....is an adjective which is not exaggerating to describe the magnificent landscape and scenery of the Madeira island. Some call it rightfully the European Hawaii.
After 10 days at anchor in the Harbour of Porto Santo, I had a fast downwind sail to Funchal, Madeira, some 40nm south-west.
As there are a lot of yachts from Northern Europe and the Med gathering in this region at this time of the year to prepare the jump over the Atlantic Ocean, it is somewhat difficult to get a place in the marinas. I already experienced this on Porto Santo where I had to anchor inside the port which was OK as there was only little swell. However, after arriving in Funchal, I had to wait 3 days at anchor just outside of the port with a terrible swell. In addition the anchor depth was at the limit for the length of my chain. Thus, whenever you leave the boat, you have a unsecure feeling knowing that the anchor place is anything else but not safe. Thus, in general you only leave the boat for a short time e.g. just to buy some groceries.
After finally getting a place in the Marina, I rented a scooter and explored this magnificent island. The first day of course in shorts and T-shirt - stupid me - not considering that I climbed up the mountains to a height of some 1800m and passing several rain fronts. Soaked to the skin I had to rest for 3 hours in a shelter to stop my body shaking before being able to descend back to the coast line where I could warm up and dry. Luckily I did not catch a cold.....
Here a few first impressions:
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