amazonv | Oct 4 - Funchal (Madeira), Portugal

FRI 04OCT24 Funchal (Madeira), Portugal 08:00 AM 05:00 PM

Tour Sustainable Tea Farming Experience -
Canceled since we were the only ones

FNC-GG2 SUSTAINABLE TEA FARMING EXPERIENCE

Date: October 04, 2024 09:30 AM

Participate in a hands-on agricultural experience during which you will learn how organic tea is produced on a farm in the hills above Funchal. The same family has owned the property in the parish of Monte for more than a century, but their lives changed dramatically in 2013, when raging fires destroyed their home and crops. Instead of giving up, the family turned to organic farming, growing tea and medicinal herbs using sustainable practices. As you will discover, the process is natural and accomplished using manual labor instead of relying heavily on machinery. Following a tour of the farm, you will help out by pruning the plants, laying out tea leaves to dry in the sun and grinding your own blend of tea. You can expect it to be an eye-opening and fulfilling experience, as each step is done with as little environmental impact as possible. Later, you might linger over a cup of brewed tea.

·Join a farming family in hills above Funchal and learn to process organic tea step by step .

·Discover how the family changed their farming methods to become more sustainable .

·Linger over a cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake following the experience .

·Dress in weather-appropriate clothing .

·Wear flat comfortable walking shoes .

Replacement Tour

Duration: 4.50 Hrs

FNC-017 MONTE VILLAGE & BOTANICAL GARDENS

Date: October 04, 2024 08:45 AM

Cherish the many fascinating facets of Funchal with sojourns by soaring cable car and thrilling toboggan, and illuminating tours of a lush botanical garden and a fascinating embroidery factory. Board a charming cable car for a short, 15-minute ride above Funchal’s Old Town to Monte, a beguiling mountain village perched on a lovely hillside towering some 1,650 feet above the sea. Study the historic Church of Our Lady of Monte, the burial site of Charles I, exiled ruler of

the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Celebrate your inner child with a brisk, yet safe, 10-minute ride in a wicker toboggan, an unforgettable experience that Ernest Hemingway extolled as of the most exhilarating of his life. Bask in the bounty of the Madeira Botanical Garden, a serene oasis of indigenous plants, rare water-storing succulents and incredible trees from as far away as the lower Himalayas. At an enchanting embroidery factory, you’ll observe how bordadeiras, or

embroiderers, follow intricate production techniques unchanged in nearly a hundred years. You’ll surely marvel at the rich variety of adventures you’ve enjoyed on this unique exploration of Fuchal’s diverse wonders.

·Travel by cable car to panoramic Monte and see the lovely mountain village’s regal church.

·Delight in a safe, yet exhilarating, 10-minute mountain descent on a unique wicker toboggan.

·Take in a vast variety of flowers and plants at the breathtaking Madeira Botanical Garden.

·Learn about the fascinating creation of local embroidery at a thriving factory.

Breakfast (sangria) at La Veranda (the only option on this ship?) buffet got some musili and bacon

Disappointingly the embroidery factory was cut and not included!
The island was so pretty. So many flowers.
Maderian wine tastes like port!
After the tour mom and i popped off to a tea shop to get tea, as well as buy some loose leaf for the ship.
then we went and got a rare pokemon! (tropius)
Back on the ship for a shower

Dinner was at Chartreuse (french)
we had an amazing cheese plate the rockfort blue was stunning.
mom got mushroom soup and loved it
i got veal and it was ok
the bordeaux wine was lovely

Did our mid ship cruise survey, and got our disembarkment forms ready as requested

after dinner i think i played too long on my phone and got poor sleep