You will have heard or read about the tragedy that took place here on Madeira Island last Saturday. That is why you were not able to read anything about Madeira through our blog. The loss of telephone and Internet communications, ….. but most of all we had to give our time to support our family, loved ones and friends. That is why we could not offer you news about the situation.

Gratefully the situation is now somewhat back to normal, but we regret to tell you that there were more than 40 mortal causalities. Our sincere thoughts and deepest condolences goes to their family, friends and their loved ones. Also those who are alive but have suffered … we wish them strength.

On Saturday 20th of February the island got caught in bad weather … dark clouds came over and it produced in a few hours time an extremmelly amount of rain. Heavy rainfall took place all over the island … especially in the higher mountain regions. The following result was that all that water from these high regions seeks its way down to rejoin the ocean … through rivers, waterfalls and, due to the abundance of it, the dark waters searched and created news ways to reach the coast. This caused a catastrophic situation for the regions near these waterways.

Again … the destructive part was not caused by winds, nor tropical storm, nor large destructive waves …. but merely the rain that fell on the island. The amount that fell was just overwhelming. Never, as long as people could remember, did they saw such a phenomenon like this here on Madeira Islands. We (Madeira) also experienced that the climate in the world is changing (has changed) … the same as in other countries.
The damage is now being solved and everybody is working hard to restore everything back. Victims are taken care of … thanks to the help from everybody on the island and from abroad.

I will finalize this post with the following message ….
The climate is changing … not only in our Atlantic region but also … in your own country. Madeira will prepare itself, as much as possible, for these changes. I hope that the rest of the world will do the same …

Check out the latest tweets via #Madeira:

The waves are still at war with the marina at Lugar de Baixo (Ponta do Sol). Large pieces of concrete walls have disappeared. How long will the pier hold the rage of the sea?

Caronia, ship of the Cunard Line, visiting Funchal (Madeira) in the year 1950.

For complete footage of this and other films, visit
www.globalimageworks.com

Here on Madeira Archipelago (Madeira and Porto Santo) it is (officially) not allowed to exercise nudism. Also is not allowed for women to go topless on the beach locations. Both the authorities and locals do not tolerate these on the islands.

Despite the fact that Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal and in the ‘mainland’ there are a nudist beaches, still there are no official approved nudist beaches here on Madeira Islands.

Note: This article is not intended to judge this way of lifestyle … on the contrary. The objective is to provide naturist who wants to visit Madeira Islands with information concerning this issue. In this case the information is short and simple … nudity in the open is (still) not entirely accepted by the local community.

Another great vintage film about Madeira … this time its the year 1932.

In the film we follow the voyage the cruise-ship Gripsholm, after six days crossing the Atlantic it reaches Madeira and then heads towards Lisbon.

The first part of the Swedish film shows great historical coverage of Funchal in 1932. Enjoy!

Some things seems trivial nowadays, but in the past they were unthinkable, … for example ice.

With the advent of refrigerators and other similar devices today it has become possible to have ice all year-round. Now … imagine 100 years ago …. how could one get ice? Only in winter and in the highest regions of Madeira, when it snowed or hailed.

Madeira ancestors solved the problem by building reservoirs in which they could store and preserve the ice and snow that winter brought to them those days. It was then used by hospitals and hotels, … thus resulting in the famous Wells of Snow (Poços da Neve).

These wells were based on deep excavations, walled and covered with stone chips to the surface being shaped like an igloo. They were built in the mountains of São Roque and the area of Pico do Arieiro.

According to history, the snow and ice were stored in these pits of snow, and then carried on the back in the leather bags … all the way to their final destination. It was no doubt a tremendous achievement.

Only one of these reservoirs have reached our days and is in a good condition, situated near the Pico do Arieiro at the Ecological Park of Funchal …. at 1,600 meters of altitude.

Click here to see the location of Poço da Neve

The well is not being used anymore as a deposit for snow, but it still reminds us of the difficulties and the expertise of the Madeiran ancestors had in those days.

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The VI Madeira Island Paragliding Meeting will take place next March, between the 17th (Wednesday) and 21st (Sunday).

All pilots are welcome to this event. Click here for more information

Parapente Funchal 500 Anos from Décio Abreu on Vimeo.

The Poncha is a drink originated in India, brought by the British, and adapted by Madeirans. The Indian name given to the drink, namely pãnch, was initially composed by five ingredients: Rice or nut coconut spirit, sugar, tea of fresh herbs, spices and water.

It is believed now that the Poncha has been experienced for the first time outside India, on Madeira Island in the middle of the eighteenth century by the English at that time, during their travels between these parts.

Throughout the nineteenth century the Poncha was a popular drink within the Madeira the more or less wealthy families on the island.

Today, the tradition of Poncha remains very much alive among us, on Madeira, and the instruments used to assist in preparation of these drinks, in essence has not changed much.

In Madeira, this drink was adapted to be used with honey, sugar cane spirit, lemon juice and lemon peel. The Poncha has become very popular due to the fact of being considered a good drink to heal the ills of the throat … has many other things …

When you are on Madeira …. experience a Poncha … and taste the Madeiran culture.

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