EasyJet Flight EZY 8937 from Gatwick to Madeira
Ponta São Lourenço peninsula
Madeira
Madeira (top) and the Isle of Wight shown on the same scale.
(Shameless rip-off from Google maps.) The official maps are the
Carta Militar (needs Internet Explorer). See also
our visit to Arran another island of comparable size
top is a cross-section through Madeira from west to east.
Funchal
Port
Five hundred years of development of naval architecture.
The vessel on the left is a (presumably full size) replica of the
Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción
which was the largest (!) of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492.
It does half-day trips along the south coast
The old and the new - small fisherman and big ship
The upper part is a copy of
this image
which is linked to from
this page
about
RMS Titanic.
It has been scaled to match the Independence in size.
Bear in mind that the red bits of the Titanic represent its 10.5 metre, below the water line draught. With a draught of only 8.8 metres and that towering superstructure the Independence seems awfully top-heavy.
Avenida das Comunidades Madeirenses
looking east along the coast. Note how soon the cliffs begin.
Promenade
looking east towards the fort
Mercado dos Lavoradores - link needed
The famous fish market was finished for the day when we arrived and was being cleaned up
The courtyard, where flowers, fruit, leather and other goods are sold
The Independence of the Seas dwarfs the buildings in Funchal
town centre
Homenagem a Bordeira - statue outside the Embroidery Museum
bougainvillea grows out across the wires over the ribeiro
Avenida Arriga?
The Jacaranda trees contrast well with the yellow taxis
Note the woman at extreme right taking a photograph. She appears in the same posture on the left of the previous!
Toyota showroom with traditional
azulejos
near the Marina shopping centre
the Independence of the Seas seemed to be visible at the end of every street
Farewell to the Independence of the Seas
In the old town restaurant area
Pizo
the three chimneys on the right are on the
Central Térmica da Vitória - the thermal power station with 16 diesel generators.
Despite all that water (and a bit of wind power), this station generates 60% of the island's electricity
Lower station
Cacti are used to create a fence below the cars.
Close up of the cactus fence
When I saw this telephérique, I said "I bet that was built by Austrians" and sure enough it was. See
Rancho for another by Doppelmayr
Me at ease. Teleférico in the background
The ascent
Looking to the harbour with AIDAaura moored there
2016
In 2016 August there was an
extensive wildfire here. Six weeks later Frank Ardley took this view from the telephérico. The hillside is totally bare. On the left we can see things like fridges scattered on the ground.
Follow the maps link and look at Google StreetView to see the lush vegetation that was there before.
Cabo Girão
Looking down to Ribeira Quinta Grande
Quinta Grande
Cruz da Caldeira
Miradouro Restaurant
espetada is meat on a long skewer. It is brought to your table on the skewer and hung up. In this restaurant they have holes in the table and in the tablecloth to take the stand.
Also visible in this picture is another Madeiran speciality
milho frito - fried cornmeal cubes
Encosta Cabo Girão
looking down to the villas. The location means that the HPB site may be cool and in cloud when it is sunny in Funchal
the view from our bedroom window.
Stayed in
this unlikely article
for all of four days until some mean-minded person said
image removed - not in the UK, this article doesn't need photographs anyway.
HPB have created a path with an artificially tidy levada passing through the site. The real Levada do Norte runs nearby.
These tiny lizards scuttle over all the baclonies
HPB site at Encosta Cabo Girao
Jardim Tropical Monte Palace
Lilies grow in profusion beneath these dramatic tree ferns
Looking down through the garden towards Funchal
Grotto
(Image ripped off from somewhere on the web.)
The tallest vase in the world according to the 1992 Guinness Book of Records. 5345 mm high.
Now beaten by a
clay pot in Taiwan.
There seem to be very few dogs in Madeira and most of those we saw were asleep
Koi carp ponds
Ancient olive tree and lavender
Monte
spare cars in the top station of the cable car
looking down from Foguete into the valley of Ribeira João Gomes with the harbour in the distance.
(Image ripped off from 2867523635_f03a5bfd94.jpg found somewhere on the web.)
Another view with location details
Cabo Girão
The farmer who tilled this field (by hand!) has done so within inches of a 500 metre sheer drop!
In this image (ripped off from Funchal_from_CabG.jpg found somewhere on the web) and taken at an earlier date, there seems to be some sort of edging to the field but in my pictures there is absolutely nothing!
Serra de Água
looking east across the valley
See how the pine trees bend in the prevailing north east wind
Terracing up the mountainside
There is so little flat land that farmers terrace as far up the mountains as they can
Central da Serra de Água (power station)
pipe bringing Levada do Norte down
Encumeada
Pedras
Paúl da Serra
Roger with wind turbines behind
After the vertiginous climb up the mountains, the flat bleakness of Paúl de Serra is strangely disconcerting. Even the car looks suprised.
wind turbines looking east. See how the tops of the peaks peep over the edge of the plateau. The highest peak in the distance is the Pico Ruivo, 1862 metres and this plateau levels off at 1500 metres
Strange cacti - botanists please identify
The straight road on Paúl de Serra is probably the only road which is straight for over a mile on the island
Rabaçal
looking down from car park
Water management system? and cattle
Looking towards Calheta? Is the smoke the sugar factory?
Woodland plant in the shade on the levada walk
Levada do Risco
Ferns under the waterfalls
The levada path at Rabacal is wide and shaded by ancient laurel
same as
link but with cloud
Arco da Calheta
Loreto
Ponta do Sol
Escola Basica e Secundaria da Ponta do Sol
harbour
We ate espada
(
several pages on madeiraisland.com),
in English known as
black scabbardfish (which they serve with banana!) in the seafood cafe on the rocks. The food was excellent, as are the views.
Various bridges in the British Isles are described as a "bridge over the Atlantic":
see geograph.org.uk or
the most famous one
Clachan Bridge near Oban. This one could also claim the title
View from the cafe terrace looking west
São Vicente
Ginjas, Corrida Feiteiras
Grutas (caves) and Volcanic Centre
Our shadows, thrown by the spotlights, began to resemble primitive cave paintings
Ferns growing under the spotlights
lapilli is a generic term so it is no surprise that this stuff looks nothing like the
pretty white balls
we found on Fuerteventura
Grutas (caves) and Volcanic Centre - exterior
Roger hidden by the Pride of Maderia plants
Lameiros
Domestic details - there are few supermarkets. All Madeirans seem to grow food and flowers, whether it is in a few fields or in pots on the steps.
This combination of palms and misty peaks is typical of the north coast.
Capela de Nossa Senhora de Fátima
in Laranjal, seen from Lameiros
sea front
Whereas the sea on the south coast was quite calm, the power of the Atlantic is obvious on the north coast. It could almost be a different ocean.
looking back into the village
(Image ripped off from somewhere on the web.)
(Image ripped off from somewhere on the web.)
Not actually sure of location but looks like the old road from São Vicente to Seixal
(Image ripped off from somewhere on the web.)
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