Little green island
Well, this is the first entry in quite a while. Globe trotting has been low on the list of viable activities, as the world has inhaled and just held its breath for the last 20 months.
Of course mankind is not out of the woods yet as far as covid is concerned, but certain wealthy countries are far enough along in their vaccination programmes to be able to return to a kind of new normal. So in trying to avoid countries which are still in disarray, I’ve ended up just about as far South as is possible in Europe. Well, technically speaking Europe that is: Greetings from the island of Madeira, Portugal.
Things I knew about Madeira before landing:
It’s an island.
It’s green.
It’s a great place for hiking.
It’s also a sweet alcoholic beverage.
And lastly, Madeirans knit awesome hats with big bobbles on top (had one, lost it, need a new one).
Cristiano Ronaldo - greatest football player in the world (ask any local) was born in Madeira. And they have a CR7-museum dedicated to him to prove it. Oh, and a snazzy larger than life statue. Oh, and his face splattered all over the international airport.
There’s a rather cute old town where the oldest buildings are from the 16th century - easily predating aything Helsinki has to offer in the bricks and mortar department.
Madeira is all about mountains. Cities, such as Funchal, are perched on narrow strips of land between the mountains and the sea. And since Funchal keeps growing, it’s overflowed up the side of the hills to the tops of the closest mountains. The night vista reminds me of La Paz, though on a smaller scale: the lights of houses rising up the side of the dark mountains look like stars in the sky.
The city also boasts a botanical garden with a view
And a cable car with a view.
But the best of Madeira is not its cities, but its beautiful nature.
More on which in the next episode, since trust me: I’m walking the walk.
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