In this category you will find posts about Madeira’s cultural heritage. This includes subjects about Madeira’s music, music instruments, folk dance, art scene and history, and several contributions about Madeira’s never ending festival calendar. We also have the official calendar for you.
The Monte Toboggan Run or Monte Wicker sledges When I asked my son’s girlfriend whether she wanted to slide down a really steep and almost polished road from Monte to Funchal in a big Monte wicker basket on wooden skis, she thought I was crazy. Monte Wicker Basket rides are, however, one of Madeira’s most …
Madeira Embroidery The sub-tropical island is world famous for its delicate hand embroidery. As a result, Madeira hand embroidery is part of of the island’s culture and history. Furthermore, it is one of the economic pillars along with Madeira wine, tourism and bananas. History of Embroidery on Madeira Embroidery seemingly started at the same time …
Madeira Festivals. Many joyful events happen on Madeira all year long. Here is a handy calendar of some of the more important celebrations and festivals on the island. Madeira is a very versatile tourism destination offering peace and quiet, adrenaline filled activities but also many festivals, religious pilgrimages, shows and culture. Because of this grand …
The ukulele The Ukulele is a well-known music instrument originating in a sunny sub-tropical and volcanic island in the middle of the Ocean. The island is famous for its dense and lush vegetation and its fertile volcanic soil. Many vegetables and fruit sorts grow effortlessly on the island. This piece of land was known for …
What is the Solar do Aposento This Solar (Portuguese for manor house) is located at Ponta Delgada. It was just recently opened to the public (spring of 2018) by the municipality of Sao Vicente. Aposento meaning retreat, a visit to this well preserved manor takes us back to the 19th century. At the time Ponta …
The Sugar Museum of Funchal The City of Sugar museum makes for a nice and informative activity in downtown Funchal. The City of Funchal set up the Museum A Cidade do Açúcar (The City of Sugar). It opened to the public for the first time in October of 1996. It underwent a thorough renovation and …
Engenhos do Norte Rum distillery In Porto da Cruz, a small village located in the North Eastern part of Madeira, an ancient rum distillery testifies the importance of sugarcane for Madeira. Ancient steam engines set the working pace in this distillery. The original factory workers still maintain and keep the equipment operational. But in spite …
Whales While many visitors prefer to witness sea mammals in their natural habitat, this Whale Museum describes Madeira’s whaling history. Interestingly, whales contribute to Madeira’s economy. However, the relationship changed. First, Madeirans killed whales to earn a living (luckily not as a sport) and now they protect them. Doing so, Madeirans developed a new business; …
Summer months The Summer months from June to September are very festive on Madeira. These are also the harvest months. The festivities are a “reward” for the hard work during the rest of the agricultural cycle / year. Thus, these months are a time filled of joy, celebration, fullness and gratitude. Christianity absorbed these joyous …
Coffee is the heartbeat of the community Coffee is akin to religion (no offense) to many Portuguese. The Portuguese are partially responsible for the universal success of coffee, when Sr de Mello Palheta was sent from Brazil to French Guiana to fetch a coffee plant in 1727. In the following years, the Portuguese established the …
Between 2018 and 2020 Madeira will be celebrating it’s 600th anniversary (that is counting from it’s discovery). Various events and festivities mark the anniversary. Anno 1418 The discovery of the island of Porto Santo belonging to the Madeira archipelago happened 600 years ago, in 1418. The vessels of navigators João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz …
