32:44.50N 16:43.17W
Whisper
Noel Dilly
Wed 12 Sep 2012 20:59
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"Madeira - 12th
September"
What a great day we have had. Noel donned his boiler suit and helped a couple with their outboard engine which would not start, except that when he started it - it started, so nothing to be done there, except instructions on how to start it! He then helped our friends to lower and fold their two headsails as they are leaving their boat in storage here in Madeira over the winter and returning to their home in Austria. After lunch we set off to find the fossil beds which are close by, little did we know what beauty would unfold itself as we ventured away from the marina and it's village. Firstly, we found that beyond the front of the village visible to us from the boat, there was plenty of activity, in the progress of building walls, landscape gardening, block paving work, so the village is still in its building phase. Also there have been signs of marketing etc, so hopefully the project is just not yet complete and will eventually be a success. We saw a sea water swimming pool which is under construction, the state of the tide meant that no work was underway until the tide went out. However when we returned, three adventurous children were enjoying the facility now that the tide was below the wall despite it not being finished! Our walk took us steeply upwards and I was beginning to wonder at our choice of activity in the heat of the day. We had plenty of water, sunscreen and hats so that was not a concern. The hillside landscape was glorious, volcanic wherever you looked, red volcanic ash, moon milk beds, grey lava flows even a yellow fumerole, a geologists paradise. All this visible from the road. Eventually we found a sort of footpath and headed on upwards in search of the fossil bed. The path was rocky and unclear but we were busy looking for mudstone areas where the fossils would be. We came to a small quarried area and were totally surprised to see four whimbrels below us. We know these as waders on our muddy Essex shores, to see four of them high up on a dry rocky volcanic area of an Atlantic island was somewhat a surprise. We continued upwards enjoying the views along the southern coastline until we reached the summit. Now we were amazed, the views allowed us to look along the island with both north and south coastlines visible, the north high rocky cliffs and the south more sloping and inhabited. We continued on our way towards the spied ice cream van at an obvious vista spot! The view here was quite a sight. I can best describe the jagged spires of rocks coming out of the sea and the cliffs behind, as like looking into a fire, the reds and greys of the pillars of basaltic rock are incredible. The ice cream was good too and most welcome, but was eaten too quickly as it went into melt down once unwrapped! We then wandered our way back down the various volcanic flows, staying on the ridges where possible. Eventually we were back on the road below the small church high on a hill. We decided to wander up there as it is above the marina and would have a wonderful view. Also there is a festival this coming weekend to mark the end of the fishing season. A statue of the Madonna will be brought from the neighbouring village by fishing boat, to the marina and carried up to the church. We had seen some activity on the path from our vantage point earlier, so decided to take a look. Last night many flags had been erected around the church. When we reached the summit we found a group of seven or eight teenage youngsters busy decorating the outside of the church with wire strings covered with hand made flowers. They had carried these enormous bundles up the rocky steps to the church. They were so very happy to be doing this activity and wanted to tell us about is, so called forward their best English speaking friend! We wandered back down the steps and were very amused to see one of the youngsters, also going down to his car, take the straight route down the steep slope at speed! We wondered if the statue might be brought back down the same way! |