A Day of Sightseeing in Funchal, Madeira, part 4

After enjoying the panoramic views of the island from its highest perch at Miradouro Cabo do Girao, the taxi driver slash tour guide took us to a small fishing village which is a long drive from the viewpoint Along the way, we passed by/through many tunnels and banana plantations. It appears that bananas are one of their main crops here. They are grown everywhere. The sides of the mountains are filled with bananas.

Once we got to the fishing village, we were dropped off at a little cove with many fishing boats on the shore. When we got there, there was an ambulance carting off a person and blood on the pavement was being washed off. Looked as if someone fell or something.

When all the photos were taken, we thought we’d spend time in the gift shop. Some days I try to avoid the tourist traps that are gift shops, but on this day, I couldn’ wait to browse. They have so many nice items that were calling my name. In the end, I only managed to get the mandatory refrigerator magnet and a bottle of Portugal’s main libation, Ginja (sour cherry).

While the ladies were inside the gift shop, the husbands were out wandering the area and found a nice little church next door. The Capela de Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (thank you Google map for supplying the information) is impressive despite its diminutive size. The altar is impressively gilded.


Fishing village of Camara de Lobos.


The hillside is filled with banana plantation.


The tiny church.









The 6th and final stop of the day is the old town. This is a typical European old town with cobblestone streets, beautiful architecture and plenty of restaurants with outdoor seating.

At one point we got separated from our group and spent a good deal of time trying to find them. Once the group of 5 got complete again we sat at one of the outdoor seating restaurants for coffee and bacalao fritters.

Then we power walked back to the port and back to our ship. It was a full day of sightseeing. This is one place I would not hesitate on coming back if given another chance.





















We barely scratched the surface of the old town area that is why I want to return here. This island looks very promising. I felt like it had so much more to offer than the mandatory tourist stops. This ends the Madeira post.