Unique Property Blog

Madeira Part 2

I have now been all round the island. My conclusions are that the best place for anyone wanting to move here is to stick to Funchal. There are several reasons for this. First, the airport is close to the city (ten miles). The city faces south, and catches the sun, and is protected from cold winds from the north by the mountainous interior of the island.

The eastern part of the island is not somewhere people seem to like, and we found it a bit disturbing. We went to Machico, which is just to the north-east of the airport. The valley is pleasant enough, and the views are great. Unfortunately, this seemed very much like hicksville. I tried to find a bus to take me to the next village. No-one could help me. I tried bus drivers, I tried the information office. I draw a blank. I then tried taxi drivers. I questioned 13 before I could find someone who knew what I was talking about. Excuse me, but that’s ridiculous. I think the area suffers from a serious case of inbreeding.

We also found the most disgusting set of lavatories we have seen in years in the bus station. If you want to go back in time then maybe this is for you. I was pleased to get back to Funchal.



We also visited the north of the island and the west. Everyone says ‘The west is best, forget the rest’. I can see what they mean. I will post a video of some of the spots I visited to give you an idea of the scope of the island.

Before you look at that, do remember that in Funchal pretty well everyone speaks English, they are polite, pleased to see you, helpful, and cheerful. Out in the sticks most people still speak English, though not so much in the East. Why that is I don’t know.

There are no other towns of significance. If you like a quiet village style town, and a slower life, go west. If you like more activity and sophistication, stay in the city.

The centre of the island is mountainous with a vengeance. It is also cold and windy up top in winter. We also found the north coast very windy and cold, after all it does face the North Atlantic, and the steep mountains between you and the sun make it considerably colder on that side of the island.



The roads are winding and narrow. Around Funchal there are tunnels galore to bore your way through the ridges. Getting about is pretty easy, but be prepared for tortuous side roads, and access to some parts of the island is hair-raising.

Generally speaking, we found folk to be welcoming and helpful. Only in Camara do Lobos did we come across rip-off artists, with coffee priced at 70 cents for locals and two euros for tourists. Don’t pay two euros, plonk seventy cents down on the counter, or leave the bar. Don’t encourage the blighters.



We also found this town to be full of the unemployed. Everywhere we went were groups of men wandering around, or playing cards, with seemingly nothing else to do. The excuse was that they were fishermen who work at night, which begs the question of why they weren’t in bed catching up with some well-earned sleep.

Property prices are too high. Folk are not earning much. Wherever we went there was the same complaint: people are employed on a short term basis. In our hotel they were all on six month contracts. Even nurses had the same type of employment contract. This means none of these people can obtain mortgages. Wages are low, work is scarce, and many look to leave the island if they want to improve their living standards. On the other hand, they are fiercely patriotic, and defend their island with some vehemence. I guess they are reluctant to leave, and I can certainly see why.

This means there is no local market strength, and prices must fall. There will be no rises here for some time. There are several hotels which have been started and abandoned. There are also apartment blocks which are largely empty to the west of the city.

I will probably return. The weather is delightful, so long as you don’t mind rather more than one’s fair share of gales. I am writing this in the middle of january, sitting indoors wearing just shorts and a tee-shirt. It does get colder, but there is no frost down by the coast, and the tomato plants are thriving. It also does not get too hot. After all, there are banana plants everywhere, so you can almost call this a sub-tropical island.



(How about this for access to your house? See those houses way down below? This is the only way in except by sea.)

One thing you don’t get and that is sandy beaches. You have to go to Porto Santo forty odd miles away for those. This is a rocky island, and any beach is covered with rocks.

If you come, do try the local wines, they are perfectly drinkable, and of course, the wines known abroad simply as Madeira are superb. There is also a good selection of very fine restaurants, and I can recommend the sopa de trigo (which is a meal in itself costing pennies), tomato and onion soup with sliced boiled egg, picada, which is beef cut into small cubes and served with a delicious sauce. They also go in for scabbard fish with banana. That dish is ubiquitous. I haven’t tried it yet, mainly because I am suffering from a surfeit of bananas.

I’ve dropped a few pictures into this blog, but do check out the videos I am producing for my Facebook page. And do give me a Like when you land on the page, it helps me with my ratings.

The videos cover tourist sites, christmassy events, the new year fireworks celebrations, folk dancing, and street life in Funchal. I shall be adding more videos as time goes by. I even filmed the whole of the fireworks display, so you get the full eight minutes. That is on YouTube. Here’s a clickable link: Funchal New Year Fireworks Display 2015.

Hope you find this interesting. Best wishes from a rather nice island in the middle of the ocean.

john

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