Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Martin … D’Oliveira’s wine lodge, Funchal … "ever so old"

More titbits (2) from Becky … many thanks. "In 1420, a genuinely epochal event took place on a small, isolated, previously uninhabited island in the Atlantic, some 360 miles west of Morocco. That year, the Portuguese fleet – the most advanced in the world at the time, thanks to Prince Henry the Navigator – located Madeira. Within two years they had established an agricultural colony there. It was the first great stride in European imperialism, the first of the west’s extra-European, extra-Mediterranean possessions, the first overseas colony to be settled and developed for the benefit of the motherland … "Madeira is a quirk, a lovely quirk". A SHORT HISTORY OF MADEIRA I don’t know if it is all factual, but definitely an interesting short read. Der

"The slave, in many societies, apart from the economic function, also affirmed itself by the sumptuary value, being, in some of them, a way of social distinction. In Madeira, just like in some European areas, this is evident, as it can be observed in the works of Gaspar Frutuoso. In relation to Machico, he says: "there were many coloured females and very well treated and of rich voices, which is a sign of the old nobility of its residents, as in all the big and rich houses there is this multiplication of the servers". However, in the Lombada of Arco da Calheta, lived Dona Isabel de Abreu, the widower of Joao Rodrigues de Noronha, son of Funchal’s captain, with two farms "very thick", having at her service a female moor as "her private". Slavery in Madeira in the 15th and 16th centuries

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"I think I found heaven in Funchal. It is this small, beautiful island owned by Portugal. I even asked the car rental place if they were hiring, but since I don’t speak Portuguese, they had no idea what I was saying!! The city was really beautiful and clean, the mountain villages were so romantic, and the cliffs by the ocean … oh the cliffs!! I lovered it!" An extract from a cruisers blog, but not much else said, but there are a few photos HERE. We lovered having you here too Hayley, on the island of Funchal.

Paul (Paul do Mar) kindly sent in this next contribution :

Surfing in Madeira: Paul do Mar, Calheta

link copyright free

“Paul do Mar is the most consistent spot on the Island”. “Paul do Mar is the most consistent spot on the Island” writes a Brit here in Madeira last year 2009 surfing and on his honeymoon!

“Madeira is basically a huge rock sticking out the sea, about 1 hr wide and 30 minutes top to bottom by car.” So let’s talk about the surf in Madeira first. Madeira is basically a huge rock sticking out the sea, about 1 hr wide and 30 minutes top to bottom by car. There’s 18 known spots and ALL of them are pretty tricky to surf.

"here’s the bad news..". 5 of the spots are very rarely surfed due to being difficult to access. 4 have been severely compromised by sea walls or swimming pools (which is heartbreaking … truly). 2 are highly dangerous (which around here means don’t even think about it!). 3 are just not that good wave wise.

"And the good news..". The remaining spots are all pretty much sick! There’s no kooks! by that I mean everyone is super friendly and courteous and knows how to take their turn -very refreshing.

"I think the gnarlyness will always keep the numbers down". I’m really not sure I should be writing this, I’d hate the place to change, but I think the gnarlyness will always keep the numbers down. These pics were all taken with surf in the 2 – 4 ft barely breaking range, I’m not sure I’d fly over on a big forecast!!

The blog and great photos of surfing in Madeira: HERE Thanks a lot Paul, not sure I understand all the surfing terminology, but great photos including mid-air dolphins! Der

Many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories & other things :

You might have had this link before when the book was first published but it relates to the present exhibition in Funchal, and nostalgia seems popular. The text is in Portuguese but it is well worth a look for the numerous coloured illustrations of this artist’s work, especially from page 58 through to the final page (p 202). ‘O Funchal na Obra de Max Romer 1922/1960′.

This has 3D panoramic images of Madeira website (beta version). visitmadeira

DIÁRIO 27/01/2010

MADEIRA NEWS

More alleged victims of sexual crimes. In 2007, there were 38 alleged victims of sexual crime, in 2008, there were 23 and 29 last year. Most were under 16 years old and nine (7 girls, 2 boys) were under the age of 14 and 11 (10 girls, 1 boy) were aged between 14 and 16 years. Those over 16 were females aged 17, 24, 30, 32, 46, 59 and 65 years old and males aged 35 and 50 years old. It is known that depending on the country, only 50 – 90% of sexual crimes are reported, usually due to social reasons, embarrassment, fear, slow justice system and dependence on the offender. Only 8% of abusers are total strangers (paedophiles) as the crimes are usually a result of family behaviours associated with alcoholism and social factors (incest or aggression).

Funchal kennel receives 10,000 Euros a month from the council. This is the amount SPAD receives from Funchal City Council and presently houses 124 stray animals in 53 cages. Money is required to manage the kennel, animal feed, vet consultations and medical treatment. The previous five year contract with the council has just been renewed for another five years. The main option for the animals is adoption and they are only destroyed if clinically necessary. There are stray dogs on the streets fed by private individuals and do not come to the attention of SPAD and some of these dogs are too aggressive to be domesticated. The kennel is situated in Vasco Gil, Santo António. — Costs around 80 Euros per dog per month.

Funchal has 106 square metres of gardens per inhabitant. Funchal is the city with the highest number of square metres of green areas per inhabitant. It contains 500 hectares of green areas (14.9% of the county) and the numbers of both public and private gardens are increasing. Local schools have educational activities to promote awareness of urban agriculture, the care and diversity of botanical species and the need to preserve urban gardens and trees. Presently, there are 159 allotments distributed in S. Martinho, S. Pedro and Santa Maria Maior. The Mayor of Funchal opened an exhibition which is the first initiative by the council in the International Year of Diversity. As well as endemic species, the climate allows the cultivation of species from Latin America, Africa and Australia. Work will begin on the Jardim do Amparo at the end of March.

Nurses on strike hits all services. The Nurses Union asks people not to attend health centres today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday). This regional strike is in support of the national strike and to show how angry nurses are with the way they have been treated by the governments. Only minimum services will be guaranteed. Some health centres do not employ nurses and the president of the union asks people not to seek out these centres. Nurses are dissatisfied with salary issues, workload/overtime and changes in the regional health service. UPDATE: 91% on strike today.

ECONOMY

Marco Polo in port for 50th time. The first visit was on the 25 December 1966. This cruise ship arrives from St Lucia in the Caribbean and after a 12 hour stay, goes to Lisbon. 600 passengers on board. The ship was built in 1965 in Germany and named the Alexander Pushkin. She was used for scheduled services between Montreal and Leningrad. From 1975 – 1979, the ship started to be used for cruise itineraries and was owned by Transocean Tours until 1990. The ship was renovated and Orient Lines renamed it the Marco Polo in 1991. The first stop in Funchal under this name was on 22 November 2000. The ship can accommodate 848 tourists and 450 crew. She is in Madeira five times this year; 8 and 21 March, April 7 and 25 October.

99,000 passengers less. Madeira International Airport received 2,336,114 passengers in 2009. This was 99,616 passengers less than during 2008. This represents a decrease of 4.09%. In the country, Lisbon airport had the most passengers. There were 0.81% fewer passengers through Madeira Airport between October – December 2009 than during the same period in 2008. The most used airports were Lisbon, Porto and Faro and overall in all four airports, there was a 2% increase in passenger numbers over the last quarter of 2008. As for movements at Madeira Airport, during the last quarter of 2009, there was a decrease of 3.2%. Overall, there was a 8.74% decrease in flights in 2009 than 2008. —Flights must have had an increased occupancy rate.

POLITICS

Members give a day’s pay to the Haiti appeal. The Legislative Assembly will send a day’s pay to the Haiti earthquake victims fund. The day’s pay of 47 MPs is 3,600 Euros. This was proposed by Leonel Nunes (PCP) and approved unanimously. — Salary must be about 3 times the minimum wage.

UPDATES

Diocese gathers 32,830 Euros for Haiti appeal. Donations sent to Caritas and any further ones can be made via the Diocese of Funchal website. 

JORNAL DA MADEIRA

Funchal Pharmacy has fast robot. From the 15th February, the pharmacy in Dolce Vita will have a robot for storage and dispensing of medicines. The investment is 200,000 Euros. The employee enters the request in the computer and the robot dispenses the medicine in 18 seconds. The storage capacity is 14,000 boxes and it takes 18 seconds to dispense 3 packages, which are sent to the counter. This gives a more personalized service as the medicine is dispensed quicker. This is the first pharmacy in Madeira to use this equipment and there are only nine such robots in Portugal.

Today’s news headlines from the front page of the Diário de Notícias :

Nurses : Some on strike and others coveting – International company recruits graduates in Madeira University. Strike adherence yesterday was 92%. Hospitals and health centres were very affected on the first day of the nurses strike. Vaccines against Gripe A swine flu were suspended, and also no tests were undertaken in most of Madeira’s health centres. The hospitals were pretty much closed, with just enough cover for emergencies and inpatients. In the health centre in Santo António for example there were just two nurses working the morning shift, but none in the afternoon. Those patients or customers with appointments are forced to reschedule their visits for another day. The strike finishes today says the Diário, although on the radio just now they said it was tomorrow?

Today’s main news headline : Cavaco orders understanding – President of the Republic intervenes in the negotiation process that returned to delay the voting on the Regional Finance Law. Several lead stories on the proposed amendments of the Regional Finance Law yesterday, which was delayed yet again. A working group was then set up to negotiate an agreement with the government, on the suggestion of a PSD deputy, after the socialist government indicated that it was willing to discuss the matter [rather than face a defeat in the vote]. The vote is seemingly rescheduled for today, giving the working group just 24 hours to reach an agreement. President Jardim of Madeira said that the setting up of the working group is proof of "goodwill" by his PSD party, although in his opinion the deadline for voting is now Friday. What Madeira wants is "0.05% of public expenditure", he added. Finance Minister, Teixeira dos Santos, who threatened to resign if Madeira got its way, said he believes that the working group will take his appeal for responsibility and common sense seriously.

Budget penalizes Madeira by four million Euros.

Controversial proposal in dispute in the Naval Club – Allowing a new mandate to the current administration is the controversial issue that the members of the CNF reassess today.

Funchal Council authorizes urbanization in green zone – The plan for the valley of Socorridos was proposed by Tâmega and will be approved today in the Câmara Municipal of Funchal. There are elements of the Social Democrat Party of Madeira with interests in the zone. Also today’s main photograph, showing an unsightly builders yard full of plant and machinery

SATA is going to connect the Azores to Madeira every day. Using one of it’s new aircraft, SATA has announced that aviation history will be made in terms of regular connections between the two archipelagos. The changes, that will come in from the end of March using a Q400, will bring in daily connections between Madeira and São Miguel (Ponta Delgada) in July and August, and allow connections with the Algarve and Canary Islands. One extra advantage of the additional flights will be the transfer of tourists from Ponta Delgada who started their journeys in Canada (Toronto) and Boston in the USA with SATA International, with just very short transfer delays. This will allow Madeira tourism to better directly promote Madeira in and around the two cities. No mention of any new prices, but the new timetables are already in the process of being delivered to travel agents.

The main sport / football headline today : Can you believe it … there isn’t one!!

If anyone else can oblige with the translation of any of the ‘blank’ or sparsely filled headlines, or other news stories, here is the link. All contributions much appreciated. 

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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 photo or video, 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 don’t send in automatic translations (like Google translator) without checking them through and correcting them first, thanks.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions and photos / videos.

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Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

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(22nd July). ‘Santa Cruz Relocation In Building Without Licence’. The council (câmara) has moved a family into a building that has no licence for habitation. The family, that lost their home in a large rockfall last October, were moved to a T2 apartment in the building, and their monthly rent of €450 has been paid by Santa Cruz Câmara. The building, situated near the fire station, doesn’t have a licence because a neighbour obtained an injunction at the time of construction two years ago, on the grounds that that they had lost their privacy. However, it is not the only apartment rented there, and the building is operating as though the court injunction doesn’t exist. The building is supplied with electricity, water, and has a mailing address, things that normally can only be set-up after the habitation licence has been issued. The co-owner of the building, a local businessman refused to deal with the matter ‘before the elections’, and his lawyer, said the building was completed before the injunction was imposed, and argues in defence of the situation in legal terms.

Government launches within days a tender competition for high-speed networks in the Azores and Madeira – Minister wants Portugal "with a single speed". This is a national project, that aims to equip all of Portugal with new generation communication networks, all to the same standard. 1.5 million homes on the continent are already equipped. "Portugal will be the first country in the world to meet all the conditions for the country, being fully integrated with new generation networks", said the Secretary of Communications, Paulo Campos.

‘Two New Cases Of Gripe A On Madeira – The victims both originated from the UK’. The H1N1 swine flue virus has been detected in a 10 year old child, and a 25 year old, who are now patients in the Hospital dos Marmeleiros, but in clinically good shape. All 3 cases here so far have arrived from the UK.

‘Suspect Makes ‘Black List’ – Alleged kidnapper leaves a series of disputes, and people on Porto Santo sleeping with a gun at the bedside’. With the ringleader at large, people close to the victim feel unsafe. The population of Porto Santo are recovering slowly from the shock of the kidnapping and murder of the businessman Guilherme Alves, but those close to the man admit to sleeping with a gun at the bedside, living in tension. Those who knew the kidnapper, José Martins know a man with aggressive instincts who doesn’t "think on the means to achieve his objectives", and that he is someone from whom one "could expect the worst". Having gone bankrupt, he wrote a long list of names of those he considered responsible on a large plaque, and put it next to a tombstone, but the name of his first victim wasn’t actually on the list. The extensive list included however, the names of several companies in different sectors of the construction industry, businessmen, engineers, public institutions, and some individuals. Martins was known to have recently spent time on Porto Santo, and he also married a girl in Brazil and was able afterwards to obtain dual nationality. Brazil does not extradite nationals.

‘José Martins Was Candidate For The PS’. The alleged killer was a member of the socialist party here, and stood for election and fulfilled a term in Ponta Delgada. Lots of stories coming out of the woodwork now, but can’t cover them all.

‘Second Suspect Detained For Kidnapping Of The Porto Santo Businessman – A man aged 32 was arrested in Funchal’. The arrest of the foreign national was made on Monday following police investigations into the kidnapping and murder. The ringleader of the gang is still on the run and being sought by Interpol.

There is another story about another businessman who went to the site of the murder in Camacha, in order to discuss business with the ringleader of the kidnap gang. 

‘Murder In Curral Results In 18 years In Jail’. The 50 year old victim who lived in Vereda da Achada, Curral das Freiras (Valley of the Nuns) was attacked with a sickle and a knife last June by his drunken neighbour, after a dispute about land. The 24 year old man admitted his crime in the court in Funchal.

This is an artists impression of the new 15,000 square metre gardens to be created in Amparo (west of Funchal) as mentioned here a few days ago. Funchal council will go out to tender for the work, which should be finished within a year. The new garden will have various features, such as an outdoor cafe and terrace, a children’s playground, a pond, and plants of different species from different geographical areas. The area will be enclosed so it can be closed at night.

In the same article as one of the kidnap stories, rather curiously the Diário decided to publish the numbers of immigrants legally resident here, and I thought it might be of interest. In total there are 7,201 foreigners living here (2008) : Brazil (1255); United Kingdom (899), Venezuela (836), Ukraine (736), Germany (430), Romania (377), Moldova (200), Italy (195) and China (181).

TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Sarah … taken in the Botanical Gardens

Friday night here in Rib. Bra. there was supposed to be a beach party. Whether it was meant to be a secret rave like many I have read about before, I don’t know, but if it was a secret it was a very well kept one. I took a wander down about midnight to see how it was going … it wasn’t … only about 20 people there and no one dancing whatsoever. I didn’t stay long, as the music didn’t appeal much. Maybe it was one of those events that doesn’t get going until 3 in the morning. Does anyone know what ‘boom, boom, do your duty, bang bang, shake your booty’ actually means?  Whatever it was I don’t think I had my booty with me, so was unable to oblige.

I popped along to Madelena do Mar at the weekend, and was surprised to see the beach there was flying a 2009 blue flag, with a lifeguard as well. That was not included in the list of blue flag beaches I saw published, but it might be useful info for people over that way who don’t fancy busy Calheta beach.

The guy who wrote this article whilst on holiday here last week shows a real enthusiasm for almost everything Madeira. LEE’S HOLIDAY

Easyjet have contacted me about finding someone to write a monthly piece for their airborne magazines. I thought about doing it myself, but it really needs someone who spends plenty of time in Funchal, as it involves several restaurant recommendations. It pays about €85 a month. If anyone is interested please email me at the address below, and I will send on the details.

Don’t forget that news / articles will be posted at various times during the day – Check back regularly and keep yourself up to date.

Please use the comments here for general chit-chat, or feel free to ask any questions … someone usually has an answer.

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments.

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