Day 8, 14.10.2018, Funchal, Madeira,
For those of you following the weather and this blog, you will know that we have crossed just ahead of the track of Hurricane Leslie and have been running down its southern flank. It’s been a bit rough but nobody has had to be tied to the wheel in soaking oilies.
I’ve been trying to get in the habit of using the gym every day on this trip. More accurately, H has been trying to get me in the habit of using the gym every day. Running on a treadmill in bad weather reminds me of being a teenager running for buses after a few too many beers. Straight ahead is good but side to side is less certain.
We have just arrived in Funchal and the weather looks nice again. I can hear Ignacio shouting “Guten Morgen” from the dock. Ignacio is a well-known character in Funchal who organizes “Poncha Parties”. Poncha is a local sticky alcoholic drink.
We have been to Funchal many times in recent years. I like it. We saw in the New Year this year here watching the fireworks from the deck of AIDAprima.
* The title of this post “Have Some Madeira M’Dear” comes from the title of a darkly comic song of the 1950’s by Flanders and Swann. In case you were curious.
Day 9, 15.10.2018, North Atlantic SW of Canary Islands,
A sea day. On an historical note we are just about to cross the route taken by Graptolite out of Las Palmas bound for St. Lucia on 28th November 2007 with crew Ian, Liz and Lori.
This point is also, coincidentally, an intersection of the route taken by James Cook in Endeavour between the Cape of Good Hope and Plymouth in the summer of 1771 returning from his first voyage to the Pacific.
Day 10, 16.10.2018, North Atlantic NW of Cape Verdes,
A sea day. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer earlier this morning. Traditionally, you turn west to the Caribbean on the Trade Winds when the butter melts. The butter has not melted yet and we are not going to the Caribbean anyway.
