Madeira to Florida

We had a lovely sunny sea day after leaving Spain, heading for Madeira. In the evening, they held the Mariners Cocktail Party for 3, 4 and 5 star Mariners. It’s normally four and five star, but they allowed the riffraff in. Half the ship must’ve been there. Hardly an exclusive event. I watched from a safe distance wearing my shorts and flip-flops.

Madeira had been on my bucket list ever since I developed an appreciation for flora and fauna (not that long ago). It was incredibly lush and hilly, almost mountainous. 

I had no real plan when I disembarked, but soon found inspiration thanks to a helpful taxi driver. He drove me to town and deposited me by the cable car which took fans of botanical gardens up the mountainside. The queue was a little distressing so I walked around town for an hour before returning.

Madeira is highly pleasing to the eye. I found a fort to explore and purchased the only magnet on the whole trip. I may have almost kicked the magnet habit. 

Back at the cable car, myself and five strangers took the fifteen minute journey to the top. From there I needed to take a second cable car, (which actually went halfway back down), to the botanical gardens. Being so high up, the gardens provided super views of the coastline. 

Once sated, I decided to walk back down on the steepest roads I’ve encountered in a long time. I reckon it was easier to walk uphill. Back at sea level, my thighs stopped complaining and I walked around some more. On the way back to the ship I passed the CR7 museum and looked inside. Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Madeira and was the joint owner of a hotel with the museum attached. The entry fee goes to charity. 

I was quite excited to be surrounded by Americans when the election was taking place. However, it was a bit of an anti-climax. I thought I’d see people tossing themselves off into the ocean, but I didn’t hear one person talk about it. 

I had joined a music trivia team with Les and four others. Les needed all the help he could get. Wes and Tammy from Texas were my age, and Joan and Alan were of Les’s vintage. We ended up winning four or five times. I passed on the plastic tulips. I could have had a bunch in the end. 

The following day I ended up in the medical centre. I’d taken an antibiotic and come out in hives all over my body. I was given an IV containing antihistamine and left to rest for a couple of hours. When I awoke, the hives had gone and I was discharged. $450!

We then had four cloudy, windy, and rough days, before the sun reappeared for the final two sea days. 

I met some interesting people on this cruise. Wes, the George Clooney lookalike, was a talented artist and sculptor. I hope to meet up with him and Tammy in a few weeks. 

Then I met Doug who was travelling with his partner of 41 years, Marvin. Marvin was now 84, but back in 1990 he was the top casino analyst in the country. Donald Trump was about to open the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Marvin wrote an article saying that the Taj would have a strong opening from April to August 1990, but felt that it would start to fail come October when things got a bit colder. He was right. Trump filed for bankruptcy a year later. 

However, Trump hadn’t liked Marvin’s analysis and got him fired from his job. Marvin sued his employer first and won three quarters of a million. Then he went after Trump and eventually got a payout of $7 million. His partner Doug retired at this point, aged 27. Marvin started an investment firm and had $1 billion under management at one point. Marvin wasn’t bitter. He even voted for Trump. He actually liked him. After all, Donald’s libellous comments in various publications, discrediting Marvin, resulted in a big payout and set Marvin up for life. Marvin Roffman if you want to Google him. 

I also had many chats with Mark from Maine. An interesting chap with some good stories. He runs a disc golf establishment in Maine. Very easy company. 

I dined with Lydia and Bob on the last evening. I’ve enjoyed their company enormously. They want me to mention that they are not always in bars (just most of the time). They return to Vegas today and move into a new condo with fabulous views of the strip. I’d love to join them for their New Year party, but I’ll be on the Volendam. Hopefully next year.