May 13 Porto

The shuttle bus took us into town, a trip of about 30 minutes from the port 6 miles outside the city. We arrived along the left bank of the Douro River. We walked about, mostly admiring the old buildings. 

Street art from the nearby tire shop

View across the river

Ponte daArrabida in the distance, very near the mouth

We crossed over to the right bank

Prince Henry the Navigator was born here, and now stands on a tall plinth pointing to the sea.

 

 

 

May 12 Lisbon

Lisbon is a favorite ever since we visited it on a Globus coach trip of Portugal and Spain. We arrived a couple of days early for the Globus tour and loved our time here then.  The rainbow promised good fortune while the clouds promised damp fortune. We took an umbrella. Good prevailed -- we were not rained on.

Praco do Commercio, with Dom Jose I astride his horse

Unlike other city signs we've seen, they've allowed this one to be covered in stickers.

Arco da Rua Agusta (Arch of Augusta Street)

From the other side with Dom Jose's rump framed

Praca do Rossio with Dom Pedro IV atop the column

Carmo Convent, destroyed in an earthquake in 1755, left without its roof as a reminder of the disaster. The Archeological Museum is now housed within the building.

Fountain in front of Dom Pedro IV

Igreja de Sao Domingo was not that extraordinary as a church

but I was concerned about it looked like it was falling down, or at least flaking apart

 

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