🎵Wake me up, before you Porto🎶(and Funchal & Gran Canaria)

We're a bit behind on our adventure updates! Note: We disembarked from the cruise this week. Since we will be laying low and hanging out with Mother Lausund for the next few weeks in Bavaria, we'll use that time to catch up on posting about all of our ports of call.

After we left Brazil we spent 5 leisurely days crossing the Atlantic, where we primarily lounged around and read, while trying to recover from the nasty colds we both caught on board (thankfully not Covid). We definitely weren't alone in our coughing and sniffling, and at times parts of the boat felt like a TB ward with a cacophony of congestion noises. Thankfully we found a bar that was closed during the day, but you could still sit in... it was peaceful, quiet, and right on the back of the ship, with a lovely view of the wake behind us. We spent most afternoons there...

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

The long stretch at sea ended when we arrived in Las Palmas, Canary Islands on Good Friday. Because the Canary Islands are technically a part of Spain, and because the Spanish are SO Catholic, much of the city was shutdown. This didn't stop us from taking an Uber to the historical center (where a few things were open) and then walking the 6ish kilometers back to the boat and enjoying the overall feel of the city. It reminded both of us of Alicante a bit... Both are near the water, and both are the lovely size where you feel like you are in a thriving city, but not in an overwhelming metropolis.

Funchal, Madeira

On Saturday we spent the day in Funchal, Madeira- another island paradise. This beautifully manicured and maintained city relies on heavy tourism as it's primary industry... And between three cruise ships plus vacationing folks from Europe, there were a lot of us there that day!

The city essentially exists in two parts, with one being closer to sea level and the other higher up the cliff. As the lines for the cable car up to the higher section were over an hour long, we opted to stay in the lower portion. The parks were plentiful and in bloom, and some of the architecture was quite interesting. The sea of waddling tourists was thick, so we were very grateful when we stumbled upon a stand that sold traditional sausage sandwiches and Pasteis de Nata, the traditional custard dessert tart. They even had a table and chairs, which was a rare thing to find on the Saturday before Easter.

Easter Sunday was spent at sea, taking us to mainland Europe. Heathens that we are, we celebrated by lounging and reading before a special holiday dinner

Porto, Portugal

On Easter Monday we were in Porto. My old friend Mark (whom I served on a board with 20+ years ago) moved to Porto in late 2022, and kindly offered to be our tour guide. Like much of Portugal, Porto is filled with buildings covered in vibrant tiles.... I could have just photographed those all day. And, once again, the Catholics thwarted us and many things (including the market!) we're still closed for the holiday. Nevertheless, Mark was still able to show us some highlights, and we enjoyed a traditional Frango (chicken) lunch.

It's definitely a city we'd like to explore more... Especially when things are open. 🙂

As we were leaving port we were delayed two different times; first by late-returning cruisers (I guess they don't always leave people behind); and then by a medical emergency that required us to stop near the port until emergency services could come and remove the passenger. This 4-hour delay made a rough start the next day, in the port of A Coruña. More on that next time.