OK...Let's take a look around and see what there is to do ...

Let's see...anyone tired of the ship's fabulous food??? We can always go to Johnny Rockets and get a burger and fries!!!

They even have a floor show!!!

How about some surfing or belly boarding???

Now, for some reason, we didn't realize that Madeira Island is just about the same latitude as Fort Lauderdale, our destination port. So we all prepared for a cold crossing...

It's a good thing we all brought bathing suits for the jacuzzi...and shorts to work out in!!! 'Cause it was warm and balmy the whole way across!!!

How's this for the location of the jacuzzi???

And here's the gym and the deck track...if you feel like working off some of that extraordinary cruise food and Johnny Rockets burgers...

Too bad we're all leaning towards the senior side of life...the kid's play area looked like fun!!!

There's also that bar up there on the top of the ship...I hear it's got spectacular views!!!

(of miles and miles of ocean!!!)

There's always the opportunity to pray to the gods of golf...

or scale the sides of the ship...

Oh! And did I mention that bar up by the pool and sun decks??? I hear they pour a pretty good Pina Colada!!!

And if anyone's feeling romantic...what could be better???

And just in case someone gets the idea that it would be fun to cliff dive over the edge of the ship...

I dunno....I think I'll just hang out in one of these deck chairs and contemplate life...

Next post...SKYWATCH on board the Independence of the Seas!!!

Leaving Funchal, we're now faced with what to do over the next six days...

Good bye beautiful and fun Funchal...no more ports...ye gads!!! What the heck are we going to do now?? We can't eat and/or drink alllll day...or can we???

Hey!!! This is fun...the pilot just jumped back on the pilot's boat after overseeing the ship's embarkation!!!

OK...That was cool...now what???

Wow! Look at those clouds!!!

Let's just sit back and enjoy the view...while we still have it!!!

OK...it's getting dark and a bit chilly...isn't it time to start getting ready for drinks and dinner...where are we meeting??? The Mojito bar???

Fun is to Funchal as Madeira Island is to Portugal!!!

It's early morning, and we're pulling into Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, about 300 miles off of the coast of Morocco. Madeira Island is just about as beautiful as an island can be. After about a week in the cold and damp from England to Spain, Madeira promised to be warm and balmy.

Our first stop on our excursion into Funchal was at the top of the second highest sea cliff in the world...the Cabo Girao overlooking the fishing village and bay of Camara del Lobos.

Being one of the primary spots to visit in Funchal, the local merchants were there in droves to sell their wares...

These little caps are part of the traditional costumes of Madeira...

The roads were extremely narrow on the quite steep hillsides of the island...it was unbelievable that two huge tourist buses could pass each other without scraping or one going over the edge!!!

Our next stop was the little fishing village of Camara del Lobos which is only about 5 km from Funchal.

Did you know that Winston Churchill was quite an accomplished painter? He did watercolors and particularly liked painting here in Camara del Lobos. On our first cruise, in the Baltic, we went to the art auction and found a painting that we really liked...turned out to be a signed lithograph by Winston Churchill!!! We got a great deal because we were on an Italian cruise ship and apparently the Italians don't get the concept of an auction, it's just not a part of their culture....the auctioneer finally gave up and just told everyone to see him later and offer him a price!!!

This little spot is the actual setting of the painting we bought...it's of several small boats in the water here in this little bay...

Next stop was by the port, at a winery. Madeira wine is fairly well known...it's a sweet wine, similar to port. Unfortunately, none of my pictures from the winery turned out....hmmm...no, it wasn't because I had too much wine...it was just a tad too sweet for me!!!

After the winery, we walked along the street near the port...

Doesn't this colorful sightseeing bus just make you want to hop on???

Another couple and my hubby and I decided to accept a very industrious cab driver's offer to drive us up (way up) to the Monte Toboggan rides...and it's a good thing we did because he got us there just as they were about to close...we were the last ones who got to ride the toboggan...

Ok...are you sitting down??? The toboggan ride is actually a two seater wicker sofa on wooden runners...two Madeirans who were dressed a bit like Venetian Gondoliers, stepped onto the runners on each side of the "toboggan" and pushed off...Down we slid on the streets of the Funchal hills with the tobogganeers on either side of us pushing, pulling, and "steering"...the "toboggans" can get up to 48 mph, though I don't think we ever got going quite that fast...What a kick!!! We laughed the whole way down!!!

If today's posting makes you want to visit Madeira...our most industrious cab driver, Tony, will pick you up from the airport and take you wherever you want to go!!!

Leaving Madeira, the clouds were beginning to find us....

Next port....Fort Lauderdale!!!

Wait...that's after 6 days at sea... YIKES!!! No land in sight for 6 whole days!!!

For more photos and information about Funchal...check out Paulo Camacho's blog

funchaldailyphoto.blogspot.com

Port: Vigo, Spain...Excursion: Valenca do Minho, Portugal

Our third port was Vigo, Spain, from which we chose an excursion to Valenca do Minho, Portugal, a charming village on the northern border between Portugal and Spain, near the Atlantic coast. We went up to the old part of town known as the Fortaleza...remnants of a 17th Century fort. At the walls of the fortaleza there were many wonderful views of the surrounding areas and the old fort walls.

There's nothing better than sitting in an outdoor cafe drinking a cup of espresso and eating a delightful pastry...

The shops were charming...albeit a bit touristy...

From Valenca, we went back into Vigo and made our way up to Monte del Castro. According to our guide, this area was first settled by the Celts. The fort was built by Philip IV in the 1600's and is one of 3 forts protecting the city.

For those of us who get aggravated about graffiti and think that it's really just an "American thang"...think again...

In all honesty, when I traveled in Europe in 1979, I saw a significant amount of graffiti in the cities in Europe, especially in Zurich, Switzerland...

We almost made it back to the ship when, to my hubby's chagrin, I determined that there was still plenty of time to stroll along the waterfront and search out a quaint "hole in the wall" restaurant...We ended up in a small restaurant with lot's of Spaniards, and no tourists...it was late afternoon...we ordered Paella...it was by far, the best Paella I've ever had!!! And the bottle of wine...well, all I can say is that this lunch was definitely the highlight for me in this charming city of Vigo, Spain!!! Little did I know, this area is well known as the location of Spain's best shellfish!!!

Next Port...Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal. Be sure to check out Paulo Camacho's blog about Funchal at funchaldailyphoto.blogspot.com.