Madeira at 5:30 am
As Our Ship Nears Port
Madeira, Portugal
Typical View
View from the Top
Downtown Madeira
Stop to Sample the Wines
Another downtown view
Famous for its flowers, lace and wine, this Portuguese
island off the coast of Morocco to me was a blend of Hawaii and Napa
Valley. Madeira is a volcanic island
that virtually goes straight up with no flatlands.
The lower elevations have acres and acres of hand carved
terraces where bananas are grown on what they call plantations. As the
elevation increases you find vineyards replacing bananas as a crop.
Amazing when you see how difficult it must be to build a
house or grow a crop on a vertical plane. They must historically be a hearty
lot of people and perhaps this hardiness will get them through the current
difficult time.
Our tour guide mentioned that Madeira currently is
experiencing a 20% unemployment rate, has a VAT of 22% and wages have declined.
Yet as I walked the streets of downtown and was driven through various areas I
saw clean streets and parks and the absence of panhandlers, that one would
expect in such desperate times.
The population of the island is about 260,000 people with
around 110,000 living in the downtown area. Every home had beautiful flowers
growing in their gardens and not one weed in sight.
There are many five and four-star hotels that overlook the
water. Looks like a place I could easily come and visit for a couple of weeks.
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