Madeira: People

• Madeirans are friendly and helpful almost to a fault. They totally cater to the tourist crowd and those who appreciate pampering. I think we are more on the independent traveler spectrum. As nice as they are in general, the hawkers at the souvenir stands are overall VERY aggressive in selling their wares which are truly the exact same things that their neighbor is selling.
  
• I found Portuguese to be a very difficult language to understand. I am generally pretty good at getting the gist of what people say, but there were more times than not where I was at a complete loss. It looks like Spanish in writing and reading the language was fairly easy for me. But it sounds nothing like Spanish - more German pronunciation with maybe like a Russian cadence - and the /sh/ sound predominates so it sounds all shushy.
• Much to Craig and Owen's chagrin, Evan and I and sometimes Finn were on vacation meaning that we chose to sleep in most mornings while they got up early. We rarely got out of the house before 11 am. However, this gave them plenty of opportunity to learn Portuguese through the Monopoly game in the old post office. The game was all in Portuguese and we did a great job playing and figuring stuff out. The Community Chest and Chance cards were a lot different from our English version.
• The first time we played, we had a tournament which I won. Finn quickly adopted my strategy of buying up multiple properties that were not necessarily a monopoly and then he even mortgaged properties to buy more! Even at an early age, he understood high finance when he would introduce himself to strangers saying, "I'm Finn McCarter, do you have any money?" Luckily that ended by the time he was four.

This is what the tobogganers look like:

• The typical Maderians in the country remind me of pictures I've seen of Peruvians of Guatemalans. They are generally short in stature and sort of squat. All women in the country (and I mean this) wear headscarves, a cardigan, a housecoat, trousers underneath, wellies and a serious face. They tend the crops but sometimes we saw a man helping. Women carry plastic containers on their backs containing either water or pesticides and they spray the crops on the days that their levada is not flowing.
• Oh, I forgot to add in the levada post that a household can only use the levada water on certain days. They can't use them everyday because then those living further down the mountain wouldn't get water. There is a series of sluice gates and you can open or shut them to divert the water.
• The older men tend to drink a lot. Our neighbor/caretaker was one of these. He was very pleasant, but I told the kids to keep their distance. The men tended to cluster around what were advertised as snack bars (might as well skip the "snack" in the title) and the minimercados (minimarkets).
  
• Mercados come in mini-, super- and hyper- sizes.
• We were eating lunch at the local snack bar and a local guy lurched over to us and started talking but then figured out we did not speak Portuguese so he then switched to French. He proceeded to dispense his octogenarian "when I was a kid" advice directly to Finn (astute man). He was talking about his life on the farm doing hard work with his parents and how if he ever said no to them, he would get kicked in the derriere. After a few minutes his advice turned into a mild rant and the barmaid literally ejected him from the bar. It was actually funny and good-humored, but a good insight into life in general especially for the kids.
• Women attend church. Men do not.
• In the town we were staying and the next few towns around, we saw evidence of some disease in older people that may have been goiter or caused by a vitamin deficiency. They have very swollen necks and faces with some disfigurement.
• On the Sunday before we flew out, we were heading back into Funchal and took a back road and ran into a Portuguese biker rally. Hundreds of bikes raced by and clogged the streets for about 15 minutes. No one could move (except the bikes) so we sat and watched the bikes meander up the twisty roads down from us and were happy to see the end approaching.
• We did not see many children and we couldn't figure out where kids play. There were some kids in the street but most must stay in their back gardens. The kids were in school after Easter and we did hear them in the local school, but saw none except when they had to return to school after midday break - they get a long midday break to eat lunch and many of the businesses are closed from noon to two pm.
  
• Two very famous Madeirans are Christopher Columbus - his wife was a native Maderian, but died giving birth to their son and then he discovered America - and Cristiano Rinaldo - famous footballer who plays for Manchester United and Portugal. The Portuguese we talked to think he is snobby and don't love him like the Brits do.

This is it! I am finished posting about our trip but continue to read on if this is the first post about Madeira you've read - there's more below.

Confirming What I Already Know

I suck at map skills! It is like the most gorgeous day ever and I decided that after nine months, I am tired of going on 'walks' and that I am ready to go solo on a proper hike: mountains, fields, the whole package. So I picked a route on the map, fairly straightforward and I set out with all the prerequisite supplies: backpack, water, map, phone, camera and ID well, for just in case. I walk and come to a cow pasture. I will admit cows make me nervous, especially when they have horns which these all did, but I walked around them in the direction I thought was correct and came to an uncrossable fence so I backtracked. This was a good backtrack because I saw a fox cross about 20 feet in front of me! I saw a woman and asked her how to get out of the field. She pointed the way. Lucky helper number one.
Then I walked on and came to where I thought the path should cross a road except that there was no path on the other side, so I walked a bit up the road to see if there was a continuation. Nothing. At that moment, a woman walking her dog came around the bend. I asked her for directions and she pointed me in the right way. Lucky helper number two.
I traipsed across to the field, found the path marker and kept going. And going. And going. With no sign (literally) of the path or a marker. I see a farm in the distance and head that way because I can hear a road and he must have a driveway. I get to the farm and it's totally deserted. So I follow what looks like a driveway and stumble upon the farmer. He shows me where I am (far from my original destination) and shows me where I need to go. Lucky helper number three. I did see baby pigs on the way out of his farm and they were totally adorable.


I found the road and got home just fine after checking out a few neighborhoods that I have always wanted to walk through. What a fun morning. Also, it's nice to have an American accent sometimes because people always are helpful when you play the part of the lost American!

Levadas

From Wikipedia: " A levada (Portuguese for "led") is an irrigation channel or aqueduct on the island. The levadas originated out of the necessity of bringing large amounts of water from the west and northwest of the island to the drier southeast, which is more conducive to habitation and agriculture. In the sixteenth century the Portuguese started building levadas to carry water to the agricultural regions. The most recent were made in the 1940s. Many are cut into the sides of mountains, and it was also necessary to dig 25 miles (40 km) of tunnels.
Today the levadas not only supply water to the southern parts of the island but provide hydro-electric power. There are over 1,350 miles (2,170 km) of levadas and they provide a remarkable network of walking paths. Some provide easy and relaxing walks through beautiful countryside, but others are narrow, crumbling ledges where a slip could result in serious injury or death."
Early on into the trip, we decided to go hike a picturesque levada. Craig had the route marked and we started the drive to the head of the trail. The weather was gorgeous the entire way up and the views were spectacular. However, as we parked, a foggy and spitting rain cloud descended upon us in a matter of minutes. Everyone but Owen donned their raincoats and were ready for a shortened trek. Owen refused to go. In about one more minute, it really started to rain and we decided that Owen was the only one with good sense at that moment and we all piled into the car to make our way down the then very foggy road.

We did attempt another VERY short hike another day and here is a snippet from the hike.

Madeira: Places

We arrived in Madeira after a three hour flight from Bristol. This photo was taken just outside the airport doors. There are sea lions in a cove somewhere in Madeira but I can't remember where. Anyway, that is why there is a giant sea lion at the airport.

We caught a taxi to Funchal where we stayed for two nights at The Hotel Classic Savoy. It was quite the posh five-star hotel and I think we ruined our kids' idea of what a "nice" hotel is because this one was REALLY nice - four pools (one a heated sea water pool, two indoor one of which we never did find), gardens, a giant chessboard, four restaurants, gigantic breakfast (included), posh rooms... I made the accommodation reservations this time around and the kids were definitely appreciative. It was attached to the Royal Savoy which was even posher - if that's a word - and we could use their facilities. As a fun note, the hotel had five turtles in a pool out front and to celebrate Easter a giant egg in the lobby of both hotels with about 15 real live chicks inside.

View from the pool deck with the Christopher Columbus ship on the horizon

Stairway to the sea for some dipping
It was quite cold. Finn and Craig enjoyed it the most.

Santa Catarina chapel in Funchal

On the beach in Funchal
We all found lots of sea glass and broken tile and a shell or two.

The square in front of the religious antiquities museum
After two days of relaxing and city life, we headed to Arco da Calheta, a small village west of Funchal and about 20-30 minutes away. We stayed at Casa Vehla dos Corrieres which means "old post office house". It was a great house, nicely decorated and even still had the old mahogany mail counter and display cabinets in the kitchen. Everyone had their own bedroom and there was actually room for at least three, possibly five more people! It had one of the smallest ovens I have ever seen however, there was a barbeque house outside (the summer kitchen) which came in quite handy.

Front veranda entrance from the road

The kitchen

TV room with one Portuguese TV channel (oh, shucks boys!)
The typical boring selection of DVDs except for one on the planets and the original bread oven are seen in this photo. I love the tile. It was beautifully done. Madeira is known for their tile work inside the houses and especially churches. It is said that if a house has tile on the outside, that the inhabitants are more "nouveau riche" or foreigners showing off.

The sitting room/front entrance

The upstairs hall
This is one of the doors that were at each end leading to different porches.

The palatial upstairs bath complete with bathing beauty

View of one of the local churches (there are two in Arco da Calheta) from our upper balcony
I really did take this picture postcard shot.

Many of the houses had these clay busts on the ends of the roof corners. This one is from our house. We called him 'baby Zarco' after a famous ship captain responsible for inhabiting the island. The one below is from the neighbors' house and I think it is Christopher Columbus. There was a bird on the house across the road but I couldn't get a good shot and other houses had curled leaves at the roof tips. Very neat.

Old roof and chimney on the neighbors' house

The boys are inside some part of an old sugar refinery in Calheta, the next biggest town where they had a port, a sandy man-made beach, hotels, restaurants and a biggish grocery store.

We visited Ponto do Pargo on the westernmost part of the island. There was a 'farol' or lighthouse and I just couldn't resist the trip to see it. We were literally on the edge of the island. The top photo is a view of the coastline from the point.

We then headed a few meters down the road to have lunch where a lovely British couple said they were very impressed with our children's table manners and willingness to eat food other than burgers and chips (fries). We had fish, prawns, pasta, steak and chicken. Owen even stayed in his seat for three rousing games of Hangman. Smiley faces for them.

The rock pools of Porto Moniz on the north side of the island
These pools are man-made, but they are built around the lava flow and fill with sea water as the tide rises and waves crash over the rocks. For about $1 each, you can spend the day and use the very clean showers. Areas were cordoned off where the waves were sort of intense. As we were leaving in the afternoon, the pools were closed because high tide had arrived. We actually timed our visit just right for once!

A quick photo op where the road dropped off the face of the cliff
It's that pile of rocks just left of Craig's hand above the waterfall. Owen is actually behind the railing trying to catch a lizard. He needs to be a Marine.

These photos are in we think Ribera Brava. Awesome rock.

We visited Las Grutas do São Vicente and Vulcanism Center and really learned a lot about volcanoes and the island in general.

This is a "typical" Madeiran house in Santana. The fact is that we never saw any of these anywhere else on the island and we saw a lot of the island. The town of Santana is a tourist trap for suckers who want to see three of these buildings lined up for a good photo opportunity.

On the way back from Santana, we stumbled upon a gem of a place near Ribeiro Frio ("cold river"). There was a trout farm with pools for us to look at the fish and then a very short levada hike to a waterfall. A nice little piece of trail magic (shared with two German ladies for a while).

This is an example of the little stopover picnic areas that pop up unexpectedly in the woods or on the side of a road.

Closer view of the spire of the main church in Arco da Calheta

Interior of the church

Cemetary basically right next to our place
Most tombstones were engraved stone but this one and a few others were these handmade metal crosses. This person died a few days before I was born.

This is a more typical tombstone including a very somber photo of the deceased. They were all in black and white and NO ONE was smiling in the photo. Some were photos of the deceased when they were young, others in older years. Very interesting insight into another culture's customs. Most of the women's surnames were their maiden name.

This translates into something like "with all the love and homesickness of the children".

We left Arco da Calheta and spent our last night and the next day in Funchal back at the same hotel where we began. We enjoyed a day of swimming, slept and then did a half-day of sightseeing in Funchal and then to a small town called Machico closer to the airport. I didn't really take photos in Machico, but it was a great town.

The Episcopal Cathedral in old town Funchal

A window of the Cathedral

Riding the gondola car "Telerifico" up to Monte
This was our last morning and quite a fun trip.

View of the main church which is called Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte (1741), and is the burial place of Emperor Charles I of Austria, last of the Habsburg rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who died in exile on 1 April 1922.

The reason we visited Monte is the toboggan run. We all rode downhill in two separate baskets through and across the streets at fairly high speeds in large wicker baskets, conducted by two drivers wearing the traditional white uniform with straw boater hat. Totally fun and an experience I think the kids will never forget. I only had a little bit of memory left on my SD card in my camera, but I think you can get the idea. You can hear the two drivers chatting in the background. The sssssh sound you hear is the rails of the baskets. They stop your basket about halfway to re-oil the rails by pushing the basket over two rags sopping with oil. Along the way, there are tourists watching and I am sure we are all in a few home videos.
Turn down your volume because I think it might be a bit loud. If you are viewing this from Facebook, you might have to go to the original post.

Lazy sunny days are gone

Gone are the bright sunshiney English days. Today, we awoke to a rainy Monday morning - not a great morale boost for the beginning of a school & work week. I think we have all forgotten what rain is. So, after almost three weeks of non-blogging status and with all of our laundry finally completed, I am back in the saddle.

Madeira: Things

General Information

• Madeira (pronounced "muh deeeer uh" if you are from England, "muh dare uh" if you are not) is one of a group of volcanic islands under the Portuguese government, but is actually situated south and west of Portugal, off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
• From Wikipedia: Madeira was rediscovered by Portuguese sailors some time between 1418 and 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first discovery of the exploratory period initiated by Henry the Navigator of Portugal. It is a popular year-round resort, noted for its Madeira wine (yummy and potent - my addition), flowers, and embroidery artisans, as well as its New Year's Eve celebrations that feature a spectacular fireworks, which is the largest in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It is a politically autonomous region of Portugal, part of Europe and therefore the European Union. Its harbour - Funchal - is important due to its commercial and passenger traffic and for being a major stopover for cruisers (read "Germans" - my addition) en route from Europe (read "Germany") to the Caribbean.
• Yes, there were a lot of Germans in the city of Funchal. How do I know this? Well, we saw and heard them everywhere and I am trying to collect the different denominations of euros from each country we visit and just each country who uses euros in general. I got almost all of Portugal and pretty much the only other country whose currency was spilling out of my wallet was Germany. I did also get three coins from Finland and one from Greece (BONUS! especially the Finnish ones because we probably won't get there).
• Since joining the European Union, there has been extensive road construction which in my opinion was badly needed. The old Madeiran country roads are truly some of the twistiest, steepest and nervewracking roads Craig and I have ever driven (in a manual shift car I might add). I was so thankful that they were actually paving the road that was the most direct route to our house for most of the week because it was so steep, I felt like I was driving vertically. I don't know how they paved it!! That said, the small roads are well-maintained in general and the countryside is gorgeous and amazing and deserves to be seen on those aforementioned roads. The new Via Rapida gets you around the perimeter of the island through a network of oh, about a bazillion tunnels. Relying upon a GPS system is not recommended and we actually saw lots of drivers circling the roundabouts, trying to get a signal and reset their GPS. Hello??? It's called a MAP!
  

Flora and Fauna

• There is an interesting variety of flora on the island. We strolled through a few parks and hiking trails and got a feel for the abundance of flowers. Ferns are everywhere in the upper laurel forests. The lauris silva trees are gorgeous and sound so pretty in the wind. They smell fresh and clean like eucalyptus - that same smell when you walk into Michael's craft store.
• The garden behind the house was chock full of fruit trees: banana, avocado, Brazilian cherry and Japanese loquat to name a few. We sampled every one and I think our favorite was the loquats - sort of like an apricot - although the fresh ripe avocados were a real treat. The garden was nice because the kids would just go and get lost in it. In the middle was a seating area/patio with an umbrella.
  

View east of Funchal from Santa Catarina Gardens

Owen playing Munchkin in the Jardim Municipal

A well-deserved rest in the Jardim Municipal. The walk back to our hotel was a pretty intense uphill climb especially after a day of sight-seeing. Luckily there was a gelato stand at the top - great motivator!

Buildings surrounding the Jardim Municipal

View from Cabo Girao, supposedly the second highest cliffs in the world. They were pretty high up there.

Limpets on a rocky beach

• Small lizards permeate the island. Owen was in his glory! Our neighbors showed him how to make a lizard lasso from a very long piece of grass. He was never successful with it, but our neighbor's son did catch one in it. Owen preferred the sneak and leap attack, sometimes coming up empty-handed, more often with a wriggling tail only and other times sucessful.

• There are also small, squat and ugly Pug/Pekinese breed dogs which bark incessantly and wander or lie in the middle of the extra curvy and low visibility downhill roads (never on a few and far between straightaway) especially when the owner is near enough to call the dog but chooses not to do so.
• Farm animals predominate and there are lots of cats. The boys were particularly enamored with the neighbor's cat whose name was Pintada. She was a sweetie and meowed for them to come outside.
• There was an occasional rare mosquito, but omnipresent flies. I NEVER got bit by a mosquito - a true feat.
  

Food

• From a previous post, I compared different countries' method of milk and egg packaging. All milk on Madeira is long-term packaged in one liter juice-box-type containers and totally delish. There is no real dairy industry on the island, although there are cows and so milk must be shipped. We preferred "leite gordo" which literally means "fat milk". Eggs are in half- and dozen packages. You don't get to pick your own like in So. France.
• Speaking of eggs, every hamburger and a lot of the steak we saw & ate came with a fried egg on top even if we asked for "no ovo". I think it's unMadeiran to eat an eggless burger. They were yummy though. The hotdogs which should be called "sort of warm dogs" were served generally coldish and definitely not hot with chopped lettuce, mayonnaise and ketchup and tiny fried potato chip sticks on top. One was enough for Evan and me (yuck).
  
• The fish and meat selection was superb and Madeiran beef is so good. The amount of food you get at a restaurant is shameful. Really. I think we have gotten used to English standards (although these vary). We never got to order dessert, oops sorry "pudding" because we were so full.
  
• Brisas maracuja is the best soda ever. It is passionfruit flavored and ever so scrummy. Sadly, no root beer in Madeira either, but you can get anything else. Our search for a country outside the US which serves root beer is still on. Luckily, we can get it at the commissary as a once in a while treat so we are not forced to go cold turkey.
  
• They recycle and reuse glass bottles like madmen. Not so good on plastic though. Although like in most of Europe, reusable bags are encouraged and you are charged for plastic bags at the grocery store. Oh, and like in the UK, you pack your own groceries which I actually prefer weirdly enough.