MADEIRA

My friend who does my typing says this must be Madeira. Cant wait for these Ken. Your Sahara ones were fantastic and I always look forward to these travels of yours. Wish we had a bit of that warmth and sun over here !
Babs

I’m looking forward to your pictures too Ken, and yes, please bring us some sunshine home when you come 
Katt

Cheers Katt & Firefly. Hope you`ll enjoy.
The only trees ,climbers & flowers I`ll be posting will be uncultivated ones I came across in the sub-tropical forests , the hills, valleys and levada walks.
I had to make an exception of this one :-—- as its so abundant right across Madeira. Its known as the “Bird of Paradise” flower and its in most parks , gardens & where its spread to wild areas. There are many variations , but this one is the most common.

Ken.

And of course the tulip tree :-This particular one is taller than a three storey building.

Ken.

Madeira was totally unpopulated when discovered by accident by the Portugese about 590 years ago.
As most of the rainfall is to the North of the island , over the years hundreds of “levadas” have been carved out of the mountain sides to carry water to most parts of the south.
These lavadas consist of stone channels about 10″ wide & 10″ deep. They have a stone ledge at the side (also about 10″ wide) and this provides fantastic walks where otherwise it would be impossible to go. Many are not for the faint hearted — as I hope some of my pics will show.Ken.

Great stuff Ken. and did you get plenty of that fine Madeira wine ?

Yes.Lots thanks — and funnily enough I never bought a single glass. There`s folk giving you a glass for free all over the place. You usually get a complimentary glass when you pay your bill at restaurants (sometimes before you order as well as after you pay!). Also in many shops & even the fruit market.
Actually Madeiran wine as such is not so fine. In fact its because it didn`t travel or keep that they hit on the idea of fortifying it with brandy.
The two main products of Madeira are bananas & sugar cane and the latter is used in the brandy making.Its then added to the wine before storing for 5 to 10 years in wooden casks to produce the unique & excellent madeira as we know it.
Back to the levadas. Here`s an easy peasy one (see description of levadas above):-This one has a stone wall on one side & vegitation on the other so you can`t really fall off !
However the tunnel coming up wasn`t easy as it was only about 2 foot in height & you needed to be a contortionist to get through with one leg each side of the water channel on the very narrow ledges.

Ken.

However —– the levada gradually climbs, the vegetation to the left thins out and the sheer drop increases alarmingly :-Ken.

 Ken you were so brave to go up there ! It makes me dizzy just looking at the pictures,but what wonderful views I’d never have seen otherwise, thank you.
Katt 

Yes. I must admit it made me feel a bit dizzy at times as well. This one probably gives a better idea of the sheer drop down into the valley below:-Ken.

But the views were incredible . I took this one a bit further on :-The pic doesn`t do it justice. In places the flow/width is comparable to High Force but there is no comparison in height.
High Force is just over 200 ft. This one is about 1,500 ft high.

Ken.

The water provided by the levadas is precious and periodically the land owners have to get their application in for their quota. E.g. some may get 8-9am on Thurs & Sun — others 6-9pm Tues & Fri.
The supply is controlled by little “sluices” such as this one :-To the right you see the main supply levada(dark area) , then the sluice in the centre & then the individual supply channel running down northwest.

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 02 Jun 2008 06:13 pm, edited 4 times in total.

The “Levada men” open & shut these sluices according to a strict time table :-Ken.

The routes take you from the tranquil banana & sugar cane groves :-—– to the simply breath-taking:-

(If you look carefully at the different coloured fields down near the shoreline,you`ll get an idea of the height.)

Ken.

Brilliant Ken. What a lovely place Madeira looks.
Michelle

Look at the colour of that sea!

Brilliant Ken, I wish I was there now.

Everywhere you go in Madeira are banana trees so it worth a post or two on these. The banana flower alone is worth a pic :-Its about 25cms (10″ to us oldies) in length & dangles beneath the clump of bananas.

Ken.

Here`s one in situ :-The banana tree only produces one bunch in its entire lifetime.

Ken.

How come the plantations dont just disappear then ? 

We went there at Easter and they had the worst storms for years. The place was devastated. We were on the Atlantic side of the island facing what seemed like a hurricane. You can see in the earlier photo the height of some of the mountain roads. We were at the botttom of a location like that with rocks crashing off the mountain sides and water gushing in huge waterfalls around and on the hotel. One day I hope to go back and see Maderia in the sun.Looks like a lovely place.

Yes. I heard about the storms,Jopov.You were very unlucky & I`d certainly recommend going back again to see the island in all its spendour.Ken.

WillyLad wrote:How come the plantations dont just disappear then ? 

Because every banana tree has a shoot coming up from its roots which will replace the parent tree & produce next years bananas :-

Ken.

Some of the plants & flowers, just growing wild by the sides of the levadas, are quite incredible:-and some so colourful :-

Ken.

The beautiful Jacaranda tree which grows in such abundance all over the island & is in full bloom at this time of year :-Ken.

I reckon, out of all the trees I’ve ever seen, the Jacaranda is my very favourite. Beautiful.
Thanks Ken.

Great photos Ken-I don’t suppose you managed to get a cutting off the
Jacaranda tree? I suppose our climate wouldn’t really be suitable for it though. Very enjoyable,thanks.

Glad you enjoyed pics Benny & no,Rosebudkid, — never thought of cuttings!
Even the cacti (chopped down as weeds in Madeira) showed some nice flowers :-These were out in the wilds. I wait years for mine to produce flowers only a 10th of the size! 

Ken.

Last edited by Ken on 08 Jun 2008 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The Angel`s Trumpet could even be found in the forest :-Ken.

Not sure what this one was :-Ken.

Breath taking. Wow

Yes. I agree … lovely pics Ken. Any more to come ?
Michelle

Yes. Quite a few — mainly pretty and unusual plants/trees.flowers etc.
I`ll then move this topic to “Photographs”. Here`s one to be going on with :-Not so spectacular , but pretty :-

And another :-

Ken.

Even more lovely pictures Ken ! Thanks again for sharing them with us.
Katt 

Thanks Katt. Even some of the climbing vines were quite extraordinary.
This one reminded me of a picture in one of my childhood books of “Jack & the Beanstalk ” ! :-Ken.

I see what you mean Ken  hope there were no giants at the top  

Some of the “climbers” were just a pretty as the trees & flowers. This green one with red flowers was spectacular as it covered such a wide area :-Unfortunately that`s the only bit I could get in the frame as it was quite a hairy drop down from the levada & I had to lean right out to take that.

Ken.

And now for a few strange trees & fruits. I`m not sure what this one is :-or this :-

Ken.

Have you any more on Madeira ?