The Sardinha de Paiva, Jardine and Sousa families

The island of Madeira is situated some 310 miles from Morocco on the west coast of Africa. It consists of the main island of Madeira, the smaller island of Porto Santo 27 miles to the north east and a number of smaller islands which are uninhabited.
Madeira is a volcanic island and is very mountainous having some high peaks up to 6174 feet but also having deep valleys and ocean inlets and high and sheer coastal cliffs. There is virtually no natural beach. Porto Santo is much less hilly with fairly sparse vegetation and dry, here however good sand beaches can be discovered.
The climate of Madeira is generally warm and would be expected to be between 19 and 25 degrees all year and this offers an ideal environment for the profusion of flowers and plants that can be found in Madeira and which give Madeira the name of ‘the island of flowers’. Though the coastal plain, particularly in the south of the island is essentially dry for much of the year, higher altitudes do have rain and especially in the north of the island. The dry areas are supplied with rain water for all uses by a system of channels called levadas that carry water from the higher regions to the towns of the plain.

Madeira is said to have been discovered by accident by Joao Goncalves Zarco and Tristao Vaz Teixeira when they were blown off course in a storm while on a trip to survey the west coast of Africa for Prince Henry the Navigator. They landed first on Porto Santo then journeyed on to the mainland in 1419. The island was originally heavily wooded but this asset has been exhausted over the years and there is little trace of these woodlands remaining today.

The island is home to many specialities and this, and the beauty of the environment has led to a blossoming of the tourist industry albeit a quiet one.
Madeira is home to many crafts and would be most well known for Madeira Wine and the beautiful needlework and embroidery. (see album)

Joao Gonsalves Zarco

Catholic Cathedral Funchal

Madeira is a wine fortified with brandy and, whilst in the past most families would have made this at home (as did my Grandfather Edgerton and afterwards my dad Monty, made from other fruits), there are today a handful of main vintners. Many families are however involved still in farming the grapes and this can be seen in many parts of the island.
The four main types of wine are, from the driest Sercial through Verdelho and Bual to Malmesy, rich and sweet. The type of wine not only depends on the variety of grape used but also on how much brandy is added and when it is added during the fermentation. They are aged generally from 5 – 15 years.
The other activity I mentioned was embroidery the origins of which go back to the 16 century. Up until the mid 1800’s this would always have been worked at home but today the textiles are factory made though the patterns are still worked in the home by more than 15000 women. The patterns are specific to particular families and are guarded carefully. The industry is regulated to an extent by an institute for arts and crafts that also has a responsibility for training, certification and for upholding the quality standards that are recognised world wide. These table cloths are highly expensive and out of reach for most ordinary people, but are very beautiful and made to perfection, which is what make them so expensive.

Basket making has also been a strong craft industry in Madeira based mainly around the small town of Camacha. Not only are these unique pieces, baskets, ornaments and
furniture made here but the material for their manufacture, willow canes is also grown around the region. The baskets that were used for transportation before the modern form are partly made of willow. On the outskirts of Funchal is a route that is kept mainly for visitors to experience, for a small fee. One could see an example of what this looks like. (see album).
Prior to the upsurge of tourism Madeira was essentially an agricultural economy from the growing of grapes for wine through fishing to the cultivation of fruit and vegetables.
Many different fish can be found in the main fish market in Funchal including the strange looking scabbard fish that comes from the deep sea (see album), much is caught in the traditional way from small boats but there is also larger scale commercial activity.
The soil of Madeira is rich but the mountainous character of the island makes cultivation of any large area very difficult and in many areas step farming on the side of the hills is evident though these days many of these areas have been abandoned.

Embroidered Tablecloth for Sale

Returning to tourism, there are many places of interest to visit in Madeira not least the Catholic Cathedral in the middle of Funchal. Some of the scenery is simply stunning with some unique sights along the way though Madeira is not a location for a beach holiday, in fact the only beaches are the black shingle beach in Funchal and the man made sand beach in Calheta which was imported from North Africa.
Many visitors go to Madeira on walking holidays based around the levadas. These are water conduits built originally in the 16th century and still maintained today. They carry water from the wet mountainous interior of the island to the dry coastal areas and some of these are in the most spectacular locations such as built onto the side of a cliff!

Fish Market

Levada dos Piornais

I would recommend the following as some of the ‘must visit’ locations many of which can be reached using the many organised coach tours available.
For spectacular landscape:-
Pico do Arieiro
Cabo Girano
Nuns Valley
Sao Vicente and the North Coast
Santana and the unique thatched houses.
There are many gardens to see but I think the best are Monte Gardens close also to the basket sled ride down to Funchal.