Madeira News Blog

With more photos than I can ever use, this was the best way to use some up. Many thanks to Tom, Pete, Sue, and another for sending them in.

Click on any photo for a full size view.

From Tom : "Funchal downtown is going full swing today. Many tourists and locals are basking in the sunshine and enjoying fresh coffee. The only black spot on west side is lower part of Dolce Vita (Dolce Vita garage is still under water) the river there still flows on the pavement and through the tunnel to the sea, as per my picture".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Tom : "Here you have police searching for bodies of the driver and passenger, also under the mud deep below are at least 2-3 cars. They have a special instrument / device to see through the mud or measure  the magnetic field. They have found cars and pointed to diggers were to look for them. It happened in Levada da Corujeira stream".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Pete : "The location is Ribeira de São João at Avenida Calouste Gulbenkian [Funchal], 11.15 on Saturday morning. The drains over flowing. Cars stopped, one car in photo was white. The sound was like roaring aircraft, also you can taste soil in the air. Police and fire crew tuned cars round up the street with hills to avoid water".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were taken by Elize :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, for now, these were sent in by Sue (West) :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have loads of photos from Funchal (and Ribeira Brava of course) of the flood and the resulting damage, more than I can possibly show on the blog, so please don’t send any more in from those locations unless they are exceptional, or quite different (a rescue attempt, act of heroism, perhaps). Outside of these locations hardly anything has been sent in ??? What’s going on out West? Der.

Well, the weather improved drastically during this morning, and the kids got their chance to show off their carnival-wear thankfully. A much lower participation this year, but a real colour show nether-the-less, with the themes tied in with nature and the sea. Bless ‘em all!

Anyway, that’s just to get you in the Carnival mood, and hopefully encourage a few partakers to send in their pictures. If there are too many, I will have to pick out the best, but I very much doubt if that will be an issue.

 

  

  

   

 

 

Many thanks to Martin for this write up and photos from his visit to Porto Moniz Aquarium. There are more photos, but I will need to save those for the future, as the blog just gets to big. Don’t forget that if you click on the photos you can get them full size.

"I have visited Porto Moniz several times and always enjoyed the seaside atmosphere. Over the past few years the sea front has been redeveloped and is now pedestrian only, with car parking located close at hand.  This means you can stroll along the sea front, take in the sea air, and visit some of the shops in comfort and safety.

Porto Moniz is situated on the north west tip of Madeira and you have a choice of three routes from Funchal (by car), all equally spectacular for their own reason. Route 1 is from Ribeira Brava to São Vicente then Porto Moniz. You will travel through some long tunnels on this route. If you wish you can detour via Boca Da Encumeada and then down to São Vicente. Route 2 is after Ribeira Brava take the route via Calheta, Prazeres, Ponta Do Pargo and on to Porto Moniz. Route 3 is Ribeira Brava to Boca Da Encumeada, then drive across the Paul da Serra to Porto Moniz (this is spectacular if you want a good day out). These are only suggestions and you can vary the journey to suit your own needs.

In the past I have seen the signs for the aquarium but not bothered to visit. However, on this occasion I spent some time at the aquarium which offers the opportunity to observe several species in their natural habitat. It is composed of several small tanks where you can get very close to the fish and there is one very large tank about 12 feet tall which gives a fantastic view of the different species it contains. There are about 70 species on display in the tanks. You will see various breeds of fish such as dobrado, garoupa, peixe cão, ratão-agui. There is also a shark but don’t get excited, I’ve seen bigger salmon in Scotland. There are several beautiful stingrays, eels and an octopus. In some of the smaller tanks you will find starfish, crabs and other smaller species.

The aquarium is situated at Forte de Joao Batista (main photo above), a monument erected in 1730 to commemorate the local population defending the town against attacks from pirates. The fort was restored in 1998, retaining its original façade, but the interior was adapted to accommodate the aquarium. The aquarium is open daily and the admission fee for adults is 7 Euros, children 3-4 Euros depending on age. Please check their website or tourist information for any clarification.

Compared to other aquariums elsewhere in Europe, this is a small facility and you may not think there will be much to see. But I advise that you take your time and you will be pleasantly surprised at the variety of sea life you will be able to observe in the tanks.

While you are in Porto Moniz have a stroll along the shore line and observe the fantastic rugged formation of the rocks and rock pools. Even better, go there on a stormy day and watch the Atlantic waves crashing over the coastline".