Madeira News Blog

This photo is from Jon’s website HERE. Thank you.

From Paul :

Pilot whales off Calheta, Madeira. Whale & Dolphin watching boats are sighting a pod of up to 20 pilot whales off Calheta.

Image Caption : Whales, mother and calf, off Kona, Hawaii.

Pilot whales: “quite active and will frequently lobtail, spyhop and approach boats”. Adult males can reach up to 20 feet (6.1 m) and weigh up to 3 tons. Adult females measure up to 16 feet (4.9 m) and weigh up to 1.5 tons.[1] Life span is about 45 years in males and 60 years in females for both species. Both species live in groups of about 10 to 30 in number on average but some groups may be 100 or more.

Pilot Whales feed predominantly on squid. As compared to their other tooth-whale relatives they have many fewer teeth; numbering only 30 to 40 as compared to 120 in the bottlenosed dolphin. This is thought to be an adaptation to their squid eating diet.

The long-term survival prospects of both species look good. Indeed in its Red List of Threatened Species the IUCN lists both the Long-finned and Short-finned as "Lower Risk; conservation dependent". Source: Wiki:

From Carol Ann in the UK, by email: 2 wonderful weeks in Madeira

Holiday makers should not be put off visiting this beautiful Island. My husband and I spent two weeks on the island last year and have just returned from another two week holiday. The floods of February have done extensive damage up in the more remote parts of the island and this will take a lot of hard work and time to put right. Funchal is back to normal as far as tourism is concerned and the locals need tourists even more so please continue to support these lovely people. We went to walk the levadas and although some are damaged the work is being carried out to restore them, we did many miles on foot and the scenery is just breathtaking. I would say that this year our holiday was even better than last year. The locals have many stories to tell and the floods will no doubt leave them with memories but they are getting on with their lives and trying their hardest to get back to normal so please help by continuing to visit.

Everything else from Elaine  :

June Events. Official list from the Madeira Islands Tourism website. HERE

Madeira 2010 – Holiday Season. 5 minute video by Tony Pontes.

Madeira photos. Selection taken by TrekEarth website members.

Actually I had a fantastic time birding and this was mostly down to a excellent Wildlife Excursion company called "Madeira Wind Birds". This is run by a lovely couple called Hugo and Catarina who do everything they can to ensure that their customers connect with the wildlife that they want to see…..Believe me, if you are doing Madeira for birds you can not afford to do it with out these two, your chances of successfully seeing all of the endemic species will be greatly reduced. From my point of view I will probably remember being 5400 feet up a mountain at midnight watching Zinos Petrels flying into their roosting ledges by moonlight for the rest of my life. So a special thank you to both of them for such a fantastic experience. HERE

Exhibition of Jewish Manuscript Treasures Reveals Centuries of Cultural Exchange. The Jewish Museum of London is launching its first major temporary exhibition since its reopening in March 2010 with an exhibition of Hebrew literary treasures on loan from the Vatican and major British collections. …A poignant feature of the exhibition is the original petition in 1655 of Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel to English ruler Oliver Cromwell, requesting permission for Jews to settle in England following their expulsion in 1290 by King Edward I. The petition is on loan from the Bodleian Library at Oxford University. Influenced by Messianic leanings, Rabbi ben Israel had sought to bring about the settlement of Jews throughout the world and even considered moving to South America where he had heard that the Seven Lost Tribes of Israel had settled. Rabbi ben Israel was born on the island of Madeira following the expulsion of his family, along with other Jews, from Portugal. He would later start the first Hebrew printshop in the Netherlands and become a mentor of philosopher Baruch Spinoza. HERE

News from Diário de Notícias and Jornal da Madeira

MONDAY 31st MAY

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Debt of 300,000 ‘drowns’ the water park. It is becoming an untenable situation for Onda Ibérica-Actividades Turísticas e Recreativas Lda, the firm operating the Aquaparque de Santa Cruz. The revenue does not cover the operating costs and the firm owes Santa Cruz Council 130,000 euros. An arrangement was made to repay 5,250 euros a month but the firm cannot honour this agreement. The water tariffs are the same as for residential consumers and the monthly rent is 8,500 euros. The firm owes 300,000 euros to Santa Cruz Council and the Metropolitan Development Company. The business is seasonal (81% users in July and August), dependent on weather conditions and affected by the global economic crisis. Opening of the park was delayed for two months after the February 20th storm. The number of people using the water park has steadily declined by 19%, from 47,168 in 2006 to 38,685 last year. Santa Cruz Aqua Park opens between May and November. Entry costs are: free for children under 5 and seniors over 65 years old, 6.50 euros for adults and 24 euros for a group of five people.

Government only makes small cuts. The Regional Government is ‘belt-tightening’ but only to a small extent, keeping the expenses that have been described as the biggest waste. More than 4 million euros are given annually to the Jornal da Madeira, 3.5 million euros to each of the professional football clubs and millions of euros are spent on lawyers. Government departments are having to cut costs. The number of administrators in the Health Service has been cut and some hospital services have merged. Underused nurseries and kindergartens have closed and some school sports subsidies have been reduced. The strategy of the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Natural Resources is to take full advantage of EU funds. Running the government costs 10 million euros per year for grants, salaries and the ‘jackpot’. Former MPs cost 1.6 million euros per year and the ‘jackpot’ for the political parties remains at five million euros.

MADEIRA

São Cristóvão celebrated. A procession of dozens of cars yesterday afternoon was the highlight of the celebrations of the Festa de São Cristóvão, which was held last weekend at Caramanchão in Machico. The procession left the chapel at Quinta de São Cristóvão, followed the regional road to the centre of Machico, then returned to the chapel.

TUESDAY JUNE 1st

FRONT PAGE NEWS

IHM signs agreement for funds for housing. The IHM has signed a contract in Lisbon to permit the transfer of 36 million euros to tackle the damage caused by the storm of February 20th. All processes can be conducted by the Region, thus making house reconstruction faster. The IHM is working primarily on rehousing the homeless and rehabilitating affected homes. All human and material resources of this state-owned company are assigned to these contracts, and only at the end of summer will the IHM be able to resume normal operations. The Hydraulic Services will decide if homes near the beds of ribeiras and ribeiros will be allowed to continue to remain there.

Safety and Enjoyment. Alberto Jardim stressed that the Port of Funchal last year led the national statistics, involving more than 400,000 passengers. This important economic mainstay in the Region must be guaranteed, safeguarding in the first place the security of the infrastructure. Despite this, there will be room for people to enjoy the port. He spoke yesterday at the inauguration of the Gare Marítima da Madeira and added, "It would be tragic for the economy of the Region if something were to happen, for not taking the necessary security measures." Internationally, security measures at ports are becoming more demanding and people are accustomed to being closely scrutinized when it comes to travelling by air. Some areas of the port will have public access but other areas will be restricted to authorized persons and cruise ship passengers. The public will have access to the ‘check-in’ area on piso zero and to the commercial area on this floor which includes a cafe/snack bar. Employees at the port will have better working conditions and passengers should find improved facilities, increased comfort and faster embarking/disembarking. It is hoped that the building designed by the architect Geraldes Pinto will become an architectural icon of Funchal. The cost of this project was 13 million euros, 62.8% reimbursed from the Cohesion Fund. The aim is to attract 320 cruise ships a year, representing close to half a million passengers who spend on average 80 euros (40 million euros). The cruise market indirectly contributes 1% of regional GDP at present. It is possible that the landfill along the Avenida do Mar will be transformed into a pier, increasing the number of berths. The station opens on June 3rd and the Grand Voyager will be the first cruise ship to benefit from this improvement. Video of inauguration ceremony: HERE

Councils lose 3.2 million euros with the new SGP. Under the Stability and Growth Pact (PEC), the Government of the Republic announced it would reduce transfers to the 308 Portuguese municipalities by 100 million euros. The 11 municipalities in the Region would normally expect to receive 72.6 million euros in addition to 8.1 million euros from income tax (IRS). The State guarantees the IRS payments for this year but still owes 8 million euros from 2009. The State transferred 69.3 million euros last year to the Region and if it keeps to this amount, the cut will be 4.4% but if it penalizes all municipalities equally, the amount will be 3.8% less to the Region (2.7 million euros). There could be other cuts in 2011 as the mayors have not charged residents the actual costs of basic services (water, refuse collection and sanitation), which is a requisite of the new Regional Finance Law.

Jardim beats Zapatero on income. Several European politicians are earning less from today. José Luís Zapatero’s (Spain) salary is reduced by 15% to 73,500 euros in 2011. The President of Portugal, Cavaco Silva, earns 103,810 euros and the Prime Minister of Portugal earns 103,000 euros per year. A special law in Madeira allows Alberto Jardim to receive a combined salary, pension and expenses of 143,000 euros as the 5% cut in salary has not been enacted. For politicians who are of retirement age, Madeira is an exception as those in Portugal are forced to choose to receive a full portion of either the salary or the pension and a third of the other.

MADEIRA

Lack of storage almost sunk the Atlantic Festival. The Atlantic Festival fireworks displays begin this Saturday but there has been confusion over where to safely store the large amounts of fireworks brought over from Portugal. On Thursday, a lorry was stopped from unloading its container because the area was not licensed for the storage of pyrotechnics and an alternative site was also inadequate. A similar event occurred last night at the Port of Caniçal and the container was nearly returned to the mainland. The President of the Portuguese Association of Pyrotechnics and Explosives Industries brokered an agreement. For previous shows on New Year’s Eve, the good will of the military and the police has led to co-operation so this should have happened this time.

ECONOMY

Britons fly direct to Porto Santo. Starting yesterday, the new direct link between the UK and Porto Santo. In the first flight from Gatwick Airport in London, 113 passengers travelled in an aircraft with a capacity of 148 passengers. João Camacho, Director of Atlantic Holidays, said there is much ignorance of this destination in the Kingdom of Her Majesty. This charter resumes the last direct connection which finished in September 2008. A contract was signed with XL Airways in 2009 but this airline failed. Flights are on Mondays until November 1st 2010. They stop in August when Viking Airlines will fly from Norwich Airport to Madeira Island. The interruption will be from July 26th to August 31st and this change of route is due to an increased demand for Porto Santo hotels during this period. For summer 2011, the link might be shared with another UK tour operator. Most passengers will stay at the Pestana Porto Santo as Atlantic Holidays is part of the Pestana Group and this is their best offer. For the next flight on June 7th, the Atlantic Holidays website quotes 499 pounds (596 euros) per person for half-board at the five-star Pestana Porto Santo. The four-star Hotel Vila Baleira package is 622 pounds and 688 pounds for the four-star Hotel Porto Santo, both bed and breakfast. Porto Santo has another international charter flight, direct from Italy.

CULTURE

Living history in Machico.  Next weekend, Machico goes back to 1508 with the V edição do Mercado Quinhentista. The primary and secondary schools of Machico hold a sixteenth century market and re-enact the period when the armada of Diogo de Azambuja visited Madeira for supplies. This navigator was on his way to conquer North Africa on the instructions of rei D. Manuel I. As well as market stalls, there will be dance, theatre, acrobats and  tournaments. The market opens each evening from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th at 16.00, followed by entertainment starting half an hour later. Program (Portuguese): HERE

Many thanks to Paul, Elaine and Carol Ann for sending in a contribution(s) for this blog.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or good or bad experience, a news item, or a story from a Madeira newspaper, a teaser, news of a bargain flight or item in a supermarket. Please help keep this blog going … without user contributions it won’t survive. Please only send in ‘exceptional’ or very topical photos by email attachment, as they take quite some time to process. Links to photos that are already online take much less time. Anything submitted for inclusion will be ‘cut and pasted’  to the blog very likely unchecked and unaltered, so please check anything through before sending it in, especially ‘automatic translations’, to avoid any ‘afterthoughts’. Blogs will be published when there is sufficient material to make one worthwhile. I can’t always respond to emails, so please accept my thanks in advance, and the attribution on the blog itself. Der.

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