When me and my dad were waiting for my mom to get ready we walked around on deck 7 and looked at the awesome landscape!
Walking along the port some more, we came up to a hill with a building on it. We saw people climbing it so we decided to follow. When we entered the building a man told us that it was 1 euro each to climb to the top and we thought that it was unnecessary to see it from the top so we took our pictures and left.
After walking down the steps back down to the main road, we continued to walk along the side of the road. As we were walking, there was a man in a taxi that slowed down and leaned over to bark out his window at me. Such an uncomfortable experience and to make matters worse, he drives around the roundabout 2 more times and repeats it. Eventually he drove off, thank goodness!
There were a lot of pretty sights on our walk, and even a few houses on the hills. It was a bright and sunny day and we were soaking up the rays!
We stopped at a pier and took in some more views. We also could clearly see the cruise ship! The last picture in this section is of a man who is standing on a board and paddling out to sea. It was fascinating to see him balance and be able to propel himself forward without falling off.
After sitting there for a while we continued our walk to the city center. We had a map of the town but it wasn't really helpful because it didn't have the shopping centers named. Then it hit me, it was Sunday, Palm Sunday, and there was not going to be anything open.
Instead we walked around and found a pond that had swans in it! It was so amazing to see them up close and we even got to watch one take its foot in and out of its feathers where it was all tucked away. The detail on the birds is miraculous.
We soon realized that this was the edge of a park and that there was more to it so we strolled along and admired the beautiful nature in the park. My mom's favorite flower is the bird of paradise and they were growing freely here so she enjoyed it very much! There are also lizards running around everywhere but they blend it pretty well with their surroundings.
We continued on our walk around the town, trying to find little tourist shops, and we noticed the pretty sidewalk work. There was also a hibiscus tree, another flower/plant that my mom loves!
When we were walking around town we had to walk through crowds of people carrying palms and going to church. It was like nothing I have ever seen in America before because it seemed like people were in crowds, almost like they were going from church to church or coming together from another location.
Here is another sight that we saw while walking around. We also walked over a covered bridge full of flowers! It was so cool to see how the vines grew over the bridge and did not need soil to survive.
The next stop was a grocery store to get a bottle of water and see if there was anything there touristy because it was attached to a mall. Once again, everything was closed on the walk there and even in the mall. What a bad day to be in Funchal, shopping wise.
We then continued on and found a few tourist shops that were open. We were looking for something in particular (which I cannot mention on here because it is a gift to someone) so it made it more difficult to find things. We found one but we wanted to keep looking around because we wanted to see if there were more options.
We also saw the hop on hop off bus tour go by us, another friendly reminder that we were in Portugal!
We then went and sat on a bench near the lifts that took you up another town . You got to ride in a gondola and my mom and I were debating on going up but we decided not to because we didn't want to pay for it. We just sat on the bench and admired every car that went by, also enjoying the sun.
We found a souvenir shop that was open, but it didn't have the sought after item. So we then decided we probably should have bought that item for someone at the shop that was open, so we went back to buy it and back tracked in our steps.
After purchasing the gift and a postcard, we went back to near the ship. We passed by a boat that is claimed to be the ex Beatles yacht, which is now converted into a restaurant.
We stopped at a marina and at our apples and oranges. From there we had awesome sights of the ship!
We decided it was probably time to go back on the ship because we had nothing else to do and we felt like we had seen a good chunk of town already.
When we got back on the ship my mom and I went into the hot tub while my dad wandered around the ship taking pictures of anything he wanted to.
Another cruise ship coming in next to us! And parallel parking behind us!
Hot tubbing with my mom!
Leaving Funchal, Madeira, Portugal! Right when we left the captain came on the loudspeaker and announced that there were "2 chickens" that missed the ship and that we couldn't wait any longer for them. They would have to find their own way to the next stop or to any port of call we stop at, at their own expense to be reunited with their luggage. What a shame that would happen to you on your vacation!
Funchal in the distance with the photo of part of the kids swimming area and slide on deck 10.
Raffles court terrace taken on deck 10.
After hot tubbing for a bit and laying out in the sun, we got ready for dinner and ate in the Windows dining room. I cannot remember what we ate for dinner because I don't have pictures to toggle my memory, but this is what we had for dessert. I had a fruit parfait, my mom had some vanilla and chocolate ice cream and my dad had pecan pie with chocolate ice cream!
After dinner we went to the show for the evening, Magic Showtime: Crypton and Renata. They both have won awards in the past year for best illusionist (also won by David Copperfield and others outstanding in magic) and best assistant. It was a show of illusions, similar to magic. Some of the illusions were really tricky to figure out but others I could imagine what the trick behind it was.
After dinner we went to a game in the Galaxy lounge called Sing It If You Know It. The game was there were two teams and a song would be played and you would have to go run up there and name the song, one point, and then sing the lyrics, another point. If your team came up and danced you also got a point. The team with the most points at the end won a free drink... of water.
When the game was over we walked around for a bit and then we went back to the Galaxy for some music with the Filipino band on board, the Ironics. They were very good and had a wide range of music. When the music was over it was time for the evening entertainment, Dancing with the Spirit Stars. (Norwegian Spirit was the name of the cruise ship) The point of it was that there were 8 contestants from the audience matched up with 8 crew members (some of them were the dancers from the previous night's shows) and you had to dance to a song and not get voted out by the judges. Eventually when it got down to the final 4, the audience got control. There was even a losers section where JJ the assistant cruise director would talk with them. This night was hilarious, one not to miss.
The final two were a guy who had a huge beer belly and danced so funnily and a 80 year old woman. The 80 year old won, hands down. It was the best thing ever!
After the show we wandered the ship a little bit more and then hit the hay because it was a long day and my mom still wasn't feeling 100%.
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