Thursday January 15th, 2026 Queen Anne, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

We had a pleasant 3 day sail from Southampton down to the Island of Madeira which is governed by Portugal and today the ship is docked in the port of Funchal. I saw the ship’s doctor again on Tuesday as my improvement is not forthcoming; she prescribed additional medication and today I’m feeling a bit better, though still coughing a lot.

We’ve been to Funchal a few times before and so today we opted not to do a ship’s excursion and instead took the shuttle bus from the dock into town and then walked along the promenade to the Fortress of Santiago. Constructed in the early 17th century, the fort was built to protect the island against pirate attacks and foreign invasions. The fort is notable for its prominent yellow walls, which contrast with the surrounding architecture, and its strategic position overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Entry was free, always a good thing, but access was limited to the outer walls and battlements – I got some great views from the top of the fort, back along the promenade and over the harbor to our ship.

The streets of Funchal are capped with the classic Portuguese black and white cobbles; we even saw this in the Azores Islands way out in the Atlantic and it seems the more cobbling the more prestigious the place. The town is crisscrossed with narrow back alleys and larger streets with shops and cafes. We found a tiny 14^th century church, we always seem to find a church, the Chapel of Corto Santo – I find the peaceful pews inside a church to be a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of a town.

Making our way to the main market, a place we visited on our first trip to Funchal many years ago, we happened upon a café that seemed to be very popular with the locals. Sandra was craving the classic Portuguese pastel de nata tart and so we crossed the street and made our approach. Pastelaria Pau de Canela was heaving with locals, I quickly learned that forming a queue was just not the done thing here. Large glass cases showed the latest baked goods from piles of beautiful loaves to stacks of sweet treats – including Sandra’s favorite. Through a series of gestures and grunts I somehow managed to order two coffees, a tart and what I thought looked like a Yorkshire Pudding only to find that the place did not take credit cards. I was crestfallen and the server was about to move on to the next customer when I remembered I had a small amount of Euros in wallet; it turned out to be the exact amount needed – quite remarkable. After all of that the coffee and tart were unremarkable and the thing I got did indeed taste like a dense but bland Yorkshire Pudding – oh well.

The Mercardo Dos Lavradores or Farmer’s Market is a central feature of Funchal and a gathering spot for locals doing their daily shopping and tourists searching the craft stalls for just the right memento. There are two levels with an open central courtyard and an attached fish market – there is even a wine bar. The fresh fruit and vegetables positively gleamed in the bright sunshine, stacked up like waxy showpieces, too perfect to eat. We are always attracted to a fish market, it’s just so interesting to see the different species of fish that are caught for consumption in different parts of the world – here they have the long ell-like black scabbardfish from the very deep ocean with angry faces and pin sharp teeth.

Wandering through the more modern part of town, with wider streets and more traffic, we settled on an Italian restaurant, a bit off the beaten track, appropriately named La Pasta and took an outdoor table upwind from the others in an effort to avoid the inevitable cigarette smoke that pervades European restaurants. The portions were enormous and the beer nice and cold, we ate what we could without feeling like gluttons at an ancient Roman feast.