Madeira News Blog

Today’s photo – Many thanks to Tobi … An accident on the motorway 31 Dec 10.30 pm just after the Cançela junction heading to Funchal.

This weekends football : I know for sure that most of you will be so pleased to see the return of top league football, after a couple of weeks off … me too! The top game this weekend in Portugal is tonight, when our lads (Nacional) visit league leaders Braga. It’s on SportTV1 at 8.15 pm, and I fancy our lads to shock the host team. If I am wrong, then my second chance is tomorrow, when Marítimo host Guimarães, 5 pm on SportTV1, where a home win is out of the question.

"The Queen Elizabeth is the third Cunard vessel to bear the name, following the original Queen Elizabeth, retired in 1969, and the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2), the world’s most iconic cruise liner, which retired in 2008. She will be the second-largest Cunard liner ever built (following the Queen Mary 2), and is due to depart on her maiden voyage, now sold out, on October 12, 2010". THE QE3 COMES TO MADEIRA OCTOBER 2010 Tickets for the maiden voyage sold out in 29 minutes. Also, a more factual review HERE

"We were surprised to find Madeira so completely different from Porto Santo – cooler, wetter and with very lush vegetation. Funchal itself is very busy and its old town is particularly attractive. There’s very little flat land so bus rides were along hair-raising roads up the sides of mountains, along narrow ridges and bridges across valleys. In many places the roof of one house would be level with the floor of the next". Jim and Anne’s Travels

"Botanical Garden – More than 2,000 exotic plants from all over the world are quite at home in the 35,000 square metres of grounds. In view of the increasing destruction of biodiversity and habitats all over the world, the garden has also become known as a centre of science and culture in the defence of endangered species of plants. Whether you are a nature lover, botanist or just a visitor, come to the garden for a world tour of the plant kingdom and a visit to the Natural History Museum and the Herbarium". A USEFUL REVIEW OF MADEIRA’S PUBLIC GARDENS

From Elaine : "not strictly Madeira-related but noted in the Jornal da Madeira Economy section, (Madeira Airport this year?)".

TAP and ANA Christmas flash mob celebrations at Lisbon Airport are a success on YouTube These videos were recorded on December 23 at 06.45 and December 30 at Lisbon Airport and placed on YouTube by the companies themselves. The dancing was choreographed by the marketing department of TAP and the repeat on December 30 involved far more people. The first has been seen over 840,000 times and the second over 64,000 times. TAKE 2 tomorrow! Der

Also many thanks to Elaine once again for yesterday’s top news stories :

Christmas Outreach project collected more than 200 toys The region has 243 children in homes, care centres and with foster families. Yesterday afternoon, the Regional Secretary of Tourism and Transport delivered the toys collected under the first Christmas Outreach project to representatives of various charities for distribution. She thought that many toys collected in the toy chest by the giant Father Christmas in Avenida Arriaga were from tourists on holiday. The institutions which will receive the presents are: Centro de Acolhimento Aconchego de São Tiago, Abrigo Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Patronato de Nossa Senhora das Dores, Lar da Tabua and foster families. These are children from dysfunctional families, victims of abuse and neglect and children who need foster care. The photo shows the Cantar os Reis groups at the ceremony.

3,823 bone marrow donors On December 31 2008, there were only 82 donors in the region, therefore the number has now increased 46 times. The register includes donors of bone marrow cells, stem cells and blood from umbilical cords. The region has 2% of national donors. The rapid increase in numbers last year came after appeals for donors to find a match for the Madeiran baby Rodrigo who had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. A similar campaign in Portugal last year when a donor was needed for a young girl who had leukaemia also swelled the number of donors. Twitter and Facebook campaigns are also successful and one of the objectives is to increase the number of donors from ethnic minorities particularly of African or Asian descent, whose numbers are increasing in Portugal. CEDACE is the second largest European register of bone marrow donors and has a total of 142,691 in Portugal. Last year, the register was used during the treatment of 37 foreign patients and 18 Portuguese patients, mainly adults with leukaemia. To volunteer for the first time, a person has to be between 18 and 45 years, as long as they do not have an incompatible illness and donation can be made up to the age of 55 years. Forms are on the website www.chsul.pt.

Firefighters rescue man 20 metres below the Miradouro do Pinaculo A 38 year old was rescued from the cliffs below the Pinaculo viewpoint in São Gonçalo. The mountain rescue team of the Volunteer Firemen of Madeira was called out to reach the man who had fallen down the cliff and was located 20 metres below the road. A woman had heard his calls for help and he was conscious throughout the rescue but was suspected of having suffered fractures during the fall. He was lucky that his fall was broken by landing in the middle of tabaibeiras (Prickly pear cactus) otherwise he would have died after a free fall of a hundred metres.

The Ribeira da Nora overflowed and the tunnel of Cota 40 was flooded The heavy rainfall yesterday morning caused flooding in several areas of Funchal. The Ribeira da Nora overflowed especially in the area of Rua Luis Figueroa. A resident on that street could not leave her house at 7.30 am but her rooms were not affected this year due to the installation of a better sewerage system. The tunnel of Cota 40 was flooded and a stranded car had to be removed. The flooding of this tunnel, which occurs frequently, caused major traffic jams in the area of Cruz Vermelha. Due to the heavy rain, firemen had to go to a residence in Rua Conego Urbino Matos in Santa Luzia and a shop in the Commercial Centre of São Pedro.

Government approves the dumping of sludge into the sea To legitimize the deposition of sludge formed by the heavy rains into the sea at São Vicente, as reported yesterday, the explanation was, "Due to the uncertain weather, cannot deposit sludge on the land." The Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure, Luis Santos Costa also explained that time is short and we must act quickly. "The safety of property and life are more important than ‘possible’ environmental impacts, which in practice are no larger than those arising from the natural discharge of water from the streams into the sea." "In normal situations, there is willingness to consider and be able to find alternatives. Right now, we have no time." A spokesperson for the environmental organization Quercas was in no doubt about the illegality of the act, saying they were considering whether or not to lodge a criminal prosecution. There are alternatives immediately available without deposition into the sea. The Socialist Party’s present leader, Joao Carlos Gouveia, believes that what is happening at the Passo da Areia and above Ginjas is a crime and an attack on the public. A criminal case will be lodged against both the Mayor of São Vicente and the Regional Secretary for Social Infrastructure as they are both responsible for this action and need to explain it. — The readers’ comments to this article are all against the action as the politicians have no right to pollute the sea, which impacts on tourism and fishing etc. Gouveia’s comments are not liked as they accuse him of just making political mileage instead of finding solutions.

Military museum to be created in Palacio de São Lourenço There are currently two museums, one in the Palacio de São Lourenço and the other in Forte de São Tiago. They will now both be combined and there will be three themes depicted in different rooms: Madeira in the Context of Portuguese Expansion, Military History of Madeira, and Fortifications and Military Infrastructure in the Region. The entrance to the museum will be made through a recessed area in relation to the Largo da Restauração, decorated with a new banner with the logo and coat of arms of the army.  — No dates of opening/closing of present museums given.

Aigle Azur increases flights to Paris from the end of March The number of flights will be increased to two a week from the end of March and are now bookable through Travel Agents or the Internet: www.aigle-azur.fr. Since the end of last October, this low-cost carrier has flown on Saturdays and due to demand, is starting a second weekly flight. From the end of March, another French carrier Transavia.com (KLM-Air France consortium), will fly twice weekly between Paris Orly / Madeira and Nantes / Madeira. In combination with two weekly SATA flights to France, there will be a total of eight weekly flights for the summer season March to October.

TAP stops free Aerobus The contract with the bus firm SAM for the past nine years has just ended and the Aerobus now costs 5 Euros. Aerobus is promoted as a fast connection between Madeira Airport and Funchal city centre and the main hotels in the hotel zone. The service was free on production of a TAP boarding pass until 01/01/2010. A manager of SAM explained that although TAP flew more than 2.6 million passengers to Madeira in recent years, most Aerobus passengers were from the low-cost airlines, including EasyJet. A taxi would cost 25 – 35 Euros, the taxi meter starting at 3.95 Euros plus 1.50 for luggage, during the week.

Russian tourist died in Porto Santo A Russian tourist died when he fell into the sea while taking photographs in the area of Calheta in Porto Santo. The accident occurred at 11.30 on Thursday morning and the Navy was hampered in the rescue operation by heavy seas. The tourist had travelled that morning to Porto Santo accompanied by a woman, who is hospitalized in the Health Centre in a state of shock.

Madeira wins over the Azores The domestic tourism market increased 20% in Madeira but fell 10% in the Azores last year. Some hotels in the Azores have had to close this winter due to a lack of demand. The Azorean Islands are penalized by fewer air connections than Madeira and their airport policy will have to be reviewed.

Individual throws stones at cars A 35 year old caused serious problems for vehicles on the highway in Nazaré, near the tunnel, in the early hours of New Year. He decided to throw stones at passing cars and some larger stones rolled down the slope to fall onto the road. A nine year old was hit in the arm when leaving a car and a car dented. Residents at the nearby housing estate warned drivers of the danger. The  event ended with the arrival of the BIR (Rapid Intervention Brigade) who tried to decide if the man was responsible for his actions. This is not the first time such an event has happened, often bottles and stones are thrown onto the road from the top of the tunnel and the residents have asked for a protective wall to be built.

Emergencies attended to more than 135,000 patients The Emergency Department at the Hospital Dr. Nelio Mendonca in Funchal had 141,487 patients attending last year. Of these, only 135,494 were treated as the rest were either non-emergencies or were assigned as not urgent and would not wait (up to 4 hours). Using the Manchester triage ‘traffic-light’ system, there were 773 emergency (red) patients, 21,554 very urgent (orange) patients and 64,092 urgent (yellow) patients. In Madeira in 2009, there were 16 fatalities on the roads and 101 seriously injured with a 27% decrease in accidents compared to 2008. These figures do not include those who were involved in a car accident and died after being in hospital for more than 30 days. This discrepancy will be addressed by creating a computer database, so sites of accidents and treatment methods can be studied.

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

Vânia launches herself with a CD ‘Alma Marinheira’. Her first CD will be released next month, and two singles are already getting radio airplay, the title track ‘Alma Marinheira’ and ‘Trova do Vento que Passa’ (quite appropriate at the moment). The voice that sang ‘Senhora do Mar’ in the Eurovision in 2008, as well as winning Portugal’s Pop Idol, has realized a dream in releasing the CD, and she is preparing a performance for the official launch of the CD. A bit tricky to ascertain the exact translation of the title but the nearest I can get is ‘Soul of a Seawoman’. Vânia Fernandes of course, Madeira’s current favourite daughter, or is she? Nini Andrade Silva, the designer seems to be riding high at the moment. No I think it is still Vânia, as a contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of years ago, that’s pretty hard to beat for at least a few years afterwards.

PSD-M gives-in in order to speed up the money.

Moisés charges tax that Pereira pardoned – The new president of Santana ordered the charging of taxes regarding the advertising posted in the establishments. The traders complain. The new broom Moisés is treading on more toes already, so soon after taking command after the October elections. His predecessor, Carlos Pereira, turned a blind eye to the advertising, but Moisés has told traders that the choice is simple: either pay or withdraw the advertisements. "People like it or not, I was elected to enforce the law. This is how it goes", he said. This is a strange law if I recall correctly, that to advertise your own business, on or around the outside of your business, you must pay annual taxes that are based on the size (and maybe positioning too) of the signs you choose to erect.

Today’s main news headline, and also the main photo, which shows 3 JCB diggers rapidly eating away at a beach, seemingly to ease the flow of a river into the sea : Stone from the storm puts Ponta do Sol against the Regional Government – construction companies have already taken 700 lorry loads of ‘inert materials’ [gravel etc.] back to their storage yards, that was piled up in the river and on the beach at Madalena after the storms. Council president Rui Marques wanted to see it "put back before taking it away" and contests the authorization given by the Madeira government, which besides could still mean paying 100 thousand Euros for the operation. The article says that 10,500 cubic metres have already been taken from the river at Madalena do Mar to the yards of the two companies (AFA is one of them) contracted for the clean up, and fine building material is seems to be from the photographs. I thought the latest fad was ‘if you don’t want it, chuck it in the sea’, and then I remembered a story from the last elections about certain senior political figures, who I cannot name for my own well-being, who have the ‘stone’ market of Madeira pretty much monopolised, with all sorts of less than transparent practices involved. Obviously the dumping at sea in São Vicente indicates that the material is not of adequate quality to line someone’s pockets, or even for the construction industry, but it looks like in Ponta do Sol, someone can make some easy money, and then make some more by sending the ‘clean up’ bill to the taxpayers. Call me a cynic if you like!

Today’s main sport / football headline : CD Nacional plays tonight in the home of the league leader – Madeirans arrive at Braga with the status of the 4th [best] ranking for a Portuguese club from IFFHS.

Manual Machado released from hospital today. The manager of Nacional has been in hospital, at one time close to death, since last November. He contracted an infection after a surgical procedure, and spent some time in a coma. Earlier reports say that he is not expected to return to work this season.

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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TODAY’S PHOTO : Thanks to Elaine … garlic and chillies hanging up in Funchal Farmers Market

This is a bit of a ‘nothing special’ article about cruise ships coming to Madeira MADEIRA WALKING

Jon came up with this article on the Espada Preta, or Black Scabbard Fish, Madeira’s favourite local catch. Thanks a lot Jon!

The unusual habitat of the "Espada Preta"

The Black Scabbard is calculated to reside between 600 and 1,600 metres below sea level. Considered a veritable achievement due to the incredible range of depths that the fish swims. The theory is that the fish rise to the level of 600 metres below sea level when it is dark and then descend a couple of a hundreds metres further below when it is light. Some connection to solar rays has been surmised. But the mystery of why it is easier to catch the Black Scabbard at night remains unresolved. Especially since common reason has it that sunlight does not penetrate the depths of the ocean beyond 400 metres below sea level.
For most of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries the Black Scabbard was considered unique to Madeira. Recent discoveries of the same fish in places as far afield as Southern Ireland, and even Japan, have dispelled that special qualification for Madeira. The fish has been caught successfully for some years off the shores of North Africa, Portugal, and even the Canary Islands. However, it seems that the only locale where the fish is caught at sustainable economic or industrial levels is the village of Câmara de Lobos itself.

That unique status of the village has lent to the creation of some equally unique and unusual crafts for the catching of the Espada fish. The colourful fishing boats used to catch the fish are all made of wood with four or several oars, which one or two persons can use to row the boat out to sea or on to shore. It also enjoys one single sail and is left to the whims of the ocean currents to change its position once the general target area for the fishing grounds are reached.

I tried to find a picture of an actual live espada swimming in it’s natural habitat Jon, but at that depth in the ocean, I wonder if one actually exists. Looking at those teeth, if I was a deep sea diver, I think I would be making a swim for it rather than taking photos, amongst the relative safety of the sharks if necessary.

Paul in Paul do Mar has suggested that we use this photo from the Diário for a caption competition :

The story yesterday was : ‘Rain affected official inaugurations’. The rain affected Jardim’s inaugurations of new roads in Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava on Monday. In the first one, he had to use the PSD campaign car’s sound system. Usual refreshments were still served. Jardim looked favourably upon the rain, saying: "It is said that when there is rain there is happiness." "Thanks to God we always need plenty of water for our land, especially for these agricultural areas that have missed the rain".

With that inspiration or whatever, any ideas anyone? Please send them in.

My contribution : If that cop comes any closer he’s going to swivel on that!

A week has gone by since I became a contributor, rather than the main writer for the blog, and the surprise for me was Elaine from Garajau appearing with all these daily news updates. Some others have chipped in with bits and pieces, and I have had a flood of photographs (so yours might take a month or so to appear). Many thanks to those who have responded. I have no idea whether Elaine will continue, and I am still putting in too many hours, so the appeal for more written contributions (below) is still a necessity.

"I am certain that there are kids that only eat in school". Teachers tell of situations of infant negligence in Câmara de Lobos. Two teachers in a school contacted by the Diário say that several cases of child neglect exist in their schools. One talks of the shock of seeing "children aged six going to school alone on their first day of classes". The other said "I don’t really know well the reality at home, but in school they eat so much that if we didn’t tell them to stop they would continue always eating". She went on to say that this type of situation  is true with the majority of kids, and associates the matter with "neglect of the parents". "The parents take the kids to school at 8.30 am and return to fetch them at 6.30 pm. When they get home they are given a little dish of cereal, put into bed, and the following morning they return to school", she added. Reality, poverty, who knows, but a dreadful situation. Câmara de Lobos is infamous for its poverty levels, but I wonder what great works at great cost are promised in the C de L PSD party manifesto for the new mandate that will be decided on Sunday. For sure poverty will not be a decisive factor in the election outcome.

Manuel António reiterates support to the grape growers. The regional secretary responsible has guaranteed help to the value of 50 cêntimos per kilo of grapes. The help  promised is to clear grapes from this years production that do not pass the quality grade required by the wine producers.

Aigle Azur Makes Maiden Flight To Madeira. The French airline initiated the Paris  – Funchal route on Monday. The company that has 11 planes already has around 30 routes, mostly between French cities and the countries in North Africa, and in Portugal already has routes that fly to Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

‘Violence Returns To Blight Inauguration’. The main photo on the Diário today shows a cop restraining a member of the PND, as he tries to remove a metal barrier blocking his way. I saw it on the TV news, where the New Democratic Party leadership (all 3 of them) turned up at a president Jardim inauguration to make a protest. Who knows what had been pre-arranged, but the police suddenly had access to metal barriers when the PND arrived, and blocked the street, probably illegally. A large scuffle broke out with police, PND, and PSD supporters involved, and Rabbit was there clearly seen steaming in. Jardim seems to have mysteriously patched up his relationship with local police, having pretty much said that they are only good for issuing parking tickets, and allegedly making an official complaint on Tuesday, because they certainly acted in his interests yesterday, even though I believe he had already left when the trouble happened. It also seems that a group of PSD militants had been organised to get involved if the PND turned up, but that’s just speculation on my part, and of course Uncle Bertie would not dirty his hands with organised violence, or anything illegal for that matter. That’s what cronies are for.

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If you can, please contribute something Madeira related. A funny story or 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. 

You can email blog@madeira4u.com with any large contributions or comments and photos / videos, or if you can contribute regularly, I can give you a special account that allows you to create your own blog postings.
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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.

(more…)

(14th July). ‘Jaime Ramos Confirms The Presence Of Ferreira Leite in Chão da Lagoa – PSD expect the greatest turnout ever from the Madeirans’. Manuela Ferreira Leite will be at the annual festival (rally) of the social democrats of Madeira on the 26th of July, and over 40,000 people are expected to attend to see the national leader of the social democrats. The announcement came from Jamie Ramos, who is the party leader on Madeira. More than two hundred coaches are expected to be hired for the event, which will have more than a hundred stands from traders of all sorts, local live music, and the singer Mikael Carreira. The theme of the event will be "34 years, 41 victories". In that case it won’t be hard to work out what next years event will be called, and the year after, ….

‘Jardim Encourages People To Participate In The Forthcoming Elections – The president of the regional government is optimistic about the future for agriculture’. Alberto João Jardim, urged the people to participate massively in the coming elections, "decisive" for the future of regional autonomy, whilst speaking at the Agricultural Fair in Porto Moniz. On the subject of strengthening regional autonomy he said "You can not have development without the Madeiran parliament having powers to make new laws and create new solutions, especially for the economic sector". On agriculture, given the hundreds of farmers that listened, he expressed optimism about the future of the industry of the region, citing figures from the National Institute of Statistics, which showed that the gross domestic product related to agriculture grew by 50% since 2001 in the region. However, that that growth has greatly been thanks to aid and EU subsidies.

‘Dr. Nélio Mendonça Passed Away – Ex-president of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira was hospitalised. The Government Of Madeira Is Going To Declare Today 3 Days Of Official Mourning’. The doctor specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and politician died aged 78 after illness. He was also president of Nacional Sports Club, and the founder of Madeira’s health service. I have read the obituary and readers comments in the Diário today, and it sounds like Madeira has lost a great man indeed.

‘PS Blames Government For Environmental Charges’. The socialists of Madeira are concerned with the increasing debts of the councils here, as a result of the environmental policies of the regional government. The company established by the government for the management of water and solid waste should have been fully established by the start of this year, taking the work and costs from the councils, but this has not yet happened. As a consequence the councils are paying a high price for continuing to take the waste to the processing plant at Meia Serra, with some having to result to seeking credit to pay the bills.

‘Naviera To Continue Carrying Cargo – The ferry owner and Conceição Estudante point out that it is necessary to comply with the licence issued’. Naviera Armas and the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport (STT) have not yet received notification from the court and the operation of loading and unloading in the port of Funchal will remain as at the moment. However the two parties, who met yesterday, agreed to comply with any future decision made by the court, that ruled that due to unfair competition the ferry between Madeira and Portugal could not carry freight, unless transported in lorries, and not in containers and trailers.

In a separate later headline it says ‘Government Will Defend Armas – The GR is aware of the importance of the Armas operation and offers itself to promote the public interest of this transport’. In a nutshell, the government of Madeira does not support the case of the National Association of Shipowners, who obtained an injunction against Armas over favouritism in terms of costs and freight in the use of the Port of Funchal. It’s a tricky one to resolve now, but the government here only have themselves to blame, for creating a situation that was bound to raise the hackles of those shipping companies forced to shift their operations away from Funchal.

‘Government Of The Republic Supports New Routes To Madeira – Signing of the agreement brings the secretary of state for tourism to Madeira’. 4.30pm on Wednesday is when the key players in tourism get together to sign the new agreements for the connections between Madeira and Paris, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. The deals will receive state and other funding for 3 years to the tune of €650,000, in order to attract a potential of 20,000 new tourists to Madeira.

‘New Ferry On The Cards – An emigrant from the Azores wants to start a ferry service between the Azores and Madeira’. He wants to buy a ship called the ‘Atlântida’ to run the service. The story appeared in the Diário de Notícias in Lisbon yesterday, saying that Madeira could benefit from a new service for passengers and freight, but the Azores government says that the ship does not meet the speed requirements to operate the service. The idea is to offer a complete ferry service using the connection of the Naviera Armas to reach the continent. This ferry option for passengers on the Azores has been extinct for the last 30 years. The businessman with the idea already owns a shipping company.

‘Occupation In Hotels Fell 16% In May – Data from the National Institute of Statistics shows a 13% fall in profits’. The number of ‘nights slept’ fell 16% compared to May 2008, a higher fall than that nationally (15.3%). However we still had the highest occupation rate for the month in Portugal at 54.6%, and the highest average length of stay (4.9 nights) compared to a national average of 2.7 nights per stay. Maybe it’s me, but there seem to be up and down figures published every week, and on the 4.9 nights average stay, does that mean that on the final day the average guest misses breakfast?