i spent a few days in madeira, an archipelago in the atlantic ocean which is an autonomous outlying region of portugal. the islands are home to about 260,000 people, and pre-covid pandemic the capital funchal was the busiest cruise port in europe. this is a major destination for package tourists from europe, and seemed like the type of place a lot of retirees go for a week or a few months. the weather is always nice – i’m surprised it hasn’t caught on more with tourists from north america. funchal is also known as the home of perhaps the world’s most famous football player, cristiano ronaldo.
downtown funchal has many restaurants selling poncha (a local citrus-based alcohol) and grilled scrabbard (a local long, eel-like fish) with bananas and passionfruit. there is a nice downtown central market which is the public center of the island. there is a series of cable cars that you can take up the mountain for great views over funchal. at the top is an area called monte, which has a nice church, and you can opt to take an expensive toboggan ride down the mountain. the toboggans are steered down the very steep streets by guys dressed in white suits and wicker hats.
