Madeira, Portugal - Day 1

Friday, February 16, 2024

Today was a travel day. We said good-bye to Lanzarote, Canary Islands and flew to Madeira, Portugal with a two-hour layover in Gran Canaria. It doesn’t matter where you go, how long the distance is, or how prepared you are, travel days are never very fun. They just aren’t. The best thing to do on a travel day is to have low expectations and pack a lot of patience. Today I simply thankful that Andi felt well enough to go to Madeira today, and crossed my fingers that our day in the airport would go as smoothly as possible.

Andi helped me pack our bags, and unload the refrigerator at our airbnb this morning. At 11:00am, the four of us drove about 15 minutes away to the airport in Lanzarote. Dropping our rental car off at the airport was easy, and we made it through security within 20 minutes. Andi still wasn’t feeling the best, but we walked slowly through the airport and made it to where we needed to be in plenty of time.

We flew Binter Airlines again from Lanzarote to Gran Canaria, and then Gran Canaria to Madeira, Portugal. One thing I realized about airports in Europe (or maybe it’s when flying Binter) is that they don’t announce that flights are boarding over a loud speaker. This pinched us when we traveled to the Canary Islands last week when all of a sudden our entire plane had boarded the aircraft and we didn’t realize it. That meant that we were the last people to board the plane, and there was barely any room left in the overhead luggage compartments for our carry-on size luggage. I do not like the feeling of being rushed onto a plane, nor having to stuff my bag into a tiny space while the whole plane is watching.

Today I was determined not to let this happen again, so I checked the boarding time on our tickets and watched the overhead monitor to made sure we were standing near the gate at boarding time. Sure enough, exactly at the boarding time printed on the ticket, a large group of people got up from their seats in the gate area and boarded the plane at once. There was no loudspeaker call for seating zones, or an announcement that boarding would soon begin. Fortunately, our family was ready this time, and we were one of the first people in line.

This might also be a Binter Airlines thing, but it was super annoying that we then had to be shuttled by bus to the airplane on the tarmac. In a way, being first in line to board at the gate was all for naught because then all the passengers were crowded onto a bus and then had to line up outside of the plane. Having to take a bus from the gate to the tarmac (and then later, another bus from the airplane to the airport terminal after the flight landed) added another layer of waiting and shuffling to our travel day.

Our Binter Airlines flight attendants were very friendly with the kids today on our plane rides. They brought Aden and Tory colored pencils and coloring sheets, and gave the kids two chocolate wafer cookies vs. one. They also hand out hard candies toward the end of the flight which Tory and Aden enjoy. “I like Binter,” Tory said once again. “They give us so much good stuff.”

It felt like a major victory that we made it onto our flight from Lanzarote to Gran Canaria, and Andi was doing OK. He is such a trooper. Most times, you’d never know he doesn’t feel very well because he masks it so well.

When we arrived to the Canary Islands last week and connected through the airport in Gran Canaria, it was absolutely nuts inside the terminal. The small island airport was short-staffed and overrun with angry tourists. There were long lines everywhere, from passport check to security to food services. Today, we didn’t have to bother with going through passport check or security for a second time, so our logistics were much smoother in this airport. We had enough time before our second flight to grab a bite to eat at the airport. Andi needs to eat soft, bland foods for the next few days to heal the inflammation in his stomach and colon. He’s not suppose to have any dairy or difficult-to-digest foods. Of course, it’s next to impossible to find specialized options in the airport. When I suggested Andi eat a banana, he gave me quite the death stare. After not feeling well for over a week now, I think the idea of eating another banana or a cup of jello makes him want to punch someone.

The only food options we found in the Gran Canaria airport were a bar, a bakery with limited pre-made sandwiches & salads, a candy store, and a Burger King. Andi bought a sandwich for himself (but could only really eat the bread), and the kids and I ordered meals from Burger King. Our food was sub-par to say the least. Why is eating in the airport always such an unpleasant experience? On travel days, we always tell the kids to eat when you can though (even when it’s not that great) because you never know what travel hiccups lay ahead. We still had a long afternoon & evening ahead of us until we reached our destination in Madeira.

Our flight to Funchal, Madeira departed at 4:45pm. Good-bye to the Canary Islands. Welcome to Portugal which (hopefully!) brings a reset to our winter travels.

Madeira is a Portuguese-controlled island off the western coast of Africa, north of the Canaries. Unlike the volcanic, moon-like landscape of the Canary Islands, the island of Madeira is lush and green. It is often called “the Hawaii of Europe.” We will be spending six nights there, staying in two different spots on the island. In all of our travels this winter, Madeira has been top of Andi and I’s list to see so I’m really hoping Andi feels better this week and we’re able to enjoy our time there.

We rented a car to use for the week in Madeira. The young guy working behind the counter at Madeira Rents was super friendly and spoke perfect English as we completed our rental paperwork. No international driver’s license needed in Portugal, so that wasn’t a hiccup in renting a car this time. Andi paid extra to have an automatic transmission because, as we learned during our travels to Argentina last year, driving a stick-shift in a hilly landscape is a stress we don’t need during our travels.

The rental car employee suggested a few car upgrades, and Andi decided on the Ford Puma. We signed the paperwork, got the keys, and received directions how to find our rental car parked in the airport parking lot. As we left, the worker handed us a bunch of bananas. “Welcome to Madeira!” he said enthusiastically. Bananas? That’s an odd welcome gift, isn’t it? Everyone knows, bananas are the worst thing to travel with — they bruise so easily. Nonetheless, here I was, walking through the airport with a pile of bananas in my hand. As it turns out, bananas are Madeira’s largest agricultural product for export.

The four of us loaded into our Ford Puma rental car. Andi programmed his iPhone to the car’s electronics, but couldn’t seem to get the car to recognize his Apple Car Play. It was one of those little things that really sets you off when you don’t feel very well. “I’m sorry to be a pain about this,” Andi said to us, “but this is a dealbreaker for me. I don’t want this rental car if I can’t get my map to pull up on the screen.”

So, back into the Madeira Rents office Andi went to retrieve the front-counter employee to see if he could get Apple Car Play to work with Andi’s phone. When that guy couldn’t figure it out, he put us in a different car (coincidently, the car that we had originally reserved in the first place). The kids and I moved our bags from the Ford Puma into the trunk of a black VW Golf. Andi was able to connect his phone to this car’s electronics without a problem, and then we finally left the airport — an hour and a half after we landed in Madeira.

For our first four nights in Madeira, Andi rented our family an airbnb on the north side of the island. You can drive around the whole island of Madeira in two hours, so it’s not necessary to stay in the bigger city of Funchal. Tonight, we had a 60-minute drive to our airbnb near the city of Sao Vicente. Driving in Madeira is an experience in and of itself! It felt like we entered into a game of Mario Kart. Cars drive so fast here, speeding around tight corners. There isn’t a road on the whole island that travels in a straight line for more than a minute — so many curves! We quickly became acclimated to the tunnels as well. The amount of city planning and engineering that went into the roadway system in Madeira is incredible. It’s a maze of tunnels, curves, and tight roadways with spectacular views of the hillside communities and of the sea around every turn.

Once we got closer to our airbnb, we stopped at a grocery store to load up on food for the next few days. All four of us have our staple foods that we each throw into the cart — Tory gets gnocchi and spaghetti sauce, Aden picks out milk, cereal and a can of Pringles. I always grab a fresh baguette, deli meat, cheese and some yogurt. Andi wouldn’t normally pick this, but on this shopping trip he loaded up on chicken noodle soup, jello, and white bread (apparently, white bread is one of the ‘approved foods’ for healing colitis). I always take a peek at the health & beauty section of the grocery store when traveling, just to see what they have for sale. In this grocery store, I found Tampax tampons (real tampons!) which I have never seen traveling outside of the USA. I don’t even need tampons right now, but I bought some just because I was afraid I’d never see them again. (Typically, the only feminine products I can find internationally are OB tampons and pads.)

This Continente grocery store also had a huge fish section. It smelled vile in the back of the store, and there were big, ugly fish displayed over ice in coolers. Madeira is known for its seafood, particularly as espada (black scabbard fish) and lapas (limpets) which are similar to clams.

We finally arrived to our airbnb around 9:30pm. This airbnb is a large house with a very well-stocked kitchen, a big living and dining area, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Unfortunately, we were greeted by a strong smell of mildew as soon as we opened the door. I’m guessing Madeira has high humidity given its lush, green landscape and it seems like this house might have been shut up for a while. Andi and I opened up some windows to air out the rooms.

Even with a smelly house, I’m so glad we made it to Madeira. It’ll be nice to see the island in the daylight tomorrow. I’m hoping everyone is healthy this week and for a fresh re-start to our travels.