Madeira

I've been on land for almost a week now. Being on land is so nice and comfortable and... stable. The turbulence of last week seems so far away, and I'm starting to forget that I'm on a sailing trip. Well, except that I still go to sleep on a boat every night -- that helps to remind me :)

We're docked in a marina on the east side of Madeira, close to the city of Caniçal. We rented a car with Chris and Marinette to explore the island, and I'm sharing the driving responsibility with Chris.

On Monday we drove around the center of the island. We went all the way to the top of Pico do Arieiro, and then visited a few cities on the northern coast.

I'm doing most of the driving -- everyone is surprisingly okay with that -- and me re-learning how to drive stick-shift was an adventure of its own. I was quite panicky at first, but everyone else seemed unfazed. Actually, in retrospect I think they were just being polite, or maybe they were too scared to complain.

Some highlights: stalling repeatedly on the narrow pier, with a wall on one side, a ten-foot drop to the ocean on the other, and construction workers and a bulldozer at work in the middle; driving up and down and up and down and up... and down; LOTS of shifting between first and second gear; swerving to avoid a truck that was barrelling down the 1.5-lane switchbacks; thinking how ironic it would be if my driving made a bunch of experienced sailors get carsick. But everything turned out fine -- not one casualty! -- and at the end of the day, Marinette rewarded my driving with a lollipop :)

Here's a picture of our little-Renault-that-could:


Tuesday, we did more of the same, this time exploring the western side of the island.

There's something very nice about driving in the mountains with friends who are speaking to each other in a language you don't understand. I was able to be alone with my thoughts, without actually being alone; so I could ponder and daydream (and watch the road of course!) without being interrupted or feeling any pressure to contribute to the opaque conversation going on around me. But whenever there was a sight to be seen, there were people to share it with.

Some sights that we saw:










The fruit on Madeira is fantastic. There were lots of fruit stands along the road, and some areas where we just stopped the car and picked some for ourselves:





A few animals on the island:




On Wednesday, we visited the botanical garden in the morning. Later in the day, Marinette had to catch a flight back to Belgium, so Chris took her to the airport. Robert and I were dropped off in Funchal, the busy downtown of the island, where I had McDonalds for the first time in weeks. The Big Mac meal was deliciously familiar!

Pictures from the botanical garden:





Today we're in Funchal again, where they've got free WiFi in the streets. Our plan is to spend tomorrow checking the boat and making small repairs, and then to depart on Saturday for the Canary islands, stopping at the Salvagem Islands along the way.