Author Archives: tl

The Sound of Silence, Part III

This is the third post in a series about my journey navigating recent sudden profound hearing loss. If you haven’t read them already, I recommend reading Part I and Part II first.

Warming up with the Oregon East Symphony last weekend

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears” – From “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare

Today is 91 days since I suffered sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in my left ear.

I perceive no recovery or improvement in my left side hearing despite a long succession of treatments and therapies (described in previous blog posts).

As I wrote in Part I, I had the scary experience of playing in an orchestra one week after my sudden hearing loss and not being able to hear myself.

In Part II, I described receiving hearing aids that I hope might enable me to continue performing with orchestras. It has been two weeks since I received my new crossover hearing aids.

I purchased Starkey Omega AI CROS (crossover hearing aids) for single-sided severe/profound hearing loss. I chose them because a) they are the most configurable (a cell phone app allows me to configure unique profiles and adjust equalizer settings), and b) they can run up to 48 hours on a charge. They are expensive, but given a unique set of circumstances, my insurance covered nearly all of the cost of the purchase.

How normal crossover hearing aids work is basically a mic is placed in the deaf ear, and sound is transmitted to a “speaker” in the good ear. However, sounds on the good side are picked up through the air and travel as usual straight into the good ear.

Prior to my hearing loss, I diligently wore musicians’ ear plugs during orchestra rehearsals and performances to protect my hearing from the possible damage. Sitting close to woodwind and/or brass players, many experienced musicians suffer from hearing loss and tinnitus. I wanted to protect myself from that fate.

Note: Fellow musicians, please, please protect your hearing when performing in orchestras or amplified settings!

Prior to my hearing loss, I used Eargasm™ high fidelity ear plugs

Since I now only have one good ear, I really need to protect it, so my audiologist ordered special “ear cones” I can attach to my good-side hearing aid. An ear cone is a flange that will help muffle natural sound coming in through my right ear. It attempts to convert my hearing aid into both an ear plug and a hearing aid at the same time.

Practicing Alone

I tried playing my viola by myself, and I’m reasonably satisfied with the quality of the sound I’m getting through my crossover hearing aids. Of course, my viola doesn’t sound quite as warm across the range of frequencies, but it isn’t tinny or low fidelity. Overall, I find the sound quality satisfactory.

But that was playing solo, in a quiet setting, and not surrounded by 40-60 other musicians.

I attempted to artificially create a scenario to test my hearing aids the week before my first rehearsal with the orchestra. Here’s how I did it:

I installed a large ear cone on my good hearing side hearing aid to muffle incoming natural sound
I put on headphones but covered my good ear only
I played recorded orchestra music at high volume through the headphones
I picked up my viola and played along with the recording

I was able to hear myself and the recorded orchestra music … but this was still not a real orchestra setting.

I finally got to experience playing my viola in a full live orchestra last weekend in rehearsal and performance with the Oregon East Symphony.

In brief, the hearing aids worked! I was able to hear myself and the orchestra, and I was able to perform to my satisfaction.

There were issues, though, and I hope I will be able to work them out with the help of my audiologist.

Difficulty Tuning Up

I had to jump in early when the orchestra was tuning.

Typically, the concertmaster will stand and nod to the oboist to play an “A.” Various sections of the orchestra will tune. Finally, the “A” is given for the strings. We wait for the concertmaster to begin tuning, then the string sections all follow suit starting with tuning their A strings and subsequently their other three strings.

Three members of our smiling viola section

If I waited until all the strings were playing, I found it very difficult to single out my own “A.” So I began quietly playing and tuning my A string soon after the oboe gave their A and slightly before the other string musicians began tuning.

Also, I found it impossible to tune during warm-up.

10-30 minutes before a concert starts, many musicians come out on stage, sit down, and warm up. They get their fingers moving, review the program, and play through difficult parts. The combined sound of all the musicians warming up and practicing different things can be a cacophonous mish-mash.

In the past, I could tune in the midst of this sonorous chaos — but no longer.

Normally, this would not be a big issue. My instrument typically remains close enough to being in-tune most of the time, and I can simply wait until the official concertmaster-led tuning to make the last minute fine adjustments to my strings.

But occasionally, a string may become seriously out-of-tune, and that can pull the other strings out of tune sympathetically. One may install a new string which will stretch significantly over the first few days. Also, one of your tuning pegs may slip causing one string to be way out of tune, even an octave or more.

The latter happened to me. My C string tuning peg slipped, dropping my C way out of tune. The change in string tension caused the remaining strings to compensate becoming a little bit tighter and sharper. This meant all my strings needed to be corrected.

In the musical din created by all my fellow musicians warming up, I could not hear myself sufficiently to rectify the situation. I ended up having to ask a sympathetic colleague in my section to tune my instrument for me. Thankfully, he readily agreed and in a few moments had my instrument ready for the performance.

Overall Sound Levels Playing In The Orchestra

After tuning, it was time to play surrounded by musicians in the orchestra. Was I be able to hear myself and the orchestra? Yes. But overall, the sound level was uncomfortably high.

I found the ear cone allowed more sound to pass through into my good ear than I was accustomed to. This caused the overall combined sound level in my right ear to be very high. The flutes, oboes, and clarinets, though they played beautifully, generated a volume that approached piercingly painful levels. It was not enough to give me a headache, but it more than was comfortable, especially during really loud or bombastic moments in the music (one piece on the program was Stravinsky’s Petrushka).

But the most important thing — being able to hear myself — that worked.

I was physically spent by the end of the concert. This would not be surprising given the length, concentration, and physical exertion a work like Petrushka requires. But I also had sound fatigue.

These days, if I am in a noisy bar or restaurant, or any situation where there are multiple simultaneous conversations, I last maybe an hour before I am physically and emotionally exhausted and need to retire to someplace quiet. I felt the same after the performance.

I removed my hearing aids and spent some time socializing with audience members and fellow musicians in an after-concert reception. But not for very long.

Soon, I was on the road driving home. I needed quiet. I discussed the concert with my partner, but in low tones just loud enough to hear over the road noise.

Next Steps

My next follow-up visit with the audiologist is later this week. I’m hoping there might be a more effective earplug/hearing aid solution for my good ear and future performances.

I cherish my hearing, and although I grieve the loss of my left side hearing, I still can play music and do the things I love. For that I am grateful. I just need to do everything I can to protect what I still have.

The Sound of Silence, Part II

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Summary: The continuing and sometimes strange adventures seeking hearing recovery

I wrote about my sudden severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in my left ear in a previous post. If you haven’t read it, I recommend you read that first. There is also a new post that follows this one.

In this post I will share the latest updates, including a very strange twist in my journey.

1. Hearing Aids

Last week I received my crossover hearing aids. This was 66 days after the onset of my sudden hearing loss.

They look like normal hearing aids, but at the simplest level, the left (deaf) side is a microphone which transits to the right side (my good ear). My right ear receives sound both naturally from the right side of my head plus the sound transmitted from the left side hearing aid.

This should make it possibly for me to hear things and understand conversation on the left side of my head. I previously could not hear or understand anything on my left side except in the quietest settings.

The hearing aids I chose are very configurable. They have equalizer settings and multiple ear cones I can mix and match to find the best combination for various conditions.

My hope is to test these thoroughly and come out with an assortment of specialized profiles for different sound settings (e.g. driving a car, attending a meeting, noisy bar, performing music. etc.). It will take time and a lot of trial and error. But I’m hopeful.

I understand these will do little to help me in noisy situations (e.g. holding a conversation in a noisy bar or restaurant). I also will have no aural directional awareness.

While sitting in the audiologist’s waiting room, my ENT saw me, sat with me and talked a bit. He expressed sincere empathy for me and my situation.

We had exchanged a few messages about the various naturopathic therapies I was considering. He reiterated that although it is completely understandable I want to explore every possible avenue for recovery, none of those other therapies are supported by clinical trials. Some might only be available in places like China.

2. Neurologist Orders More Imaging

I also visited my neurologist last week. He reviewed my recent MRI. He didn’t believe anything stood out that would explain my hearing loss or any other symptoms, but agreed that we should order a more comprehensive MRI as well as a new cerebral angiogram.

These two procedures should give more detail and help identify if there is any malformation, growth, or anything else in my head that might be concerning and/or related to my hearing loss.

My angiogram is scheduled for next week and I’m still waiting to schedule my MRI.

3. My Therapy Journey Takes a Strange Turn

As I wrote in my previous post, a dear friend persuaded me to pursue naturopathic therapy. With their help, I found a local naturopathic doctor (who is also an MD) who proscribed a couple of options – acknowledging openly that none has been proven through clinical trials to cure SSNHL.

Another famous naturopathic doctor in Seattle was recommended to me. I contacted the Seattle clinic and was able to get an appointment for last week, the afternoon of the same day I was receiving hearing aids from my audiologist.

I decided to go for it. I scheduled a flight to Seattle right after my audiologist appointment.

During my hearing aid appointment, I received a call from the Seattle clinic reconfirming my afternoon appointment.

I left the audiologist, drove straight to the airport, hopped on my short flight to Seattle, and went to sleep.

I woke as we were landing and turned on my mobile phone. A voicemail was waiting from the Seattle clinic:

“Hi Toby, this is xxx calling you from [clinic name]. I’m calling you to inform you that unfortunately we are closing the clinic indefinitely right now due to an investigation. I am so sorry for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any other questions. All that to say that the appointment is canceled today as you might imagine…”

I was dumbfounded, but I accepted this as a sign that maybe this wasn’t the best option for me.

I decided to enjoy my unexpected free afternoon in Seattle, visiting one of the best donut shops in town as well as the beautiful National Nordic Museum with its Thomas Dambo troll, Frankie Feetsplinters.

I have a brief international vacation coming up with a symphony performance the week after. These new crossover hearing aids will definitely be put to the test.

P.S. I have seen no news whatsoever about the abrupt closure of the Seattle based naturopathic clinic.

Please continue to read my next post in this series.

The Sound of Silence, Part I

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Summary: Appreciating Beethoven in a completely new way.

Note: I added updates to the bottom of this post. But it became so long that I posted two follow-up articles. Here is Part II and here is Part III.

I. Hearing and Music

As a musician, my hearing is precious to me. I love listening to and playing music, and when I’m doing neither, during almost every waking hour, some music is playing inside my head.

Sometimes I can get earworms that last for days. If the song is one I don’t like, I’ll listen to other music or concentrate on any of a handful of favorite works to push the offending earworm aside.

The idea of losing one’s hearing is so disturbing to contemplate, especially to musicians, that I imagine many may superstitiously avoid even thinking about the possibility.

I studied ASL years ago, was given a sign name, and find the language and Deaf Culture beautiful and fascinating.

I have been careful to protect my hearing. I almost always have earplugs in my pocket, wear them whenever I travel, and have musicians’ ear plugs I wear in every rehearsal and concert. Well into my late 50s, I have enjoyed excellent hearing with minimal loss.

Last September, the Newport Symphony performed a stunning work called “A Silence Haunts Me” by Jake Runestad.

This 2019 work for chorus and orchestra is inspired by a letter Ludwig van Beethoven had written to his brothers.

Beethoven penned this letter, known as the “Heiligenstadt Testament” in 1802. He never sent it, and it was discovered after his death. In it, Beethoven despairs over his hearing loss.

It was emotionally profound performance. Playing in the orchestra, we could not hear all the words being sung. But we heard enough. At one climactic moment, the chorus sings:

“Why? — Silence is God’s reply
— and so I beg me take my life —”

I highly recommend attending any performance of this extraordinary work. If you are a choral director or a member of a chorus, I encourage you to seek out this work and consider it for performance.

Since it is a recent composition, there are not many recordings, but here is one:

Just thinking about this piece can stir deep emotion in me. Little did I know I would soon understand it at a wholly new level.

II. Sudden Silence

A little over a week ago I underwent minor surgery during which I was put under general anesthesia. The surgery was successful.

I woke up with a dry, raw throat, most likely an after effect of intubation. It took a day or two for my throat to recover to where I could eat and swallow normally.

My left ear was also plugged when I woke up. I figured drainage and sinus congestion was the cause, but while my throat recovered, my left ear did not.

I took antihistamines, used nasal spray, took throat lozenges, and tried steam inhalation. Although all were successful in clearing any congestion, I still could not hear anything in my left ear. Maybe I had some other blockage either in the external or middle ear? I went to Urgent Care to have my ear inspected.

No fluid or infection was detected. They prescribed Prednisone and instructed me to see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor immediately. Since it was the weekend, I had to wait, worried and impatiently for Monday to try to see an ENT.

When Monday arrived, I called multiple ENT offices around the city to find an appointment. Most had no openings for a couple days. I found one office on the far side of town that had appointments available for an audiologist and an ENT. I got in my car and drove nearly an hour, anxious and worried about what I might learn.

The audiologist did a full battery of tests. I had gone through this just four years earlier, so I had a good baseline against which to measure.

The results were unnerving. My left side hearing loss was serious to profound — I could not distinguish words on the left side. The audiologist suspected I had SSNHL (Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss).

SSNHL is idiopathic – we don’t know what causes it. There are many theories, but none has been verified. The treatment is steroids, and it is important to take them as soon as the sudden hearing loss occurs – ideally within days. If one waits one or two weeks before treatment, chances of recovery greatly diminish.

To make matters worse, the ENT I had hoped to see was tied up in the operating room and wouldn’t be able to see me the same day. I would have to wait two excruciating days more to see an ENT.

Driving the long way home, thoughts of “A Silence Haunts Me” filled my head and overwhelmed my heart. What if I were to lose my hearing permanently? “Dr. Google” indicated I should have started taking steroids within 72 hours of onset, and I beat myself up for waiting longer than that period.

Wednesday finally came, and I saw an ENT. Thankfully, he was very thorough, compassionate, and explained everything to me. Yes, I do have SSNHL.

Since the Prednisone did not seem to be helping, the ENT recommended the next step, which he admitted sounded scary. He would be injecting steroids into my ear. I would receive three shots, one per week. He assured me this is the “gold standard” of treatment for SSNHL.

As unsettling as that treatment sounded, I would have let him do anything to increase my hope of recovery.

He also ordered an MRI to rule out any circulatory, growth, etc. conditions that could be the cause.

I asked him what the chances of recovery are. He said that about one-third of patients experience complete recovery, another third gain partial recovery, and the last third do not recover at all. As stark as those odds were, they were better than I had been contemplating before meeting him.

He also said that because a) I had started my Prednisone regimen early (within two weeks) and b) that I still had some hearing in my left ear, he was optimistic about my chances of partial to full recovery.

He told me about one patient that had absolutely zero hearing from SSNHL. He was not optimistic about that patient’s chances, but they actually recovered most if not all their hearing.

III. My first rehearsal

I had not performed in four months. I was recovering from a shoulder issue, and the evening of the same day as my ENT appointment was my first rehearsal. I didn’t know what to expect.

For the first hour, I could not hear myself at all.

As musician, especially a string player, this is akin to flying blind – you have no idea whether you are playing in tune. My fingers moved with muscle memory to their spots on the neck of my viola, and I just had to hope and pray.

Gradually, my right ear began hearing a little of my own playing, and it wasn’t bad. I made it through rehearsal without incident.

This weekend we will perform an ambitious concert including Bernstein, Verdi, and Korngold.

Beethoven is not on the program, but he will be in my mind and heart as we perform.

The next month will reveal if and to what extent my hearing returns.

Update 1: Post-Concert (4 Days After the Onset)

I was able to make it through 4 hours of rehearsal Friday, two hours of rehearsal Saturday, and concerts both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Although I haven’t noticed any change in my left ear, I have been able to adjust to hearing myself playing a little bit with right ear. Only at moments, though.

My next shot in the ear will be in a couple days. I am also scheduled to get an MRI on the same day.

I wait with hope with as much grace and as little anxiety as I can muster.

Update 2: Second Shot and MRI (15 Days after Onset)

I received my second shot in the ear today. I will get a third one a week from today. Amazingly (and rather scarily), they administered no anesthesia and were able to insert the shot through the tiny pinprick created by the shot one week earlier. I experienced no discomfort, heard some odd noises, and could slightly feel the drops that were injected. I experienced no pain, dizziness, or nausea.

Less than an hour later, I arrived at medical imaging for an MRI. I spent 30 minutes inside the massive tube listening to classic Rock punctuated by the whines, pounds, and buzzes of the machine.

Since my left ear is so impaired, it sounded like they were only imaging the right side of my head. I guess having reduced hearing is one small advantage to enduring an MRI scan.

I will receive my third ear shot next week, and the following week I will have a comprehensive hearing test to see if any of my hearing has been restored, and to what extent. I remain quietly hopeful.

Update 3: Acupuncturist (17 Days after Onset)

I had appointments with both my chiropractor and my acupuncturist. The good news is that my shoulder is healed. I still need to exercise it to strengthen it and increase flexibility, but after the rigorous and extended workout it endured rehearsing and performing last week, I experienced no pain.

I informed my acupuncturist about my hearing loss. He said he could assist me in healing my ear and promptly inserted about four needles around my left ear. He gave me added hope for recovery.

Update 4: Acupuncture and Ear Shot #3 (22 Days after Onset)

Up to this point, I have mostly kept a calm demeanor, letting myself rest and heal and keeping note of any changes however small I might be experiencing. I woke today, though, with some dread and heavy sadness I haven’t felt in a few weeks regarding my condition.

Today I had my third acupuncture treatment focused on my hearing. I always concentrate on anything I notice or experience during and after my acupuncture treatments, and when I shared them with my acupuncturist, he was upbeat and expressed confidence positive things were happening. That gave my mood a boost.

I then visited my ENT to receive my third and final shot in the ear. When asked if I was noticing any improvement, I answered, “no” and saw their face fall. That hit me hard.

There are instances where hearing recovers weeks or even a couple months after the shots have been administered. But they normally see improvements by now.

She gave me a larger shot, filling my middle ear with corticosteroid, then left me for 20 minutes to let the drugs hopefully permeate my thus far recalcitrant hearing anatomy.

I will return next week to get a full audiological test which will provide quantitative measurements of any changes or improvements.

I remain as calm and patient as I can, although today am experiencing more fractures in my equilibrium and serenity.

Update 5: Second Hearing Test and ENT Appointments (30 Days after Onset)

Today, I received another in depth hearing exam to compare with the one I had a little over three weeks earlier. The results showed no improvement in my left-side hearing. In fact, there was one higher frequency at which my hearing had degraded from “serious” to “profound.”

The ENT does not think there is any chance that I will experience recovery.

I have scheduled an appointment with another audiologist to discuss various technological solutions, the most likely being a crossover hearing aid (CROS) designed specifically for single-sided deafness.

One day later I met with my acupuncturist (who is also an MD), who encouraged me to not to lose hope. He allowed that the odds are long, but that in every group of people, there will be outliers. Additionally, he believes the second hearing test was performed too early, and that healing and recovery may still occur. HIs words were encouraging, although I have to acknowledge my chances are slim.

I have also reached out to my neurologist to make sure there isn’t anything else going on which could either explain my hearing loss. Additionally, I want to rule out anything that might lead to further neuron death or sensory losses.

Update 6: Audiologist Hearing Aid Appointment (37 Days after Onset)

Today I visited an audiologist recommended to me by my ENT. This one specializes in various hearing aid/surgery options.

The audiologist was friendly, boisterous, and a font of knowledge. As expected, we’re starting with crossover hearing aids. Oregon law grants me a 60-day trial period during which I can return the hearing aids for any reason. That 60-day period resets when I get my second set. Since I’ve never had hearing aids before, it’s nice to know I have the easy option to compare sets rather than being locked into whatever I choose initially.

I decided to try a set that gives me a lot of options to tweak and adjust. My thinking is I may have one configuration for everyday work, another for conversations in noisy environments, one for when I’m rehearsing and performing with the symphony, etc. I’ll receive them in time to test them on a short overseas trip as well as during my next orchestra concert with Oregon East Symphony.

We also briefly discussed a couple invasive surgical solutions:

Bone conduction crossover surgery (aka contralateral routing of signal or CROS via implant)
Cochlear Implant (CI)

I’m not keen on invasive surgery, so of course we’ll try crossover hearing aids first. Hopefully the non-surgical solution will be satisfactory.

Update 7: Naturopathic Medicine (51 days after onset)

Two possible treatment paths have come to an end a new one has started. My ENT has no more treatment to suggest. All I can do is wait for my crossover hearing aids, which are due to arrive in a couple weeks.

My acupuncturist has completed his regimen of treatments. He urges me to remain hopeful. He thinks there is still room for improvement and to remain open to that possibility.

A good friend of mine encouraged me to see a naturopathic doctor. With their help, I found and secured an appointment with a recommended practitioner.

That appointment was last week (42 days after onset). The doctor suggested several therapies, openly acknowledging that none has been proven through human clinical trials to cure SSNHL. They have shown positive results in animal tests and in human cases for other ailments.

I figured, they can’t hurt, and if there is a chance they can help, I’ll try them.

It’s been a little over a week, I have not noticed any changes.

I have continued sharing my journey with a second blog post followed by a third post.

7. Madeira – An Adventure Awaits You!

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Summary: A few tips about getting to and getting around Madeira.

Our second week was spent on Madeira and we loved it!

Madeira is one of two autonomous island regions of Portugal (the other being the Azores). It’s located about 700 km (430 miles) off the coast of Africa at nearly the same latitude as Marrakesh, Morocco. With springlike weather year-round, it is a popular destination for those escaping the cold of winter and is often called the “Hawaii of Portugal.”

Madeira, Portugal (Funchal is the largest city on the island)

Getting to Madeira is relatively easy and inexpensive. Although it is 1000 km (600 miles) southwest of Portugal, Ryanair and easyJet flights from the mainland can be purchased for as little as ~€40 (US$47 at this time). Many other airlines offer air service to FNC from locations other than mainland Portugal.

As with many budget airlines, those ticket prices often prove to be much higher — these two airlines charge for everything: carry-on bags, checked bags, choosing seats, etc.

Also, their carry-on and checked bag size and weight requirements are much more restrictive than other airlines. You really need to plan ahead, carefully weigh and measure your bags, and purchase baggage allowances ahead of time. If you have to purchase more baggage allowances at the airport that may cost you more.

We purchased large carry-on bag options for our easyJet flight to Madeira. Doing so also granted us early boarding which was a nice surprise.

Madeira Travel Tip 1: Measure and weigh your bags carefully and purchase the correct baggage allowance before flying to Madeira

Madeira’s main airport (FNC) is named after the Portuguese football (soccer) phenom, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was born in Funchal, Madeira. The Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport is an engineering marvel with a potentially hair-raising approach for passengers.

FNC is is a tabletop runway perched on a cliffside, supported by tall pillars with steep drop-offs at both ends. The original runway was much shorter. Pilots are still required to complete training and obtain specialized licensing to land there. The short runway, steep hillside, cross winds, short approach, and quickly changing climate conditions make it especially challenging.

Pillars supporting the airport’s tarmac. Note the expressway in the background

Pilots must circle the runway, make a visual approach, and line up for the short descent. During that visual circumnavigation, passengers get a good view of the elevated tarmac hanging out into the ocean, supported by concrete stilts which straddle a major motorway.

Fortunately for us, no cross winds or bad weather challenged our arrival and departures. The two flights were executed without incident and felt pretty normal.

After deplaning and making a stop at the bathroom, we saw people lining up for passport control. This was confusing to me; wasn’t Madeira part of Portugal? The signage didn’t seem clear, but everyone seemed to be queueing up. None of the automatic machines were working, and there were only two passport controllers. We waited and waited as the long, serpentine line slowly made its way up to the two controllers.

When we finally got the front, the agent asked us for our destination. A little confused, I said “Funchal” (the largest city on Madeira). He directed us back through the line to the far right path to the exit and baggage claim. This line was only for passengers flying OUT of Madeira, not for new arrivals.

I didn’t take a picture during our arrival, but here’s a picture of the empty passport control area.

Madeira Travel Tip 2: Upon arrival, go directly to the exit/baggage claim. Don’t get caught in the unnecessary passport control line!

Website and travel information led us to believe there was no ridesharing services on Madeira. I am happy to report that is not the case. Bolt definitely operates on Madeira, and you should definitely download and install the Bolt app for easy and inexpensive travel on the island.

The Madeira airport is about a half-hour’s drive to Funchal. There is a bus service, but when I found out how cheap a Bolt ride would be, we chose the latter. We used Bolt for the vast majority of our transportation needs on Madeira and on the Portuguese mainland.

I would not recommend renting a car as the roads on Madeira are narrow, steep, and twisty. Let a local drive you!

Madeira Travel Tip 3: Download and use the Bolt app for easy and relatively inexpensive transportation.

One thing I love to do when travelling is to buy a bus pass either for specific destinations, or for just random riding and exploring.

It was a little confusing trying to figure out where to purchase a bus pass. There are many competing tour bus lines in addition to the local city and intercity buses.

I’m hesitant about buying a pass on the bus since I was uncertain how to pay, how much to pay, whether I would be able to communicate with the bus driver — and I didn’t want to hold up the bus. I had to explore a bit until I found where to buy the bus passes. I finally figured it out, finding a round, pointed dome kiosk on the main Av. Do Mar street next to the waterfront.

Google Maps or some mapping app is really needed to navigate the twisty streets, boulevards, and pedestrian-only walkways of Madeira (and most Portuguese cities). It is easy to get confused and lose your sense of direction simply walking. These apps will also tell you which bus lines you might use to get to your destination. However, finding the correct bus stop and catching a bus is not so simple.

Bus stop sign in Funchal. Six bus lines stop here, but good luck recognizing the numbers on the sign!

For starters, the bus stop signs print the bus numbers in incredibly small text, and more often than not, the sign is blocked by a post or the roof of the shelter. This requires one to walk within a meter or two of the sign to verify the bus line number.

I had to walk up to within a meter or two of the bus stop sign to see the bus numbers

Secondly, either Google Maps does not have the correct bus schedule information, or the buses are not punctual (or both).

Third, just because you are sitting at a bus shelter does not mean the next bus will stop for you. You must stand up and walk to the curb as the bus approaches. Remain seated, and the bus may drive past without slowing down.

Finally, buses may be full by the time they get to your stop and will pass you by. This may especially be the case if you are in popular areas or trying to catch a popular bus (e.g. up the mountain to the basket toboggans and the Monte Palace). To avoid this happening to you, either try to catch the bus at its origin, or just take a Bolt.

Madeira Travel Tip 4: Taking the bus requires flexibility, patience, and luck

Everywhere we went, people were helpful providing suggestions of what to see, where to eat, and when to go. Their suggestions were consistently excellent, and we were glad to receive them.

As I’ve written before, ask your restaurant server for suggestions. They will give you honest, informed, and unambiguous suggestions for your food and beverages. We were never steered wrong.

Madeira/Portugal Travel Tip 5: Ask for and heed the recommendations of your driver, concierge, and server

We went on a couple of guided tours of Madeira. One was a 4×4 jeep tour and the second was a wine tasting tour. Both gave us beautiful views of the island and stopped in small towns for snacks and drinks. The locals are justifiably proud of Madeira’s history, rugged and beautiful geography, and delicious food and beverages. Some we just stumbled upon. Here is a random list of recommended things to see and do:

Visit the Monte Palace Gardens

After trying and failing to take a city bus up to the famous basket toboggans (aka “Carros de cesto do Monte“), we took a Bolt. Several of our Bolt drivers were locals who had grown up on Madeira, and they gave us excellent suggestions. Our driver asked us if we planned to see the Monte Palace Gardens. He highly recommended we take the time to visit the gardens, then just walk over to the basket toboggans.

We took his advice and are glad we did!

The gardens are extensive and lush, and there were several amazing sights including a modern art exhibition, an fascinating mineral and crystal exhibit, live swans and flamingos, and more.

Built on the steep hillside, we started at the topmost entrance and worked our way down through the gardens. Rather than climbing the steep steps and ramps back up, we caught an inexpensive electric carriage the delivered us comfortably, quickly, and quietly back to the top.

The quiet, comfortable, and inexpensive electric shuttle

If you need to get back up to the top, you definitely want to avail yourself of the comfortable mountain-climbing Monte Palace Garden shuttle.

Monte Toboggans (aka “Carros de cesto do Monte“)

This 100+ year old tradition will have you sliding in wicker basket seats with bare wooden runners sliding down steep paved streets. The ride is about 2km long and you reach speeds of up to 38 kph (24 mph). Two men run, pull, steer, and ride with you on the exhilarating ride down.

After thousands of rides, sections of the asphalt have been ground smooth to the point it shines.

At the bottom of the ride, the baskets are loaded on a truck and the drivers board a bus to take them back up the hill.

It’s hard to image how a century ago these toboggans slid over rough cobblestones. Also, the poor drivers not only had to walk back up the hill, they had to carry the toboggans back up the hill.

Vereda do Pico Ruivo

This highest point on Madeira (and third highest point in Portugal) reaches an altitude of 1851 meters (6106 ft) and offers a stunning panoramic view. Crowds will gather to see sunrise here.

We didn’t make it for sunrise, but got to stop and take in the views during a guided tour of the island. Our driver said a thousand people can gather for the sunrise, so if you want to do that, plan carefully. I would hire a local driver rather than navigate the tight, steep curves in the pre-dawn darkness.

Miradouro do Guindaste Viewpoint

The northern coast of Madeira is very different from the southern coast. It is more rugged with sheer basalt cliffs rising out of the ocean. I think the first images I saw of Madeira were from the northern coast and reminded me of pictures I may have seen of the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

This is just one of many viewpoints, and it is located next to Santana, Madeira, where you can also view some of the distinctive traditional Madeirense homes with bright colors and steep thatched roofs.

Aguage Waterfall

Near Santana you can also visit the Aguage Waterfall. But the road is narrow, steep and unpaved. We visited it driven in a 4×4 Jeep.

Ponte do Bode

This is the spectacular eastern most tip of Madeira. For fans of Star Wars, it is a filming location “The Acolyte“

Quinta do Barbusano Winery

São Vicente is a town in the near the northwest cost of Madeira. It sits in a valley surrounded by spectacular steep hills with grapevines and rock terraces. A small hill with a single church steeple rises from the valley floor.

The Quinta do Barbusano winery has a beautiful tasting room which offers stunning views of the growing vines and the valley below.

After a walk through and under the grapevines, we returned to the tasting room where we enjoyed an amazing meal including Espetada to pair with several tastings of win.

Ponto Do Sol

On the opposite side of the island to the southwest is Ponto do Sol, which is rumored to have the most beautiful sunrise views. The weather was a bit stormy and we were too sleepy to get up to see the sunrise, but the rugged rocks and surf was still spectacular to view.

Museu da Banana da Madeira

The Madeira Banana Museum is just 15 km west of Funchal, and the address is Ponto do Sol, however, a tunnel separates it from the main old town pictured above, and you can’t walk through the tunnel.

Nevertheless, the Banana Museum offers fascinating history of the cultivation of bananas and Madeira’s long history of growing and selling bananas abroad.

All along the southwest coast we saw countless banana groves. Looking out our hotel window we were presented with a solid wall of banana plants.

Conclusion

Madeira may seem a bit out of the way for travelers to Portugal, but it is surprisingly easy to get to and quite affordable. It is well worth adding to your itinerary. We definitely want to return!

6. Speaking Finnish on Madeira

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Summary: An unlikely meeting forms a new international friendship

Forty years ago I spent one summer in Finland as an exchange student. It was in a small, beautiful town of about 30,000 called Savonlinna. Located in the Saimaa Lakeland area of Finland, the town is a series of interconnected islands with a beautiful 15th century fortress, Olavinlinna.

I have been back only once, way back in 1989, and I have never met anyone from this town since.

Olavinlinna Castle in 1989, the last time I was in Savonlinna

Finnish is an unusual language, related to no Slavic, Germanic, or Romance language, it’s distantly related to Hungarian. Finns and Estonians can sort of understand each other.

Finns, like most Scandinavians learn English (often speaking it better than some native English speakers). So their language is rarely heard and even more rarely recognized and understood.

During my summer in Finland, I learned a few basic phrases, how to count, and how to swear (swearing in Finnish is really handy — I’ve only been busted once in 40 years).

So, what has Finnish or Savonlinna to do with Madeira? Nothing. Or so I thought.

While on Madeira, we enjoyed a lovely private tour of the north and western portions of the Island. We viewed the rugged sheer cliffs on the north side of the island, felt the mist and spray of a waterfall, and visited several quaint towns on the north coast.

Machico, Madeira; note the edge of the elevated tarmac of the airport

Finally, our driver delivered us to the beautiful Quinta do Barbusano winery in Sao Vicente, Madeira. Sao Vicente has under 6000 inhabitants and at the northwest corner of Madeira is at the opposite side from Funchal.

Tables in the tasting room. Note the bars for hanging espetada.

The tasting room of the winery enjoys a gorgeous panoramic view of the valley and the steep hills covered with rows of grapevines.

I often listen to hear what languages I can recognize. On our trip, the most common non-Portuguese languages I heard were mainly English, German, and Spanish. On occasion I’d hear French, Swedish, Norwegian, and Italian.

As we waited for the group to assemble for a tour of the hillside vineyards, I heard an unusual, yet vaguely familiar tongue. Could it be Finnish? The more I listened, the more certain I was.

I approached one fellow in a group of four and asked, “Suomalainen?” (“Finnish?” — maybe not the most polite or proper wording, but it was the best I could muster).

When they nodded yes, I explained that I had spent a summer in Savonlinna, Finland, when I was in high school

“We’re from Savonlinna!” his wife exclaimed, and we both laughed and marveled at the unlikelihood of our meeting. As we chatted, more Finnish words and phrases came back from the recesses of my memory, and I recognized ruefully that I knew more Finnish than Portuguese.

We hiked through and under the grapevines together. On such a steep and uneven terrain punctuated with stone walls, the grapes can only be tended to and harvested by hand. I had to duck constantly; this workplace definitely favors a shorter stature.

We returned to the tasting room to escape the sun and heat.

During a lovely lunch we were served several wines, both white and red. Our espetada was delivered on bay laurel skewers. With dessert we were served 5-year-old Madeira wine.

Toasting with our new Finnish friends. “Sisu!”

I went over and chatted with the four Finns at the next table. The wife of the Savonlinna couple came to meet and chat with Annie. They are retired and spend their summers in Finland and winters in Valencia, Spain.

We delighted getting acquainted, and truly hope to meet them again.

5. Drinking Well in Portugal

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Summary: Alcoholic beverages are plentiful, varied, and tasty in Portugal

On average, Portuguese alcohol consumption is slightly higher than Americans, though less than their European neighbors.

Neither of us usually consumes more than maybe a single glass of wine per week. While in Portugal, we had at least 2 drinks every day including wine, port and other spirits and cocktails.

Beer

Neither of us drinks much beer, but we took a liking to a Portuguese Beer called “Super Bock.” You could order a “mini,” which was just 20cl (a little under 7 oz.). Bottles and beer glasses in this diminutive size were readily available, and we enjoyed several during our trip.

Liquor, Cocktails, and Other Fun Drinks

I developed a taste for Licor Beirão, which is the most consumed spirit in Portugal. It is made from a double distillation of seeds and herbs, including mint, cinnamon, cardamom and lavender.

It has a colorful history going back to the 19th century when it was originally sold as a medicinal cure for stomach aches. I consumed Beirão at least once as a digestif and found it satisfying and effective.

I was greatly dismayed to find that Beirão has only a couple of distributors on the east coast of the U.S. So, I will have to carefully ration the one duty-free bottle I carried home until I can find a way to obtain more.

Ginja (or Ginjinha) is another popular liquor in Portugal. Often made from sour cherries and served in tiny, edible chocolate shot cups, you can see ginja bars and windows on the sidewalks of busy Lisbon and other Portuguese cities.

Poncha is a popular traditional drink on Madeira. It is mixture of liquor made from sugar cane, honey, white sugar, and usually a citrus juice, although we also tried some that had passionfruit juice. Beware this tasty drink as the alcoholic content is much higher than it tastes!

Enjoying a poncha break in the midday sun

Another cocktail popular on Madeira is the Nikita. This blended, frozen drink is made from fresh pineapple and/or pineapple juice, vanilla ice cream, and either beer or white wine. It tastes somewhere between a Piña Colada and a Pineapple Julius.

At one cafe we ordered a “white wine sangria,” which we’d never seen or tasted before. It was so delicious that we asked for the recipe, which the server readily wrote down:

Unfortunately, we could not read her writing, so we had to have our hotel concierge rewrite it for us.

Wine

We are not knowledgeable about Portuguese wine. We did enjoy sampling wine and port in city tasting rooms as well as at a couple vineyards. We visited one Douro Valley vineyard that has been owned by the same family going back at least 300 years!

View of the Douro Valley from their tasting room

This winery still crushes the grapes by pouring them into a large stone basin and having people crush them underfoot. They know that mechanical crushing is popular, but they believe physically trampling better exposes and mixes the grape skins, pulp, and juices and releases more flavor. I would love to be present to watch this centuries-old tradition!

After finding out there are over 250 wine varietals grown in Portugal, we realized we’d have little chance, even after three weeks, of getting to the point where we could recognize and choose a suitable Portuguese wine to go with our meal. We simply asked our servers for recommendations, and they always delivered.

Port Wine (vinho do Porto)

Port is the only Portuguese wine I had ever seen in U.S. markets.

I knew a little about port before this trip. I knew it was a “fortified wine” and that the two main types were tawny and ruby. The ruby ports I had tasted were sweeter. The few tawny ports I had tasted before this trip hadn’t really appealed. That was to change.

Like Champagne, authentic port may only be produced in a specific region — in the case of port, it must come from the Douro Valley of Portugal. Although Wikipedia claims, “In the European Union as well as in the United States, only wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled ‘port,'” I know for a fact that there are U.S. winemakers selling fortified wine called “port.”

Basically, port wine is made by adding a neutral, high-alcoholic content grape spirit (something like 70% alcohol) to the wine to halt fermentation. Some call the spirit “brandy,” but since it has no flavor, I find this misleading. The wine is often aged in barrels, and the result has both a higher alcoholic and sugar content than typical wines.

Over 100 varieties of grapes may be used to make port wine, and the difference between ports depends on whether they aged in stainless steel, concrete, or wooden barrels, whether they are allowed to oxidize before bottling, the type of grapes, etc.

White and Rosé Port

Before this trip, we were completely unaware of the existence of white and rosé ports.

White ports are made from white grapes and are not made every year. The growing season has to be ideal (colder winter and hotter summer) for the winemaker to choose to make white port. We tasted several and fell in love with them.

Rosé Port was invented recently in 2008. It starts out like a ruby port, but the amount of time the wine is exposed to the grape skins is limited (I think I recall in one case it was just 24 hours). This gives the port its lovely rose hue.

Having some fun at the Pink Palace Rosé Wine Museum in Porto

When in Porto, we visited a museum promoting rosé port. It was more fanciful and amusing than informative, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Madeira Wine

Madeira Wine is a fortified wine made on the island of Madeira and predates Port wine by a couple centuries.

Madeira has a winemaking history going back to the 1400s, and was a major port of call for ships travelling to and from the New World. Wine barrels were exposed to heat and movement on voyages, and so merchants started adding grape spirits to help keep the wine from spoiling en route. When an unsold shipment of wine returned to Madeira, it was discovered the wine, fortified with spirits and exposed to the heat and movement actually improved the taste of the wine.

In the modern production of Madeira wine, I have learned that younger blends (3-5 years old) are produced using artificial heat to accelerate the aging process. Older blends, because of how they are made, may last years or decades, and will still be good even after opening.

Madeira wine was popular in colonial America, and it was a favorite among America’s founding fathers. We were reminded several times by proud Madeirans that Madeira wine was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

4. Eating Well in Portugal

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Summary: Food is fresh, healthy, and plentiful in Portugal

Note: This will be one of several posts on food and beverages in Portugal. This one will focus on just food.

It is easy to eat well in Portugal — and we certainly did!

We found most dishes prepared with fresh, local, and seasonal produce.

Portugal consumes less Ultra-Processed Food (UPFs) than most countries, even among its European neighbors (guess which country routinely is on the top of the list for average daily calories from UPFs?).

Fresh Produce

The fresh fruits and vegetables we saw in markets were gorgeous! Here’s one vendor selling only mushrooms:

Mushrooms at the fabulous and historic Mercado do Bolhão in Porto

The fruit stands in Madeira were especially impressive (all the fruit you see in this picture was grown on the island of Madeira):

Fresh fruit at the Mercado dos Lavradores (farmers’ market) in Funchal

Seafood

The Portuguese also consume a lot of seafood, and we ate some seafood almost every day, which included some items we’d never seen before. Here are just a few dishes we were served and readily consumed:

Cheese

We ate beautiful cheese every day in Portugal. Cheese is made on the mainland and on the Azores, but not on Madeira. Cow’s, goat’s, and sheep’s milk cheeses were served nearly every breakfast. Every dinner started with a couvert, typically a basket of bread and butter, sometimes including olives, olive oil, and/or cheese. Cheese was also offered as dessert after several dinners.

Pastel de nata

Of the many desserts we had, we of course ate many Pastéis de nata (plural form of Pastel de nata). These miniature egg custard tarts are best dusted with cinnamon and maybe a little sugar. There are friendly debates over who makes the best Pastéis de nata. We ate many and even hand carried a dozen home with us. Sadly, I just consumed the last of them last night.

*Pastéis de nata* *hot out of the oven at* Manteigaria – Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata, Porto

The good news is that my wife purchased a stack of Pastéis de nata tins, and a pastry cookbook, so with luck, I may get to enjoy good Portuguese egg tarts without having to wait until I’m back in Portugal.

Meat

The meat we had was delicious and well-prepared.

One special dish we enjoyed a couple times was espetada, which is meat cooked on skewers. On Madeira, it is common to use bay laurel branches instead of metal for the skewers. The laurel branch imparts flavor into the meat.

Each table was equipped with tall bars with hangers on which each skewer could be secured. One must use a knife and fork to slide the meat vertically off the hanging skewer.

One thing I noticed, when ordering meat dishes, we rarely were asked how we wanted the meat prepared. In those cases, it was usually served medium-rare (which happens to be our preference).

At restaurants that catered to tourists, we were asked. Their assumption was we would want it medium or medium-well and they were a bit surprised when we asked for “medium-rare.” I don’t know, but do our British compatriots prefer their meat cooked a bit longer?

The francesinha (pronounced approximately “fra-nsi-sinh-uh“) is a special sandwich originally from Porto. A stack of many different kinds of hot meats is sandwiched between toasted bread, topped with slices of cheese. Hot tomato and beer sauce is poured over the tower, melting the cheese.

Our first francesinha at Santa Francesinha

A square about a block from our hotel in Porto had at least 4 restaurants all advertising Francesinhas. Our first one was so big we had to split it in half to share between the two of us.

Tip #1: Ask for restaurant recommendations

We received suggestions for restaurants from our drivers, tour guides, and shop keepers, and they were all excellent! People are happy to give you suggestions and you are well advised to heed them.

Be sure to have them write down the names for you. Unless you familiar with Portuguese, hearing the name doesn’t mean you will come anywhere close to spelling the name correctly on your own.

Tip #2: Ask your server for suggestions

Consistently, whenever we asked our server for a recommendation, they offered it without hesitation, and they never steered us wrong.

At one restaurant, Annie asked whether she should get the roasted chicken or the BBQ chicken. The answer was immediate: “roasted chicken,” without explanation or elaboration.

At another restaurant I couldn’t decide between any of the meat entrées. The server indicated that “Granny’s Roasted Veal” (slow roasted and sweetened with wild chestnuts) was the chef’s actual grandmother’s recipe. It was excellent!

We were advised on more that one occasion when they thought we were ordering too much food.

Tip #3: Let your server choose your wine

Having little hope of becoming sufficiently knowledgeable to select a Portuguese wine from a wine list, we simply asked our servers to choose our wines for us. We were always offered a taste, and our servers consistently made satisfactory selections for us.

I photographed the labels of many wines I tasted and enjoyed. But given how little Portuguese wine we see in stores at home, I doubt I will see them again until I return to Portugal.

In another blog post I will list our favorite restaurants including one in Lisbon so good we had to go back a second time!

3. The Impact of Just a Few Words

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Summary: A few well-pronounced words and phrases make a surprising impact

Note: To anyone who knows Portuguese, I apologize for any mistakes I make in this post. I welcome your comments and corrections!

I started with good intentions.

Enjoying our last dinner in Portugal at éLeBê Entreparedes

In the past when preparing to travel, I’d make a concerted effort to learn some basic words and phrases as well as basic pronunciation. Often, I’d pick up a phrase book and practice learning the basics.

For this trip, I went so far as to purchase a stack of Pimsleur European Portuguese conversational language CDs as well as a deck of Lingo Portuguese language playing cards.

My wife did some online language lessons only to realize too late that she was learning Brazilian Portuguese.

Alas, work, life, sloth, whatever — I found myself flying across the Atlantic with vocabulary limited pretty much to “hello” and “thank you.” (“olá” and “obrigado,” respectively).

Fortunately for us, the vast majority of people we met in Portugal knew at least some English. There were only a couple rideshare drivers and a shopkeeper here or there that could not speak English. A quick usage of a translating app on my phone got us through those infrequent situations.

I felt bad about arriving so linguistically ill-prepared, but I decided the least I could do was to improve my pronunciation as best as I could for what little I did know and later would learn.

I had heard from someone that any word ending with “o” should be pronounced “oo.” So the city of Porto should be pronounced (“Por-Too”) and thank you (“obrigado” if you are a male) should be pronounced “oh-bri-ga-doo.”

An additional challenge with European Portuguese is that many of the written letters are not voiced. In contrast, I heard that Brazilian Portuguese has simplified its spelling to be phonetic like Spanish and German.

Learning One Phrase

I decided to look up one phrase using the Deepl app on my phone (I prefer Deepl to Google Translate). I wanted to know how to say, “we our on our honeymoon.” Deepl reported the translation as “estamos em lua de mel.”

Listening to the audio pronunciation, the dropped/skipped letters made it sound like:

“SHTAH-moes eh-LOO-a d’MELL.”

I first drilled it into my head using this mnemonic device:

“(John) Stamos (K)ahlua (Cecil B.) DeMille”

I shared this memory device with my wife, who later tried to recall it, but hilariously came up with “Tony Danza….???”

The Power Of One Phrase

Mastering this one phrase served us well.

Chilled sparkling wine and bon bons awaited us at Torel Palace Porto

People we met were already friendly and welcoming, but whenever my wife or I would utter this phrase, their eyes would light up and the enthusiasm bubble over. Several restaurants gave us complimentary flutes of sparkling wine with our dinner, and twice we found chilled bottles of sparkling wine awaiting us in our hotel rooms.

Simply saying “olá,” (hello), “bom dia” (good morning), or “boa noite” (“boy noit” – good evening) was enough to stop locals from immediately pegging us as English speakers.

If we said “estamos em lua de mel,” however, they assumed we were fluent and often barreled forward in Portuguese. I’d have to sheepishly admit that this phrase constituted about 50% of my Portuguese vocabulary, but it made me feel proud every time they told us our pronunciation was really good.

On one of the last days of our trip, we were in a baking supply store buying little cups needed to make pastéis de nata, the famous Portuguese egg cream tarts.

I spoke the phrase to the lady at the counter, and she launched into Portuguese. I had to stop her and admit the severe limits of my language proficiency. She responded that my wife and I were speaking better Portuguese than immigrants from the UK, Ukraine, or Russia who had been in Portugal for three years. That was sobering and disappointing to hear.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), Lisbon

The Portuguese are warm and welcoming, and they have a great history of exploration (and yes, colonization). I want to return to Portugal, and when I do, I will prepare much more to show my appreciation and respect through their language.

2. A Chance, Once-In-A-Lifetime Musical Moment

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Summary: Chance timing leads to an amazing, unforgettable moment of music and email.

The weather the last week we were in Portugal was especially rainy and windy.

Duoro River rising uncomfortably close to the level of the banks

In fact, the Duoro River separating Porto from Gaia flooded its banks the last day we were there. We saw the rising river the night before. But on our last day the winds and driving rain kept us close to our hotel, so we didn’t see the flooding firsthand.

Annie wanted to brave the elements to visit the Santa Clara Church (Igreja de Santa Clara) which was just a 6-minute walk from our hotel. It was supposed to be a spectacular Baroque style cathedral.

The wind blew hard and turned my sturdy umbrella inside out at one point, but we made it.

Upon entering we were told that visiting hours were just now closing due to a concert. Well, could we attend the concert? Yes, for €5 each. We paid and entered a cathedral entirely gilded from floor to ceiling. It was breathtaking.

Interior of the spectacular Santa Clara Cathedral in Porto, Portugal

The organ was playing and an unseen ethereal soprano voice was heard singing a lamentation. The sound emanated from the choir loft.

After the song was finished, a woman invited us up the stairs to a room where nuns had gathered and sung, unseen, during prior centuries. The front of the room had a large window into the cathedral. A gilded wooden grid prevented those in the cathedral below to see into the room.

Nun’s sanctuary above and behind the main cathedral; organ case visible to the right

A wooden box the size of a large wardrobe housed the organ keyboard, and our guide, who turned out to be the organist/choir director told us about the music (composed by an 18th century Portuguese composer) the organ, etc. She addressed the assembled audience in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Organist/Choir director speaking. The main cathedral is visible through the gilded grid behind her.

Two young woman stood by, and after the organist finished talking, she sat down and they performed a couple more pieces by the same composer.

After the concert, the organist answered questions, then invited people up to play the organ. A few visitors poked a single key here or there. I couldn’t resist.

I quickly pulled up a simplified arrangement of Allegri’s incomparable Miserere mei, Deus on my cell phone. I stumbled slowly through it, squinting at the score on the tiny screen balanced on a rickety, 300-year-old wooden music rack. The sound of the organ was subdued and warm as the prior performance had just been for just the small room we were in.

The choir director, apparently pleased either that someone was playing an actual piece or with my musical choice (or both) leaned in close and said, “don’t be scared” — and literally pulled out the stops.

Suddenly, the sound of the great organ boomed forth filling not just our room but the entire church below. The sound felt like it was resonating in and through my body. I struggled to keep playing, self-conscious of my many mistakes and emotionally and physically shaken by the aural bombast.

I played only a page of the music before stopping. That was enough — and an actual church service was about to begin.

We thanked the organist profusely for the opportunity (how often does one get to play an 18th century organ?). When she found out it was our honeymoon, she was effusive in wishing us happiness and was glad to have made this memorable experience part of our celebratory vacation.

Descending the stairs and exiting out into the driving rain, my hands and body continued to tremble for several minutes in the aftermath of such a physical and aural musical sensation.

What were the chances?

Had we visited just an hour earlier, we’d have seen the spectacular church interior, taken photos, read some plaques, then left. Annie laughed when she noted that the regular admission was €4. By mere chance of timing (and €1 extra) we got this amazing and unforgettable experience.

I would have to say this experience was, in the accurate use of the word…awesome.

1. Introduction: Three Weeks in Portugal – A Blog Series

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We’ve just returned from three weeks in Portugal.

National Palace of Pena, Sintra, Portugal

As I recover from jetlag, I am collecting and organizing scores and scores of pictures and videos along with many thoughts and memories which I plan to share here.

A. Where We Went

We spent a week in each of three locations: Lisbon, Madeira, and Porto. From each location, we toured locally and made day trips exploring the area and nearby cities.

B. When We Went

It was winter in Portugal, which meant cooler and more gray and rainy days. Being from the Pacific Northwest, the weather didn’t bother us, and we were glad to avoid the hotter temperatures of summer. Also, we were glad to go during the low season and avoid many of the crowds of tourists that come during the warmer months.

The exception was Madeira. At the same latitude as Marrakesh, Morocco, Madeira enjoys springlike weather 12 months a year. There is no “low” season as tourists flock to the “Hawaii of Portugal” to escape cold and dark winters or escape the heat of summer.

Ponta de São Lourenço, Madeira, Portugal – location of the recent Star Wars series, “The Acolyte”

One to four massive cruise ships docked every day during our week. We were told cruise ships mostly come during the winter, bringing visitors mostly from north and central Europe.

During New Year’s sometimes ten cruise ships will arrive. Most anchor offshore. The visitors watch the fireworks show, and at midnight all the cruise ships blast their mighty horns.

This year was an especially wet winter for Portugal, with consecutive storms bringing heavy rains and causing severe flooding in areas. We saw flooding on the news but didn’t experience anything worse than driving wind and rains a couple days.

Flood level Duoro River, which separates Porto from Gaia, Portugal

We witnessed the waters of the Duoro River getting uncomfortably high during our last few days. The river apparently flooded its banks the last day we were in Porto, but we didn’t venture out much due to the wind and rains so we didn’t see it ourselves.

C. Why We Went

We have both traveled quite a bit. But neither of us had been to Portugal. We’d heard great things from friends who had been, saw mouthwatering dishes on travel shows, and wanted to learn about Portuguese wine and port. We didn’t travel abroad at all last year, and so we chose Portugal for our delayed honeymoon. We were not disappointed. We loved our trip and already are thinking about what we’d like to do and see the next time.

Over the next month I expect to post a number of articles about our trip including travel tips, recommended food and restaurants, places to see, and more. Check back, share, and comment – especially if you have any questions.

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Author Archives: tl

The Sound of Silence, Part III

The Sound of Silence, Part II

The Sound of Silence, Part I

7. Madeira – An Adventure Awaits You!

6. Speaking Finnish on Madeira

5. Drinking Well in Portugal

4. Eating Well in Portugal

3. The Impact of Just a Few Words

2. A Chance, Once-In-A-Lifetime Musical Moment

1. Introduction: Three Weeks in Portugal – A Blog Series