Emerald Princess Ports
- KB Cook
- 17 minutes ago
- 11 min read
Day 11: Funchal
Our first port of call, a return for me to Funchal, Madeira (Portugal) and there was a delay in clearing the authorities. I’d arisen to my alarm at 7:30, had breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, and was in the art gallery awaiting debarking to meet my guide. On the October Transatlantic, the Regal Princess had stopped here, and I had hired a local, Fred through ToursByLocals. This trip I’d booked him for the day directly, and we’d established an itinerary so I’d see more of the island.
Finally cleared, I was among the first off, and heading out of the port area to the established rendezvous. By 9:30, we’d driven past the cathedral (to return to later) to the church where tourist boarded wooden-and-wicker sleds to slide down a steep hill. Walking at the top, I viewed the funicular bring folks to the top, the ship in the port below, the gardens and lush vegetation. A visit to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Monte and then to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peace gave me opportunities to appreciate the ruggedness of this volcanically-formed island.
We rode north and inland, passing through verdant valleys, crossing bridges and slipping through tiny villages. Fred was avoiding the wider routes used by the tourist buses. As we climbed towards the summit, there was snow on the ground. Reaching Faial, we stopped at the fortress on the northern coast. Thatched roof houses, brightly decorated, opened their doors, sharing traditional family life. Our host insisted that I try some of his “white lightening.” A rum factory beckoned, although no sampling. We continued for a bit along the coast before reaching Santana, where we had lunch at Restaurante O Colmo: bread, steak, egg, lettuce and tomato.
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Coming back to Funchal, the southern coast contrasted sharply – to the north, small town and much green, while the south was mainly white buildings with red tiled roofs. Once in town, we stopped at A Loka do Vinho, a wine shop which offered tastings. I sampled 4 Madeira wines, but chose not to carry them onward so close to the start of my trip.
Next we walked to the cathedral, as I had been unable to visit the interior in October. Well, I guess I will need to return again, as the Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Assunção / Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was closed in the afternoon for a ferial day.
Outside on the square facing the entrance was a street market, so we strolled with lookers and buyers as we headed to the University church. (Igreja de São João Evangelista do Colégio do Funchal) Lovely, the blue-and-white tile complemented the red murals and gilding of the main altar and side chapels.
Back to the ship, we soon departed close to the posted 5pm time. We passed near the Desertas Islands, uninhabited land that is part of the Madeiras. I was up on the top deck, Nikon’s telephoto working overtime! Albeit a bit hazy, the steep cliffs and lone lighthouse were quite the sight.
Collecting my camera, netbook and phones, along with the connection devices, I settled into the Wheelhouse to backup my pictures. Suzanne joined me, and stayed as Kristiana and AnneMarie joined us. Suzanne split at 6, but the three of us waited until 7 to go have dinner in DaVinci. My choices were the Cajun-style crawfish vol-au-vent, and Air-cured prosciutto to start, and the Broiled lobster tail and Louisiana-style crab cake main. We drank rosé and sauvignon by the glass, and all passed on dessert.
After dinner, AnneMarie and I got a drink at Explorers and then headed to the theater to enjoy the comedian. Afterwards, we snagged a night cap.
Day 12
Another day at sea, and I neglected to make notes at any point that day. From the following day’s entry, I slept in until a phone call remining me I’d booked another wine tasting just before noon. After getting cleaned up, I headed to the buffet where I had corned beef hash, over easy eggs, sausage links and bacon with OJ and coffee. Back to the Promenade deck to walk until the 11:45 Antinori tasting. AnneMarie was there, and we were joined by Mary from Ayr in Scotland. The tasting was charcuterie with 4 wines; we all felt the pours were rather meager. The informational patter was similarly lacking.
At 8-bells (noontime), in addition to a time zone change, several events were rescheduled, so I opted to return to the cabin for a nap. Five o’clock rolled around, with Jim, Suzanne, AnneMarie in Wheelhouse, and we soon split and had dinner in DaVinci. After starting with the Roasted beet salad, I had them combine the Spaghetti al olio peperoncino with the San Francisco-style cioppino, as I like pasta with my cioppino.
I was obviously pleased with it, as my photo is of an empty plate. For the cheese plate, I asked for just blue cheese, which came with green grapes, apricots, walnuts and figs. AnneMarie and I shared the table with couples from Oregon and Egypt, and a single woman.
After dinner, the Explorer bar was too crowded, so AM and I returned to the Wheelhouse. While waiting for our order, the ship jolted and rolled to starboard, causing much glassware to hit the floor. Once we had our drinks, the music proved uninteresting, so we moved to Crooners where an Irishman was entertaining. Splitting, I had a night cap at Explorer, speaking with the fireman’s widow, with whom I’d had several other (counseling) talks.
Day 13: Gibraltar
Another day with the alarm waking me, sending me to the MDR for oatmeal and unripe fruit. I returned to get my jacket, string backpack and camera, and walked off the ship about 9:15. Locating a local bus stop, I boarded and rode to La Linea, where I passed through UK and Spanish control points. A very full local bus left for points west, with school groups attempting to add to the load – whom the driver just drove past.
Exiting in Algeciras, I walked pedestrian streets in the shopping district on my way to the Plaza Alta. There, the ex-cathedral Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma filled half the western side of the tree- and pavilion-filled square. A five-story bell- and clocktower stood at the southwest corner, and a single double door permitted entry into the church. After capturing a few shots outside, I entered to find that preparations were underway for the Holy Week processions. Briefly a cathedral (1344-1368) between Moorish occupations, it still merited my consideration.
Before I returned to Gibraltar, I did spend some time observing while sitting in the square, resting on the beautiful tiled benches, the air perfumed with orange blossoms. Heading towards the bay, I found the local open-air market and the mercado (enclosed, roofed).
Gibraltar loomed across the water. After just missing the noon bus, I caught the local 12:30 bus back, much less crowded, albeit there was a brief shower on the way. I exited at La Linea and passed through much slower control again, and then rode the British bus into town.
Getting off near the Anglican cathedral, unlike in 2018, I was able to enter Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral. With Moorish elements on the exterior, the interior reminded me of Episcopal churches in New England. The maritime motifs, and the lovely stenciled pipe on the organ, and icon-like hanging banner were all notable elements in this church.
Having been able to enter Holy Trinity, I decided to visit the nearby Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned, which I’d been shut out of on my previous visit.
A taupe-colored box with a copper-domed clock tower, I got a few more outside shots to compare to that in Cathedrals to the Glory of God before entering. With three aisles separated by heavy square columns, the white lighted walls keep the nave bright, despite the dark wooden pews. I found that there were some interesting stained-glass windows, including the one for the cathedral’s dedication.
Continuing my stroll, I missed a turn and lengthen my walk back to the ship. I’d updated my camera’s internal time to UTC, so was an hour off, although the phones were good about connecting and adjusting automatically.
Boarding just before 4, I took advantage of an empty ship and did a load of laundry. The spin cycle was too short, so the dryer left the polo shirts damp, but I hung them to dry in the cabin. In the Wheelhouse, Pat, Jim and Suzanne left for dinner at 6, while Kristiana, AnneMarie and I headed to Shuckers and had a seafood dinner. An amuse bouche of ceviche started. Caesar salad with anchovies was followed by the Black and blue mussels steamer bowl. Key lime pie in a jar capped. With an early excursion start in the morning, and not feeling my best, I called it a night early.
Day 14: Malaga
With both phones set to alarm at 7 and 7:30, I arose to the earlier one and backed up my pictures from the two previous days. Heading straight to the theater for my excursion, Cathedral and Alcazaba, where I was in group 6, one of 43 and guide Lucia. We boarded the bus, and got a tour of the waterfront before unloading.
Across several squares and down a few streets, passing a few Picasso landmarks, we arrived at the entrance of the fortress. We stopped to examine the Roman theater ruins at its base.
With many broad steps of stone, some in the group were challenged, but I breezed along. Our guide was making what I considered to be many mistakes, and wasn’t always intelligible. The grounds and buildings of the former palace are stunning, in pristine condition, and crowd control is adequate. Albeit a limited tour, I did take 75 photos (many of which can be seen here.)
Leaving the fortress-palace, we slowly walked towards the cathedral. The picture of Santa Iglesia Catedral Basilica de la Encarnación in Volume 1 of Cathedrals to the Glory of God is an aerial shot taken from the Alcazaba.
While it gives an excellent sense of the immense size of the building, its exterior color blends into the neighboring buildings. I was hoping for an alternative. Our guide accompanied us inside to point out certain elements, but left us to further explore both the cathedral and the shopping district with free time.
I was in my element, and I wandered around taking in the craftmanship of the carved wooden choir stalls, the huge pipe organ with its spray of trumpets, the impressive gilding of the elaborate plaster carvings of the vault. After more than an hour, I finally returned outside, walking around the building looking for “the shot”. I’m happy with a few to celebrate this temple.
The tour group rendezvoused and returned to the bus, which got us back to the ship by 1:30. Back to the cabin to drop my gear, I wasn’t hungry so would skip lunch. Onboard WiFi was down for maintenance, so I headed up to the upper decks to use my cellular service to push through some of my emails. At the solo meetup, I joined Jim, Suzanne and Kristiana for dinner, and we joined couples from Arizona and Chicago for “Chef’s Dinner” – a menu of favorites. Vol-au-vent, le Grand Chef as a starter, and the Chilled ginger-carrot-coconut soup before medium rare lamb chops (rack of lamb). We shared several of the desserts, including the chocolate torte and the French vanilla bean crème brûlée.
Post prandial Jameson Castmates Stout with Melody as we observed the ship’s version of The Voice. Then to the cabin to begin charging camera batteries and to backup the photos I’d taken.
Day 15
Our last sea day and my phone alarm hadn’t been turned off, so I was up at 7. After dawdling, I still got to breakfast at 8:15 and had the ham and cheese omelet with bacon. I missed the 10am excursion talk (Phil and AJ had left at earlier ports) so I sat outside to do Internet stuff until lunch at 12:15. Pappardelle ribbons with duckling strips to start, and Steamed asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower for the main.
To kill time, I sat in Wheelhouse on my phone until it was time for the last tea service of the cruise. I returned to my cabin to change and found just Kristiana and AnneMarie at the solo meetup, so we headed to DaVinci for dinner. “Gala Dinner” menu, I started with Escargot Bourguignon, followed by Land & Sea, their version of surf and turf. The Chocolate pistachio dome sounded intriguing, so I ended my meal with it. At the Explorer Bar, I finished off the last bottle of Jameson Stout on board, per the bartenders.
Day 16: Ajaccio
Arising ahead of my alarm, I had time for breakfast of scrambled eggs with asparagus and Swiss cheese, joining a couple from Connecticut.
After returning to my cabin for my jacket, bag and camera, I headed to the theater to join my excursion group. Our destination was well inland, to the forest of Vizzavona. The bus climbed the T20 into the regional natural park, passed through the town of Vizzavona and continued about another 5 miles to Le Chalet, a rustic tourist-destination eatery. There we were served plates of three kinds of charcuterie, biscuits and butter. Carafes of red and rosé wine and a larger carafe of water were shared by 4 seats. We had about a half hour to either shop or wander outside to see the mountains, sheep and forests before we returned to Ajaccio.
The Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta (Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady) was on my list, so I headed there rather than shop or return to the ship. With an exterior painted in burnt orange trimmed with ivory, the Romanesque building has three doors facing west, with a dome over the transept crossing and a domed belltower.
The building was open, and the vaults and walls were filled with murals, gilded trompe-l'oeil stencils. The only surviving cathedral on Corsica, the other 8 had been suppressed by Napolean 1805, destroyed in the Revolution, or have fallen into ruin. A small boat sits in a side chapel, the Stella Maris, which had a photo of then Pope Francis in it. The decorations are elaborate and ornate, dazzling the eye.
Leaving, I walked past a ferris wheel and contemplated a road trip: there is a former cathedral site 40km north.
Finding the taxi stand, I asked for an estimate to go to Vico, and found it doable. We set off, Jean-Baptiste enjoying the opportunity to speed through the countryside on excellent roads, taking curves faster than likely permitted.
We arrived in the adjoining town of Sagone, had to hunt around before identifying some ruins in a fenced (restricted) overgrown field. Encouraging me, I climbed over fencing, shuffled through weeds growing to my midthigh, and positioned myself to get shots of the former Cathédrale Saint-Appien de Vico. (Sant’Appianu de Sagone locally.)
Returning to the car, he sped back to Ajaccio with me as an elated passenger. I took several dozen pictures out the window as we zipped along the shoreline and through the hills.
We were back at 4, with all aboard set for 5:30. I walked through the shopping district, not finding anything I needed, and boarded the ship. After dropping my gear, I checked in with the men at Explorer, and they’d found another bottle of Jameson Stout for me. So I, of course, had to have a drink. At 5:30 I joined Jim, Kristiana and AnneMarie, and we headed into DaVinci for our farewell dinner of the cruise. Crispy salmon cake followed by French onion soup to start; Braised lamb shank was my main. Final dessert of this voyage was Baked Alaska.
A farewell to the bartenders at Explorer with a single shot, and then to the room to complete packing. Neu collected my large roller and a bag of chocolate candies I’d gotten him, and I was ready for the next leg of the journey.
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