Madeira News Blog

Contributions from Paul :

Portuguese New York publishing executive races to lose weight and compete at sport’s highest level. bicycling.com reports

"João Correia has perhaps the most unlikely story in pro cycling. A Portuguese junior champion as a teenager and promising neo pro, Correia gave up racing for the corporate world and became a fat New York publishing executive—literally fat, topping out at 205 pounds. Three years ago, as associate publisher of Bicycling, he decided to race again to lose the weight. "

Image caption : João Correia

"After two years with Bissell Pro Cycling while maintaining his career in publishing, Correia has given it all up to compete at the sport’s highest level for the Cervelo TestTeam at a time when most pros are thinking about retirement. Is he insane, or living a dream come true? You can also follow João on his blog at BLOG."                Link to site and photo source:

Calheta fishing ..we went fishing off the Calheta coast yesterday in a small boat and caught some ‘Grey Triggerfish’ commonly known as ‘Peixe-porcos’

Cascais. The UK Daily Mail reports:

“Cascais… has been transformed from a run-down fishing village of a few thousand inhabitants to a highbrow getaway.

Image caption : Boca do Inferno (Mouth of Hell) at Cascais, Portugal

In 1870, King Luis I made it the location for his summer retreat. Then exiled royal families from Italy, spain and Bulgaria all took up home here during the Spanish Civil war and world war II. within a decade, its population grew to almost 30,000…”

LINK

World Cup in Porto! INTLGYMNAST.COM reports:

"Approximately 100 gymnasts including an Olympic and World Champion are competing at the 1st Portugal World Cup. Admission to the event is free to the public.

Among the international stars expected are Olympic champion Chen Yibing (China) and world champion Diego Hypolito (Brazil).

Image caption : Olympic champion Chen Yibing (China)

New Chinese national champion Feng Zhe is also on the men’s roster, as are World Cup medalists Flavius Koczi (Romania), Samuel Piasecky (Slovakia), Ali Al-Asi (Jordan), Alexander Shatilov (Israel), Yevgeny Sapronenko (Latvia, Filip Yanev (Bulgaria), Wajdi Bouallegue (Tunisia), Regulo Carmona (Venezuela), and Isaac Botella and Rafael Martinez (Spain).

Left image caption : world champion Diego Hypolito (Brazil).

Portugal’s entrants

Portugal’s entrants include top all-arounders Manuel Campos, 15th at the 2009 Worlds in London, and Gustavo Simoes, the bronze medalist at the 2008 Junior Europeans in Lausanne. The host team women’s lineup includes four-time national champion Zoi Lima — the silver medalist on floor exercise at the 2009 Osijek World Cup — and Russian-born Ekaterina Kislinskaya, 16.."     Link to full article:

Everything else from Elaine :

Shopping with Feeeeeling. As I poured my coffee this morning,  I said "good morning" to my Madeira Rooster.  You see,   I decorate the house,  my ears,  my body, and my internal organs  with stuff bought while on  vacation.   For some totally bogus reason,  traveling lubricates my spending senses,  lulling me into a drunken state of  free spending.   This is not helped if the currency is foreign;  then the money resembles tokens for the merry-go-round and I instantly devalue their worth.  An overpowering need to sentimentalize and remember every place I visit culminates in the purchase of  roosters, paintings, shorts,  and exotic-sounding Mexican pharmaceutical prescriptions (wart cream in Spanish comes off sounding like Verrrrrrruga). HERE

News from Diário de Notícias and Jornal da Madeira

MONDAY JUNE 14th

ECONOMY

Fugas magazine highlights Madeira. This magazine accompanies Saturday’s editions of the Portuguese newspaper Público. To celebrate 10 years of continuous publication, the editorial decided on a top-ten list of the journalist’s best experiences. For Portuguese beaches, a prominent position is given to the beach at Garajau which hoisted the Blue Flag for the first time this year. Madeira Magic comes first in the category ‘recommended for families’. The Laurissilva forest features in ‘nature walks’. For golf, Madeira won two places for Santo da Serra and Port Santo. The Estalagem da Ponta do Sol was voted one of the best hotels. Blandy’s Bual 1920 (bottled in 2006) was one of the ten best wines of the last decade. It was called ‘gigantic and stunning’ and ‘absolutely monumental!’.

MULTIMEDIA

Avenida Arriaga’s showcase of classic cars. The Classic Motor Show is coupled with the Volta à Madeira – Classic Rally. Antique and classic cars are displayed on the Avenida Arriaga in Funchal until the 23rd June. Examples of cars to admire are:1960 Facel Vega from France, a 1929 ‘very British’ Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, MG, Rolls-Royce, Chevrolet and Alfa-Romeo. The Classic Car Rally will be held between the 24th – 26th June. The inaugural event at the Avenida Arriaga is on Thursday 24th June from 20.00. The first stage will be on Friday between Câmara de Lobos and São Vicente and the last stage on Saturday between Machico, Santana, Machico and Funchal. Slideshow of 13 photos of the Classic Motor Show:

TUESDAY 15th JUNE

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Porto Santo Line receives 150,000 euros. The Regional Government decided to amend its contract with the Porto Santo Line to aid the construction of two maritime stations in the ports of Funchal and Porto Santo, in respect of the principle of Additionality to Community Funds. The new contract changes the formula of co-funding so the government pays 150,000 euros to the Porto Santo Line. As part of the concession granted in 1996, Porto Santo Line had to build the two passenger terminals, subject to financial contributions by community and regional funds. The terminals are to ensure the security and greater mobility of citizens through the provision of services with quality, comfort, safety and environmental protection. The maritime links to and from Porto Santo are essential, both to promote the island of Porto Santo in terms of tourism and to partially mitigate the effects of double insularity on its resident population. The Porto Santo Line invested 444,000 euros in the construction of the terminals, and the EU funds were based on the eligible amount of 288,000 euros since the expenses of the developer were not considered. Update in Wednesday’s newspaper. The amount of Regional and European support was always 150,000 euros (no change in the contract), and at the end of the period of the concession, the stations will become part of the heritage of the Region of Madeira.

—-Google translator, "the Government decided to amend the contract entered into with the Porto Santo Line to aid the construction of two railway stations at sea". 

MADEIRA

Urban and coastal study in Funchal. The coastal areas of Funchal are part of a worldwide project ‘Solutions for Environmental Contrasts in Coastal Areas’. The European Commission approved the project in October 2009 which studies coastal cities in Italy, Belgium, England, Sweden, Israel, India and Vietnam. The project focuses on problems of occupation of coastal areas, the sustainability of urban growth and coastal tourism, in different contexts. The Mayor of Funchal said it is important to study the occupation of the coastline, as in that city there are positive and negative results from its evolution. "The reserve of Garajau is an example of how we can reconcile coastal protection with a city that has more than 1,300 inhabitants per square kilometre."

Porto Bay donates 40,000 euros. Porto Bay Hotels and Resorts created a fund for the victims of the February storm. Half of the amount was collected between February and May during a campaign targeted at hotel customers. The remainder was donated by the group who decided to double the value of this ‘Small Gestures, Big Hopes’ fund. Caritas and the Red Cross were chosen to receive the donations.

Police pass the Armas ferry through a ‘fine comb’. The Spanish ship owner Naviera Armas was yesterday the subject of an enforcement action directed at combating drug trafficking. Officials of the PSP, Maritime Police, GNR, Customs and Excise Department and the Immigration Department participated in the operation. Several cars and passengers were searched but no narcotics were seized. A Moroccan citizen, in transit from Portimão to the Canary Islands, was sent to hospital feeling unwell. This was followed up by judicial inspectors to confirm that he really was sick as it aroused suspicions that he could be an illegal immigrant. These suspicions were not confirmed and he resumed his journey along with his wife.

ECONOMY

Jet2.com will have two more scheduled flights to Madeira in 2011. The British low-cost airline Jet2.com announced last week two more scheduled flights from the UK to Madeira. One from Manchester and one from Leeds/Bradford. This decision of Jet2.com arises due to the great demand that exists on the route from Manchester to Madeira, which will have two weekly flights from April 2011, on Mondays and Fridays. The flight from Leeds/Bradford will begin in February 2011 and will be held on Mondays. The British company will use Boeing 737-300 aircraft with a capacity for 148 passengers. Reservations and ticket sales are bookable on the company website (www.jet2.com). These routes are supported by the Program ‘Initiative:pt’ and ANAM, Turismo de Portugal and the Associação de Promoção da Madeira. The entry of Jet2.com to the Manchester route was the culmination of three years of negotiations in conjunction with the Governments of the Republic and the Region and reinforces this important market to Madeira. The entry of British tourists into Madeira suffered a decline of about 20% in the last twelve months, largely due to the crisis in the UK where the sale of package holidays decreased significantly, especially for destinations of higher quality and higher price than the Mediterranean beaches and Spanish islands. The extra flights to Madeira by Jet2.com improve the prospects for traditional hotels and dwellings for timeshare and tourism, which have also suffered losses in the past two years. Jet2.com has been in existence for 30 years, carried eight million passengers last year, currently sells 87% of its tickets through its Internet website and is considered one of the most punctual airlines in the UK.

Cost of living up 1.7% last year. In Madeira, the cost of a basket of essential goods was cheaper in May 2010 than in the previous month, but the cost of living has risen over the past year. The annual change was 1.7%, meaning a basket of essential goods costing 10 euros last year, this year costs 17 cêntimos more. Comparing the rate of change in May 2010 with the averages from the previous three months, housing, water, electricity, transport, gas and other fuels recorded the highest growth rates. Communications showed the highest price reduction.

WEDNESDAY 16TH JUNE

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Ten days of summer festivities in C. Lobos cost 77,000 euros. Despite the financial squeeze, Câmara de Lobos Council is investing 77,000 euros for the ten days of the Festas de Verão. The festivities centre on the car park in front of the bay and run from Friday June 25th to Sunday July 4th, with particular focus on musical entertainment and six restaurant stands that promote the outstanding gastronomy of Câmara de Lobos, (Peixe-espada Preto). Because of the crisis, regional groups have been hired but they still account for a large slice of the budget – 32,000 euros. One of the highlights is the fireworks show in the bay on Monday 28th June, the eve of São Pedro. This multimedia show with fireworks and lasers is expected to last 10 minutes and will cost the municipality 20,000 euros. This show, the popular marches (11 groups and 600 participants), the Festival Regional de Talentos and the extensive musical entertainment program are the main attractions of this year’s edition. Vânia Fernandes and Sofia Relva are the highlights of the opening day, on Sunday there is the Regional Festival of Talents, and the popular marches are on the same day as the fireworks show (Monday). The entertainment program starts at 19.00 and ends at midnight, except on the Saturday and eve of the holiday when it extends for another two hours.

PSD inquiry is a form of pressure on the media. The PSD-M is asking the Legislature to establish a Commission of Inquiry on the ‘Media in the Autonomous Region of Madeira’. This has raised vehement criticism from all opposition parties. Phrases used by the opposition are "fraud", "world upside down" and "revanchismo" (type of revenge). The PSD point out that the opposition persists in making allegations of manipulation of the media by the Regional Government. The social-democrats want an investigation into: the freedom and independence of the press, impartiality of journalists, political and economic independence of the organs of the media, public service television and radio, and the possibility of expression and confrontation of different points of view. The Commission must hear, among others, the members of the administration of the Jornal da Madeira, Empresa Diário de Notícias, the Director of RTP/RDP-M and journalists from the media. Later this month, the Ethics Committee of the Assembly of the Republic will hear members of the administration of the Jornal da Madeira, the Empresa Diário de Notícias and the group Liberal. The PSD say the parliamentary Commission of Inquiry is to safeguard regional autonomy and the competence of this body of self-governance of the Region (ALM).

ECONOMY

Excellence III in port.  Returning to the region for refuelling, the luxury mega-yacht Excellence III arrived from Port Everglade in Florida on Monday evening and sailed yesterday for the Mediterranean. Built in 2001 in the shipyard A & R Donald Starkey, the boat measures 57.3 metres long and 10.70 metres wide. The cruising speed is 14 knots and there are satellite systems on board for communications and the Internet. The six master suites may receive a total of 12 guests and are equipped with plasma and communications systems and surround sound systems. The crew consists of 14 members. With a weekly rental of 300,000 euros (I double-checked), customers can enjoy various entertainment and sporting equipment, among which are two 7.5 metre boats, two jet skis, various windsurfing boards, two kayaks and equipment for fishing and scuba diving.

Marriage on the beach arrives at the Golden Island. The Pestana Group launched to the national and international market a new product that might attract to Porto Santo a new type of tourist. This product is weddings on the beach, which have been growing in popularity in the Caribbean with European and American tourists. The five-star Pestana Porto Santo has direct beach access for weddings in the ‘Caraíbas Portuguesas do Atlântico’. The Pestana group has launched a new summer campaign that provides free accommodation for two children from 2 – 12 years, if staying in the parent’s room. Each child is also given a 10 euros voucher every day for use in the hotel. This campaign is applicable to the Pestana Carlton Madeira, Pestana Sintra Golf (near Lisbon) and Pestana Delfim in the Algarve, until the 30th September.

Arraial de São Pedro attracts hundreds of stallholders. The arraial de São Pedro in the Vila da Ribeira Brava will have about a hundred stalls this year. The festival is held from Saturday 26th to Tuesday 29th June. Stallholders will be selling craft items and food and beverages. Combined with bars and stalls licensed on private land, there could be two hundred businesses continuing this tradition that is one of the most popular arraiais in the Region.

CULTURE

Festas de Santa Cruz from Friday. From June 18th – 29th, to enhance the culture of the county and encourage the return to normal life after the events of February 20th. This year’s edition takes place in a restrained manner with a certain austerity, cautioned the Mayor of Santa Cruz. The budget is limited to 10,000 – 15,000 euros so there will be a lot of local talent.

Program
Market Square
Day 18 – 21h30 Brass Ensemble, 22h30 Black Dog Blues Band, 23h30 DJ Marco Camacho.
Day 19  – Folklore Meeting beginning at 20 hours with performances by folklore groups of the county, 22.30 Encontros da Eira.
Day 20 – 15 hours – Traditional games, 20 hours – meeting of bands.
Day 21 – 14 hours – Tournament of cards and dominoes. In the evening at 21h30 Guasakaka.
Day 22 – 21 hours – First Festival of Social Dance: Sevillanas, Latin Street Dancers, Latin Dance Floor, New Generation, Santo da Serra, Jovidancers; Karaoke with Joe Silva.
Day 23 – 20:30 Portuguese Group of London and 21h30 Marchas dos Santos Populares.
Day 24 – 19 hours – opening of the 3rd Edition International Art Biennale, 21h30 the Classical Orchestra of Madeira revisits Santa Cruz, accompanied by pianist Antonio Rosado.
Day 25 – 10:30 am Solemn Session of the Municipality, 21.30 Forgotten Roads, Coolfeel and DJ Daniel Caires.
Day 26 – 21:30 Banda Municipal de Santa Cruz and Tuna Estudantina Madeira, followed by  Kontraband.
Day 27 – Festival de Despique from 15 hours.
Day 28 – 18.00 Romagem de São Pedro followed by novena/missa da Vigília. 22.00 Grupo Reis Magos in the Festas de São Pedro.
Day 29 – 20.00 Eucharist followed by the Procession of the Festas de São Pedro.  

Many thanks to Paul and Elaine for sending in a contributions 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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