Many of our friends overseas have been wondering how we are, and how we cope with life on Madeira under lockdown, which is, in practice, what the state of emergency entails. Frankly, it really looks like panic and sensationalism have come to a halt since we have received clear rules that belong to the state…
Author: Peter Groen
Peter was born in Amsterdam in 1949. He has a history in PR and copywriting. Now, part time resident of the Island of Madeira of over 10 years, he writes about Madeira, its culture, its overwhelming nature, its food and drink, and about everything concerning travel to and on this beautiful island.
State of emergency for Madeira
So what we expected already happened yesterday: the state of emergency for Madeira – and in the whole of Portugal – is a fact. That all sounds pretty scary, but it’s only really scary if we don’t know what it all means for us. We had to wait a while for more news, but last…
Madeira in Lockdown?
As expected, last night the state of emergency was declared in Portugal, including the autonomous regions of Madeira and Açores. Today, we really were expecting heavy measures and further restrictions, but fortunately, for now, there haven’t been any that weren’t already in place. Compulsory quarantine for people disembarking from abroad, including the Portuguese mainland, stays…
Madeira free of Coronavirus
Update of june 12, 2020 Since this article was first published on March 5th, a lot has happened. Of course, with the first signs of covid-19 arriving on the Island, we all were very worried. If the virus would have had free range here, it would have ended in an uncontrollable disaster. Health care is…
Walking the Levada do Norte: from Boa Morte to Serra de Agua
Living in Madeira, albeit part-time, from November through April, is a lovely experience. But there are some days that are extra special, like yesterday when we did ‘one of these walks’. Now, we have posted many stories about our walks already, especially in the Dutch pages and I had reached a point where I thought…
fire in Madeira
The last two days were somewhat scary. Criminals have – for the umpteenth time – started forest fires in Madeira. Little can be said about the motives. But angry tongues do say that there are companies on Madeira that make a lot of money by repairing damage caused by fire. And when they say to…
Levadas: one of Madeira’s best-known features.
Anyone who has ever visited the Portuguese Island Madeira knows that one of the best-known features of the island is the network of levadas. But there aren’t many sites that explain what these levadas are for, how and when they were built, how their maintenance is done and by whom, and what their significance is…
Christmas Lights in Funchal
If we, in the North, are already excited if Christmas decorations appear before the first of Decembeer, here in Madeira decorations of houses and gardens start early November, and in the city of Funchal and elsewhere the first work teams of the municipality appear to put on Christmas lights. We always wait until very close…
Happy 2020 with the Funchal Fireworks!
With the spectacular Funchal fireworks of last night, we wish you all a fantastic 2020. May it bring you everything you hope for! Like last year and many years before, we like to celebrate New Years Eve en the arrival of the new year with a nice dinner with friends in Reataurante Miradouro, well positioned…
Madeiran migrants
If you’re a bit familiar with Madeira, you know that a lot of old houses are empty, slowly decaying, collapsing and falling into ruin eventually. Especially if you come a bit further from the capital Funchal. There are reasons for that. Until the nineteenth century, one of the pillars of the island economy was sugar…
