Category: gossip and chit-chat

With traditional and spectacular Funchal fireworks, we celebrated the passing of the turbulent year 2025. We were there live, and luck was on our side. Were the storm Francis caused a lot of problems and threatened to drown the event, the rain stopped when we left Fajã da Ovelha, and the poor visibility, which could…

I think it is time to talk about something that has been discussed by many in recent years: The irresponsible behaviour of many tourists who visit Madeira. Though this includes people who pass barriers and go too close to the sea when the sea state is rough, or people who decide to go swimming in…

During a trip to Funchal yesterday, it struck me again. Many foreigners – i.e. tourists – on the island are unaware of the Portuguese traffic rules regarding how to “take” a roundabout. This often leads to accidents, because they behave in a way that is not in line with how we pass a roundabout here.…

A stay on the island of Madeira is often a life altering experience. The island’s natural beauty is unequalled, and people often marvel to see such diversity in landscapes on such a small island. The vegetation is lush, and in every season there are always flowers to be found, many of them very exotic. Most…

One of Madeira´s yearly attractions is the Festa da Flor da Madeira, the Madeira Flower Festival, held in the month of May. This year, it is from the 1st till the 25th of May. Click here for the information given by the official Web Site Visit Madeira, and you can find some more information here.…

Like every summer, from a distance, we follow the Madeiran news about bush fires. There are many eucalyptus trees on the island, and the leaves they drop are easy fuel for any spark dropped, accidentally or on purpose. We have had our share of bush fires in Fajã da Ovelha, and though some of them…

I do realise this is a bit of a scary header. But, rest assured, you have seldom read a more reassuring article on scary animals. Even though Madeira is a subtropical island, where all kinds of nasty critters would thrive because of the climate, there are no poisonous or otherwise dangerous animals in Madeira. For…

One of Madeiras most stunning areas is the Fanal forest high up on the North side of the island. The Latin name of the gnarled trees in the Fanal forest is Ocotea Foetens. It is one of the many Laurel species and some of them are 600 years old. Unesco World Heritage The Fanal forest…

A great deal has already been written about Corona and the measures that go with it, and about life on Madeira in a pandemic. I, too, have wasted more words than is good for us. But after a year and a half of the pandemic, we can safely say that life in Madeira has remained…

In spite of the fact that we were assured by the secretary of our local ‘Centro de Saúde’, and in spite of the fact that the national Portuguese government decreed that anyone who is in Portuguese territory, for whatever reason, is entitled to get the covid jab, we were pleasantly surprised by the phone call…