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| Madeira,
Portugal |
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Rating:
 (5.0) (2 Votes)
Funchal, Portugal
16th June 2005
Pros: A truly magical place
with lovely people
Cons: None
Hello me loved ones...Ive back-dated this entry... sorry Ive been
incognito, its been a roller coaster ride of emotions, but all good...we
arrived in Funchal on the 4th of June at 8:30pm, caught a taxi from
the airport to our accomadation in the center of Fuchal... spoke
Portuguese to the taxi-driver, he invited me to treat Madeira as
if it is my own country, he also suggested to interact with the
locals in a jovial manner because this is how they operate... tonight
was going to be fireworks, apparently countries from all over the
world participate in fireworks competition display throughout the
year in Madeira...the country with the best display will host the
breaking into the New Year fireworks in Funchal(capital of Madeira)...so
we check into our apartment and make our way down towards the fireworks,
what a beautiful welcome!!! back in our apartment I try ringing
relatives to no avail, only to discover my phones not connected
so the next morning I set out to contact my family of 3 brothers
and 3 sisters, finally managed to get hold of them and so it was
arranged that a brother was to pick us up, how do I know what he
looks like (who is he??) how would he know me... I told him that
there is 4 of us, so to look for the 4 outside our apartment The
Oudinot, I waited so nervously for his arrival, I found myself peering
at every car that drove past and believe me there were many coming
fast and regular...eventually I looked over my shoulder to my right
and there is this young man in a little hatch back waving at me,
beckoning me toward him... so off we went on a very fast journey
to his and his mothers place, I dint quite know what to say on this
journey, feeling very aware of my limited Portuguese tongue, reminiscing
the time my mother would tell me to roll my tongue when pronouncing
certain words,if only I made more of an effort to do this... my
brothers name is Duarte, I think he felt just as nervous because
not much was said between us or maybe he had a paralysed tongue
like me...I can hear you all scoffing at this thought of my tongue
being frozen,well it was!!! we arrive at their house to a very warm
welcome by Teresa(my fathers wife)her daughters(my sisters were
coming to meet us)Susanna and Maria Joao with their children and
husbands, what a treat... and so began a week of getting to know
my family and the realisation that blood is wayyyy thicker than
water...Ill be back with more soon...love Isabel xxx
Hi everyone, back to the Madeiran experience... my siblings here
consist of Maria Joao, Duarte,Susanna,Sonia, Ruben and Pedro...I
also have young nieces and nephew (Sara 9years, Joao 6years and
Ines 4 years)...I was warmly and invitingly made welcome by all,
even my fathers wife Teresa who happens to have a classic sense
of humor,and my sisters husbands Raul and Anselmo who took us pretty
much all over the island... I fell in love with these people (they
were easy to love)... they took us to some incredible sights...one
can only be amazed by the natural structure of Madeira, and doubly
amazed at how people could build on this island...like Adrian says
when walking through Madeira "your either up or down, there
doesn't seem to be much middle ground"... so hilly that its
so astounding at the want to live here must of been great in early
years... a real reflection of how us humans are creatures of adaptation...roads
are so narrow that if a bus is coming one way and a car or another
bus is coming the other, a driver must reverse and sometimes a fair
distance back... then theres pedestrians mixed in with no footpath,
Santa Maria!!!Also just to add more thrill to the danger there is
this touristy thing/attraction called Carreiros (basket carriages,
similar to taboggoning without the snow), these are made of a wicker
chair with upholstered seat and back, they can seat two or three
people, underneath the wicker chair there are two wooden sticks
like skis, this enables it to slide down pathways, controlled by
ropes held by two men called Carreiros, who stand and run beside
the basket carriages controlling the basket by using the ropes,
the speed is very fast (remember its hilly and the only way is down!!!)
and cars buses all use the same route as these carriages at the
same time... SANTA MARIA MADELENA!!! I pooped myself just watching...
I like safe risks (eg Adrian:)...Anselmo took some time off work
(his own business) and showed us some amazing places...one of my
favourite places we went to was called Curral Das Freiras which
is nestled in a valley in what is believed to be the crater of one
of many volcanoes that millions of years ago gave birth to Madeira,I
found this place to be the most picturesque on the island, the name
means Nuns Farmyard and acquired this name in 1560 due to it being
a refuge for nuns of the convent of Santa Clara in Funchal, fleeing
from French Lutheran pirates, and who found this to be an ideal
hiding place because its one of the few places in Madeira that is
not visible from the sea as well as not a very easy place to have
access to... so safe from the bastards!!! Another most amazing place
was Pico Do Areeiro, one of Madeiras highest peaks with an altitude
of 1818 metres, from here we could see the highest peak called Pico
Ruivo with and altitude of 1862 metres... the landscape was just
ruggard and breathtaking (reminding me of my first kiss...cant remember
his name, but never forgot the kiss:)On our second last day, every
family member set convoy around the whole of Madeira... this was
real magic... I saw the village where my mum and dad lived and remembered
the stories shared around the dinner table as a kid...we loved Madeira
and the sweet hosts/family...I now can understand my parents sense
of decor, they brought a big slice of Madeira with them, when they
immigrated to Australia (I guess like others do)...I could swear
I saw glimpses of Fremantle and Spearwood:) the food, the traditions,the
gardens, the religion, the whole culture was so easy to relate to
because of my upbringing...perhaps not something I appreciated as
a child, but something I now understand...I lost something on this
island and yet found much more... Im coming back here one day...my
only wish would be for my parents to come and see what I would imagine
to be changes from when they left this magical piece of world, 38
years ago...wish you were here, feeling what Im feeling... love
to all...love Isabel xxx |
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