Madeira is an island approximately 350 miles off the coast of North Africa. It is a province of Portugal. It has been described as the island of eternal spring. Portugal is approximately 600 miles to the northeast. Funchal is the capital and is home to about one-third of the island’s 265,000 people.
Thousands of red tile-roofed homes cling the the steep cliffs that were once carpeted with fennel, their gardens overflowing with greenery and flowers. The climate is as near perfect as it gets since it is in the gulf-stream flow of the Atlantic Ocean. The warmest month has an average temperature of 73 degrees F, while the coolest is 61 degrees F. This island receives a near perfect 28 inches of rain annually. About 55% of that is in November-January.
Year round the clean, clear sea is excellent for bathing, snorkeling, water-skiing and fishing. The streets, as well as the air are almost pristine. Parks and cobbled streets are found to be prevalent. There is an old town the is quite charming, and as you would imagine, very pedestrian friendly. As with most of these european cities there is a great open food market which is filled with produce, meats, and fish.
I took a 3 hour bike tour while I was there and it was fabulous. That day was sunny and 64 degrees F. The tour took me from the old town to the new areas (as depicted in my photo images.) While riding through the newer more cosmopolitan parts of town there were abundant opportunities to be either hit by cars and buses, or have car doors opened in your path. The roads were similar to Rome but with more traffic circles. There were no bike paths and consequently we were in the street with the rest of the vehicles. Since there were 14 participants in the tour I believed my odds to be pretty good for not becoming a statistic. I also remained near the middle of the group for some added protection. I completed this outstanding tour without incident, and so did everyone else. In just a couple of days I will arrive in Gibraltar. Please await for heads up email for that one.
