About 500km southwest of Europe, out in the open Atlantic, lie the Madeira Islands. They were colonized by Portugal in the 1400s. The largest city is Funchal (pronounced ‘foon-chal’), and it seems like heaven on Earth compared to where we’ve been.
They are very European islands. Fashionable people, great food and they have an outstanding local Madeira wine. Very sweet, like a Port vino. Lots of UK, German and Portuguese tourists here as well. The place is overrun with SmartCars, seeing as space is at a premium (the island is 35 x 14 miles...or km, I forget). But I did see a PT Cruiser also. Funny what you notice sometimes.
They are volcanic islands, like Hawaii. A hot spot formed them over time and then slowly drifted away with the tectonic plate. So no fireworks now, but the change in elevation from the past volcanic activity is pretty dramatic. We rode a gondola car to the top of the island to take it in…wow, very cool. Up in the clouds (about 1000 meters), you go from sunny to cloudy and rainy.
A lot of famous folks have been here as well (we took the tour). Columbus practiced navigation here about 20 years before his epic voyage. Napoleon stopped by here on his way to exile after Waterloo (not exactly by choice), Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle resupplied here before heading towards history, and Churchill spent time here painting the local scenery after WW2. Like I said, the place has been on the map for a while…
Our next stop is or last one; Rota, Spain. The staff (myself included) gets off and travels back to Naples, Italy or their respective homes. NASHVILLE heads west for the last time to Virginia. She is to be decommissioned in September. Many folks have already left. But that’s life in the Navy.
Thanks Funchal, we needed that!
Must be a little sad having to say goodbye to the Nash. Sounds like she took care of you & showed you some things you will remember for the rest of your life. I read somewhere that a journey on an airplane gives you the experience of being transported through space, while a journey by boat gives you the feeling of being transported through time. Hope you enjoyed your time travel...and thanks for sharing it with us.
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