We've been having fun walking all around the main part of Funchal (we decided to hold off on picking up a rental car for the first 10 days so we could get settled and explore our area on foot before venturing out further).
Cool stuff about Madeira
It's an autonomous region of Portugal (the other one is the Azores) and an archipelago made up of 4 islands (2 of which are inhabited - Madeira & Porto Santo). It's in the North Atlantic Ocean on the African Tetonic Plate (about 320 miles west of Morocco and 250 miles north of the Canary Islands). So ya pretty much surrounded by miles and miles of ocean! The island of Madeira covers an area of 286 square miles and is at the top of a massive shield volcano.
It has subtropical climate with lots of variation depending on whether you're on the North or South side of the island (the North gets more rain/wind and the high mountains act as a barrier making the south sunnier). The temperature remains pretty constant year round and the daily lows/highs aren't that far apart. Right now it's been mid 70's everyday. The winter months get the most rain and we've had moving clouds, very changeable weather with periodic showers (and every now and then an absolutely incredible hard short rain burst).
The population of the island of Madeira is 254,000 and 105,800 live here in the capital, Funchal. The city is nestled in a natural amphitheater facing the Atlantic with the mountains on the other side. It's really quite remarkable to see the steep mountains covered with the red tiled roofs and steep narrow streets. It was settled in 1424 and got it's name from the wild fennel that grew everywhere (the Portuguese word for fennel is Funcho plus the suffix -al to denote a plantation of fennel).
Things We Love Already
We are noticing lots of similarities to our experience in Portugal in some of the food, gorgeous cobblestone patterns, friendly people, red tile roofs (although more color here on buildings as well as white), small alleyways, pretty town squares and lots of places to sit outside.
Interesting New Stuff to Try
There are some real differences though as well: steep mountains covered in houses, various stands with tropical fruit we've never seen before, venders selling & roasting chestnuts, recipes using all sorts of fruit in sauces as well as grilled. Bolo do Caco (the traditional circular bread traditionally cooked on a caco, a flat basalt stone slab, typically slathered with garlic butter) and types of fish we hadn't tried before like black scabbard (which is a quite fearsome looking deep water fish often served with banana and passion fruit sauce).
Finding Parks
We're also starting to find pretty parks like the Jardim Muncipal do Funchal filled with tropical plants and a dedication to supporting feeble palms.
Painted Doors
We've had fun walking through the area around Rua de Santa Maria which is known for it's painted doors and lots of outside restaurants. It's often quite filled with tourists (many from the docked cruise ships) but it's still a great area to wander and I'm looking forward to trying to catch it early in the morning before the crowds and tables all come out.
October 2022
Looks fabulous! Good choice for the deep of winter ❤️