By Sheila Watts features@algarveresident.com
Sheila Watts is author of the popular language books Practical Portuguese and Progress with Portuguese. Having been a language teacher in the UK, Sheila and her husband John moved to the Algarve in 1987. In this article, she tells us about her recent holiday on post-storm Madeira Island.
Madeira? What do you want to go there for?”, “Don’t you know Madeira’s been washed away?”
This was what John and I heard when we said we were going to Madeira for a visit booked last year when easyJet launched their new route out of Lisbon with irresistible prices.
 It’s business as usual in Madeira. |
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We hadn’t been to the island for years and were looking forward to flowers, bananas and, hopefully, a bit more sunshine than we’ve been having during this rain-sodden winter.
February’s tragic storm was, of course, all too clear in our minds when we saw scenes of devastation on TV and read about ‘rivers of mud’ in the centre of Funchal – just where we were booked to stay.
However, after only two days, the Portuguese press was reporting a massive clean-up operation, and the island was officially pronounced ‘in business again’.
Since the island’s business is mainly tourism, we had no second thoughts and have just returned from a memorable few days in Funchal.
What we found was staggering. Firstly because of the sheer force of nature which caused such a volume of rock and earth to be washed from ‘up there’ in the mountains to ‘down here’, as the proprietor of our city centre hotel put it.
The two main waterways running right through the city were the main conduits of the floods.
Secondly, what struck us was the extent and intensity of the clean-up operation. “We’re all in this together” was the comment. “The tourists must still come”.
Work goes on round-the-clock and under floodlights at night. There are teams of lorries and earthmovers shifting thousands of tons of rock and earth onto Funchal waterfront to make a vast extension – there’s nowhere else to put the stuff.
Team work
There are teams reinforcing the waterways. There are teams shovelling sludge from drains and cleaning underground carparks, which had been under metres of water. There are hosepipes snaking everywhere and the constant sound of water pumps. The traffic lights in the centre are still out of action, but traffic circulates with tolerance, and tourists jaywalk with impunity.
If this gives an impression of chaos, nothing is further from the truth. The banana-yellow buses, great for getting around the island, are all running to schedule, and that means on the minute, not ‘mais ou menos’.
The central market, a riot of colour with ladies in traditional red costumes, has just the same tropical flowers and mounds of local produce. Cruise liners are calling into the port. Businesses that had been out of action are all re-opening with special attractions, or else tell you what provisional arrangements they have made.
But it was in restaurants that we were really able to hear of first-hand experiences. In one, the entire staff worked to get the place cleaned and decorated. They were only closed for three days but said that they are serving less clients than usual. In another, which has evening Fado performances, a meeting was called about redundancies, but everyone volunteered to work without pay rather than lose their jobs. “We just have to keep smiling and stay optimistic,” said one lady.
Comments like these are what made me decide to write this article.
Madeira has always been a delightful place for a winter visit; tourism is civilised and not garish. The airport is compact and efficient, and while English is spoken everywhere,Madeiran Portuguese is much more intelligible than Algarvian!
It will be a shame if misconceptions about the storm damage deter people from visiting and providing vital help for the recovery effort.
You can find out about Madeira on the internet or wherever, and the Azorean airline SATA is due to start direct flights there from Faro shortly.
So if you’ve ever thought about going there, do so now. If you haven’t, think about it, and at the very least spread the word that Madeira is open for business.
