May 10 Funchal, again

We're back to Funchal again on this trip. We visited a different area of the city this time since we were docked closer and had no shuttle bus. On this side street I'm impressed by the tile work on the street.

The cathedral

Jacaranda along the street

There was a flower and garden show underway

African tulip tree

One of the tile images on the Ritz Madeira

Jardim Municipal do Funchal across from the Ritz

Rotunda de Infante

As part of the city festival there were parades down the Avenida do Mar e das Communidades Madeirenses. About the time the ship was departing there was a parade of cars. We saw some of them lining up. Only one Ferrari but also a bug-eyed Sprite!

 

 

May 9 Santa Cruz de La Palma

 Another Spanish Canary island, just as beautiful.

As we went through the terminal on our way to explore, we passed this array of garbage cans. How many different kinds of trash/recyclables are there? And what color is which?

 

 A mural at the port entrance embracing all that is La Palma

 

 This is very much a volcanic island with black sand beaches everywhere. Marina in the distance.

 

  

How do you play basketball on a sand beach? Even if it is black sand. Soccer makes more sense. 

 

 Whale breaching from the sand

 

Balconies are part of the architecture of the island.

Engineering attraction: Manhole cover. I'm guessing three phase electrical power underneath.

Not a real sailing ship, at least not now. This is outside the Naval Museum.

From Google via translation: A statue of a dwarf, modeled after Napoleon Bonaparte's iconic hat, stands opposite the Naval Museum. This figure represents the dancers of the famous "Dance of the Dwarfs." This is one of La Palma's most traditional and emblematic events.

So apparently Napoleon wasn't here, but appears as a dwarf in the local dance. And this statue is important enough to be caricatured on the welcome to La Palma sign outside the port.

A beautiful little square near the Naval Museum.

Castillo de Santa Catalina

Along the shopping street more interesting homes

The Plaza de Espana in front of the Iglesia de El Salvador

 

May 8 Tenerife

May 8 Tenerife

 This is our kind of port -- we walk off the ship and into town. We pass the large yacht basin. The building in the background is the clock tower of the Insular Palace of Tenerife, wrapped in netting for some restoration work?

 

 The harbor contains what appears to be an oil drilling platform. Didn't know there was oil in this area, or maybe this is just a port in a storm.

 

Monument a los Caidos, a memorial to the Nationalist victors  in the Spanish Civil War

 

The obligatory I "heart" our town sign in the Plaza de Espana 

This is just labeled "Artwork" on the map. 

Brand extension

 

Plaza del Principe de Asturias 

We got our steps in, now it's back to the port and Marina

 

 

 

 

May 5 Casablanca - Lanzarote

May 5 Casablanca

 We leave the Mediterranean, not to return on this voyage. Our first stop is the exotic Casablanca in Morocco. We were here last summer and took the interesting excursion, so we chose to just explore on our own. Our favorite Destinations Manager, Luke, assured us it was safe so we took the shuttle bus into town.

At the shuttle bus stop both bus exits were mobbed by taxi drivers offering their services. It was nearly impossible to leave the bus for the crush of taxi drivers. A few stayed 10 meters from the bus and attempted to engage you in conversation as you emerged from the scrum. One guy said he was "with the shuttle bus company" but we quickly dispatched him. 

Here's the bus at the stop. The bus is now empty but a gaggle of drivers is still there.

We headed for the Medina, a large souk. Here's the clock tower outside.

And here's the gate. Strangely, at 9:45 on a weekday, only 1 in 20 shops were open. 

We walked through quickly and came upon the fort guarding the port.

In the distance was the famous Hassan II Mosque. We didn't walk that far, but did go into a modern mall just past the fort. The stores there were open, we bought a few things, and returned to the shuttle bus. Only a couple of drivers attempted to become our friends while we waited for the shuttle. 

May 7 Lanzarote

 After the fun of Casablanca we stayed aboard the ship during the next port stop at Agadir, Morocco. The shuttle was to a beach resort surrounded by other beach resorts so it seemed like a good day to stay aboard. 

Arrecife is a city on the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. Exiting the ship we waited 45 minutes for shuttle bus that took us less than a mile in 5 minutes to the edge of the port. Had we known, we would have just walked.

Here's the tidal lagoon on the edge of town. 

San Gines Church

Castillo de San Gabriel

The islands are volcanic, and here's a strangely shaped hunk of lava on display in the waterfront park.

Also in the park.

Shopping street

Street art - Pescador con Marlin