colonizers were the Portuguese who established a settlement in 1425 (under the cajoling of Prince Henry the Navigator). Tradition holds that fires were started to clear the dense forests and raged out of control for several years. The new inhabitants immediately introduced sugar cane and grape vines and the island soon grew to great importance in the European trade networks.
A pod of aptly-named pilot whales led us in to Funchal, the capital and largest city of Madeira, just before lunch. With a population of some 130,000 people, Funchal accounts for about half of island's total inhabitants. We spent the rest of the day exploring both the city and the southeastern part of the island. Everyone had a chance to visit the amazing open market with its incredible collection of colorful flowers, fruits, vegetables, baskets, fish (including scary-looking, deep sea black scabbard fish), etc. Some other highlights of the city that were visited by some of us included the Embroidery factory, the famous Museum of Sacred Art, and the Madeira Story Center Museum. An adventurous handful of us traveled high above the city by cable car in order to experience a bizarre basket sled ride, which is a unique Madeiran form of entertainment that developed long ago from a traditional means of transportation of goods from the surrounding mountains.
About half of our group also opted to visit São Lourenço National Park, located at the extreme southeastern region of the island. Here, we had the opportunity to hike on an excellent trail among some very dramatic volcanic formations, and we could clearly observe the violent geological history of the island that occurred some five million years ago. It is a mixture of explosive eruptions, which left behind multicolored ash deposits, as well as outpourings of basaltic lava, and interspersions of impressive wall-like dikes. This has all come about because Madeira sits atop a transverse submarine fault.
The day was capped with a delightful evening at the Abrigo do Pastor Restaurant where we enjoyed traditional Madeiran food and wine and were entertained with Fado, the famous Portuguese ‘Blues Music’, and a folkloric dance show. We remained at berth overnight, planning to spend another day in Madeira.
Although the National Geographic Endeavour was at sea this morning, we could see various islands of the Madeiran Archipelago from the time everyone woke up. The main island of the group, Madeira, consists of a massive chunk of volcanic rock which rises about 20,000 feet above the sea floor, reaching 6,107 feet above the sea. This mountainous island measures 38 miles in length and 16 miles in width, and is sometimes referred to as the "Atlantic's floating flower pot", because of its exotic flowers and lush vegetation. The Madeiran islands were certainly known to the ancient Phoenicians some 2,500 years ago, and it existed on Genoese maps in the early14th century, but the first known colonizers were the Portuguese who established a settlement in 1425 (under the cajoling of Prince Henry the Navigator). Tradition holds that fires were started to clear the dense forests and raged out of control for several years. The new inhabitants immediately introduced sugar cane and grape vines and the island soon grew to great importance in the European trade networks.
A pod of aptly-named pilot whales led us in to Funchal, the capital and largest city of Madeira, just before lunch. With a population of some 130,000 people, Funchal accounts for about half of island's total inhabitants. We spent the rest of the day exploring both the city and the southeastern part of the island. Everyone had a chance to visit the amazing open market with its incredible collection of colorful flowers, fruits, vegetables, baskets, fish (including scary-looking, deep sea black scabbard fish), etc. Some other highlights of the city that were visited by some of us included the Embroidery factory, the famous Museum of Sacred Art, and the Madeira Story Center Museum. An adventurous handful of us traveled high above the city by cable car in order to experience a bizarre basket sled ride, which is a unique Madeiran form of entertainment that developed long ago from a traditional means of transportation of goods from the surrounding mountains.
About half of our group also opted to visit São Lourenço National Park, located at the extreme southeastern region of the island. Here, we had the opportunity to hike on an excellent trail among some very dramatic volcanic formations, and we could clearly observe the violent geological history of the island that occurred some five million years ago. It is a mixture of explosive eruptions, which left behind multicolored ash deposits, as well as outpourings of basaltic lava, and interspersions of impressive wall-like dikes. This has all come about because Madeira sits atop a transverse submarine fault.
The day was capped with a delightful evening at the Abrigo do Pastor Restaurant where we enjoyed traditional Madeiran food and wine and were entertained with Fado, the famous Portuguese ‘Blues Music’, and a folkloric dance show. We remained at berth overnight, planning to spend another day in Madeira.
