Madeira Arrival

 

Hi Guys

Sorry this is late but having a few problems with posting. Hope this is the last of them. Enjoy

Madeira  13 January 2011

(Latitude 32 38' North Longitude 16°54'  West)

(Time 0 hrs GMT)

We docked at Funchal on Wednesday evening ready for a quick getaway on Thursday morning.

Everywhere on Madeira is steep. Their main crop is sugar cane and bananas. The wildest animal is the rabbit and the very few cows they can support are kept and fed in cowsheds as there is so little land for grazing. Their cheese and milk is imported from the Azores. Overlooking the harbor at Funchal is a 700 meter cliff (escarpment). All the houses cling to the side of each hill and are supported either by a large wall or many stilts. Cars seem to have little room for parking and the roads snake up the side of the mountains. If you miss one photo opportunity then wait for the next turn in the road. The scenery is spectacular and different from the south of the island to the northside. The forests, that cover the island, predate the forests in Europe that were lost during the last ice age. Much of the island looks like South Africa (RSA) because of the mountains and apparently the vegetation comes from RSA, proteas, birds of paradise, agapanthus, jacarandas, palms etc.

We go by coach around the island, taking 8 hours to travel, take pictures, visit locations and eat a delightful lunch at St Vincent,

We go clockwise along the southern shore until the Ribiera Brava and then strike north to the center of the island at Encumeada. Great views of Pica Ruive, the highest point on the island and then onto St. Vincent on the north shore which is bordered by a jagged volcanic seashore with pounding waves that throw spume high into the air.

So far, we have met quite a few of the 1,885 passengers; so far they have not been as interesting or illuminating as our South African crowd.

Aurora at Funchal Madeira

Lunch view at St Vincent

Funchal

Waterfall at St Vincent

The Madeiran archipelago, formed about 5 million years ago, lies in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco and north of the Canary Islands. Of these 4 Portuguese islands, some 600 miles southwest of Lisbon only two are inhabited. The Ilha da Madeira (Island of Timber) has a total population of about 280,000. Madeira (57 kms by 23 kms) is roughly twice the size of the Isle of Wight or half the size of Jamaica and the highest point is Pico Ruivo at 6,106 ft