Madeira News Blog

(2nd June). ‘Get Marching – The popular saints animate festivals in various parts of Madeira between 12th and 28th June’. The three popular saints are celebrated with “pomp and circumstance” by the various municipalities of the south west coast of Madeira. The popular marches start on the 12th in Santo António, 13th, in Ponta do Sol (both Santo António), and end on the 28th in Câmara de Lobos (São Pedro). Through in between there are Calheta (São João), on the 20th, and Ribeira Brava on the 27th (São Pedro).

Ponta do Sol on 13th, with Santo António with ‘Silver of the house’ (?), that will take the parade through the lower part of the town early evening on the Saturday. At least 10 local groups , schools, and other institutions are expected to take part, with around 500 participants in all.  (UPDATED 13th June – To say locals don’t think that this is the correct date)

A week later, on Saturday 20th, São João festival in Calheta, again expects strong support in the parades, and two celebrity appearances are planned. Each parish of Calheta (8) will be represented in the parade, with at least 600 participants expected.

São Pedro in Ribeira Brava falls on a weekend, so the eve of the official festa day (27th) is expected to be lively with the party going on throughout the weekend. This is the one where many Madeirans are prepared to travel, and many thousands of visitors are expected. The parades will take place on the Saturday night, but details are as yet not released on who will take part, but this year there are no limits imposed on the number of participants.

Rather wisely perhaps, Câmara de Lobos sticks more rigidly to the official day of São Pedro, the 28th being the main highlight.  They are expecting 12 troupes made up of around 700 participants, who will cover the route from Avenida Nova Cidade down to the car park at the front of the bay.

(2nd June). ‘Pools Reopen This Saturday – The beach season begins 21st June in the city of Funchal‘. The swimming pools at Lido, Ponta Gorda and Barreirinha officially open on Saturday, with entrance fees returning to be chargeable. However, the official beach season will not be inaugurated until 21st June in Funchal, as the council says it does not make sense  to do so before with the children still at school and few people on holiday. With maintenance and repair work still to be done at the swimming pools and bathing complexes, the authorities decided to allow bathers to use the facilities free of charge, as long as they were prepared to put up with the noise and dirt, as everything was being prepared. Life-guards and first aiders will not be present on the beaches though until 21st June.

As for other events in Funchal, in the beginning of July there will be a regatta for canoes, and 8th August will see the competition for building sand constructions of the beaches. On 20th August there will be the beauty contest for ‘Miss Praia Formosa’. September will be the month for the annual dog show. Alongside these there will be several initiatives dedicated to the care of the sea, including rubbish disposal and recycling, and health and safety in the bathing complexes.

Eight beaches in Funchal have the ‘Blue Flag’ awards : Seven of these are public beaches (Lido, Ponta Gorda, Barreirinha, Formosa, Areeiro, Poças do Gomes, Doca do Cavacas). The private one is at the Naval Club. The water will continue to be monitored throughout the Summer, and in cases of water pollution the blue flags will be lowered whilst the situation continues.

The inaugural conference of ExpoEnergia, an initiative of Funchal Council (câmara), dedicated to renewable energy begins today in the Largo da Restauração, and runs until Friday. The delegates also include representatives from hotels and civil engineering. Amongst other things, the conference will discuss the use of photovoltaic (solar) panels, the future of electric cars, and good energy practices in hotels.

This is quite interesting and a has a few great photos. The ‘Madeira Island Ultra Trail 2009′ is a ultra long running competition organized by Clube de Montanha of Funchal and Confraria Trotamontes. lt takes place on 5th September 2009 on Madeira, and comprises two challenges. One is to cover around 105 km in a maximum of 25 hours. The second is around 50 km to be done in less than 15 hours. They are not team events. If I am feeling energetic that day, perhaps I will do both. RUNNERS FORUM

TODAY’S PHOTO : São João Festa … last night’s festival in the real town called São João. Sorry about the picture quality, as I forgot to take a proper camera. See story later.

Front Page News : source : Diário de Notícias 23/6/2008

New laws that came into effect on the 20th May and apply to tourist transportation have not been communicated to or understood properly by the travel agents and transport companies, and many are now operating outside of the law. The laws which are along the lines of consumer protection, are stricter than those previously in place, and affect coaches and smaller vehicles and address in some detail the services they provide, including the programme and schedule. Fines for non-compliance range from €600 to €20,000, and the police, and transport and tourism officials, have the right to ‘stop and inspect’. It’s not clear exactly what the changes mean or the benefits for tourists though?

The Madeira archipelago already has several natural marine reserves being the Ilhas Desertas, the Ilhas Selvagens, at Garajau, and also Rocha do Navio, which are protected under law. But now the government intends to designate a fifth such reserve, which has already been submitted to the Regional Assembly for approval. The islands around Porto Santo and their surrounding sea will fall within the scope of the new legislation, which will affect commercial fishing, tourism, and the dispersal of effluents, as they presently operate. These coastal areas are home to a macro-habitat of animals and vegetation unique to this part of the world, and indigenous species that need special protection. Species around the area such as mackerel, chicharros, squid, etc. also find these waters a favorable environment to reproduce and hence attract larger species such as sharks, swordfish, whales, dolphins and turtles. Also around Porto Santo there are some special seas birds species. To avoid any confusion, the whole of Porto Santo will not be included, so for example I don’t think the ferry will be affected.

Other News :

Madeira already has a shortage of family, general medicine, and specialist hospital doctors, and over the next 10 to 15 years the situation is going to get worse. New doctors take a long time to train, and are difficult to retain, so the fact that 57% of the doctors here are already aged between 46 and 65 means they will be retiring faster than the ‘new blood’ comes in. In 2006 Madeira had 561 doctors, 2.3 per thousand inhabitants, somewhat lower than the national average of 3.5 per thousand. 58% of our doctors are male, the rest are female (just to avoid any confusion!).

I think I recall mentioning recently that Quinta do Lorde at Caniçal was one of 3 beaches not to get its ‘blue flag’ for water cleanliness … well that was rectified on Saturday. One of other towns, Machico, may not get it’s blue flag until the Summer of 2010, possibly sooner, even though the works there are practically concluded. No news of progress for the other beach at Câmara de Lobos.

A bit out of my league, but the ‘Chaîne of Rôtisseurs’ is opening a chapter on Madeira. The ‘brotherhood’ is a international gastronomic association of French origin. The chapter will be headed by a director at Reid’s Hotel, who has been a member for some years. The mark of the ‘Chaîne’, that can be found in the establishments whose professionals are attached to the brotherhood, is also a guarantee of quality. I thought that although not of interest to lower class mortals like me, there are more than one blog readers who have served time in The Prince Albert in Funchal, who might now be qualified and tempted to join the brotherhood.

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OK, I know you are itching to know … yes I overcame my phobia for healthy exercise last night and walked, yes walked, to the mountain known as São João! Wow, it’s high. In fact it’s so high, that on a scale of 1 to 10 in height, it scores just below 9, and hence doesn’t appear on certain maps. In fact the town just above SJ is called Boa Morte (Good Death), because I don’t think there is enough oxygen to survive there.

I know São João is celebrated in several places, including Funchal, but there is no substitute for having the festa of São João in the real town of São João, not even with all the money in Funchal. I don’t know what sort of namby pamby affair went on in Funchal, but in the real SJ it was sizzling with something … but that may have just been the bbq chicken. Arrived just before 9pm, just in time to see the second half of the parade, with the town band, climbing the hill. The parade came in two halves, with about 10 people in the first half, and another 10 in the second. The parade went to the church with most of the rest of the population of SJ, and the missa (sermon) was broadcast outside for those of us unlucky enough not to be able to fit in. It seemed to be rude to eat and drink while that was going on, so I abstained, despite having a thirst big enough to wipe out at least two of the stalls.

When that was over It was time for the fressssh hot bolo do caco, oooozzzzing with garlic butter, yum. This was the cheap version of bdc … I know, as I watched it being made with nothing more than flour and water, but it tasted fine!

Then to a stall with ‘fresh cider’ very nice too, and after a general walkabout amongst the several hundred locals (and just one beer) it was time for the highlight of the night … the midnight sea dip! And they did, they went in their droves, kicking and screaming their way into the sea. I could still hear them when I went to bed just before 1am.

I have done the bigger touristy festas before, but this was the first ‘small time’ authentic festa I have been to and it was great … and that was just in the early part, as I imagine the real fun starts after the midnight sea dip. The people of SJ made so much effort to put on the festa, probably with very little money for preparation, or to spend, but they made it work like they were one big family. It’s in the diary for a visit again next year.

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