Spring in Madeira

Canary island geraniums and ferns near Pico das Pedras, on the Northern coast of Madeira. Late evening of a rainy June day.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Nikkor DX 18-55mm AF-S G VR kit lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Fanal - The pristine nature

Some years ago, motivated by a off-duty morning that was promising to be another waiste of precious and useful time if I stayed at home, I drove to the high plateau of Paúl da Serra, with the Fanal Laurissilva rain forest as the final destination.

Approaching this pristine parcel of nature for the first time was indeed a surprise, especially driving along the recently-built ER 209 (Regional Road 209). This strip of tarmac snaking along the primitive forest, particularly the length between Paúl da Serra and Ribeira da Janela, is also a delight to ride if you are a biker:

Nearby, and in a mostly paralell track alongside the ER 209, the PR 13 hiking route is a charming and easy-going trail, suitable for all of those who want to have an  all-around introduction to the Madeira pedestrian nature tourism with the least phisical effort. Just make sure, in advance, that the weather is clear. Most of the times it isn't. Fanal is well known for its foggy weather:

Albeit being a well preserved natural landscape, the Fanal forest also has its share of human presence. Althought not as intensive as decades ago, the pecuary activity still survives in this corner of the Madeiran territory. Shepherd's shelters are common as is livestock alongside the road. All this adds to the enchantment of the place. Just drive safely and slowly, avoiding stressing the animals:

Pictures taken with Nikon Coolpix P7100. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

Moonless night

According to the astro-photographers, moonless nights are the best to make this particular type of photography. The reason for that is obvious: most of the time the moonlight is so intense that, for the exposure needed to correctly record the celestial bodies, all the foregrounds will be prohibitively over-exposed. Most of the times pictures are taken above ISO 3200, with shutter speeds around 20 to 30 seconds (more than that and you risk star trails on the final image) and apertures between f/1.4 and f/4.0.

This particular case, althought not even close to be considered a good photograph, gives you a general idea: I wanted to shot the Milky Way against a mountain humanized foreground. So I choose the Achada do Teixeira abandoned hut/restaurant, at 1600 mts above sea level, as my foreground. Placed the camera on tripod and choose my point of view for composition. ISO 6400, f/4.0 and 30 secs exposure gave me the best result possible for the Milky Way. Problem was that the hut would become a dark, textureless, shadow using those parameters. Increasing the exposure to lit the hut would only burn out the sky, due to the residual amber light reflected to the atmosphere from the villages down under, at sea level.

So I opted instead to "paint" with light, for about twenty seconds while the shutter was open, just a little bit of the foreground, from the position where I stood with the camera and with a simple pen-sized-chinese-made LED torch, powered by two small AAA alcaline batteries.
That a modern digital camera sensor can suck so much light from such a weak light source is to me beyond believe. I can easily imagine that twenty five years ago to have the same lighting effect on the set of a movie production with a motion film camera you'd need at least twenty thousand Watts of light to achieve the same result. Now all you need is a highly sensitive digital sensor and a pocket flash light.
So, although I'd say this modest example is light-years away to be considered photographic art, I think you (no pun intended) get the picture.
Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Vivitar manual 24mm f/2.8 lens. Sirui Travel T005 light tripod and kit ball-head. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

The Paul da Serra plateau

A curious flat formation, The Paul da Serra high plateau, located on the West part of Madeira, adds a twist of monotony in an island almost entirely dominated by an aggressive geological morphology.

With an area of roughly 25 square kilometres and an average high above sea level of nearly 1500 mts, the high plateau of Paul da Serra is also one of the most important drainage basins in Madeira. In fact, this plateau, dryer during the Summer months, is a place of almost eternal fogs during the Winter season. Its ability to collect water from the atmosphere is obvious during those wet months, during whose the Paul da Serra plateau usually houses several lagoons, which normally dry out as the wet season changes towards the Summer months.

In fact, this characteristic is so obvious that its name was well given: "Paul" in Portuguese means pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the pictures:

The Paul da Serra plateau, a dry, high, plane during the Summer months, becomes, due to the maritime climate, a moisture magnet during the Winter season. Its natural shape, associated to the climatic factor, makes it one of the most important water-collecting basins in the whole island. In fact the numerous ponds appearing during the Winter months can even be, as once was demonstrated, suitable for wind-surf. The obvious windy nature of the place makes it one of the best places in Madeira for wind farms, as we can see by the numerous wind turbines that nowadays decorate this vast altitude plain.

 

All the pictures taken with Nikon F100 and Nikkor AF 28-105mm kit lens and Manfrotto tripod. Fujichrome Velvia ASA 50 scanned in Nikon Coolscan V ED and post-processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

S. Jorge old pier

Once the gateway to the Northern coast of the island, the old pier of S. Jorge remains today a testimony of hardship. From a time when, in absence of good roads, connecting the main locations of the island, the transportation of passengers and goods, from South to North, was assured by open hull wooden cargo boats called "carreireiros".

From those times a few piers still survive all over the island. Mainly used by tourists, looking for a photo opportunity, and by local fishermen, looking for the next catch.

Among them, S. Jorge's, located a short stroll away from Ribeira de S. Jorge's mouth, is probably the one with the most vertiginous access. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.

 

Pictures taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AI lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Ribeira de S. Jorge mouth

The Ribeira de S. Jorge mouth, with its stream flowing directly to the sea, today at evening time, on the North coast of Madeira.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma EX 10-20mm f/4-5.6 DC HSM. Cokin Neutral Density Degradé, ref. 122, P system. Manfrotto tripod and geared head. Post-processing in Nikon View NX2 an Adobe Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Echoes of Switzerland

On 1998, during my InterRail Winter sojourn around Europe, I passed though Switzerland on my way to the Eastern countries. In a nation built over a dramatic orography, Swiss citizens had (and learnt) to be resourceful in order to occupy every inch of useful land available.

When the train left the station and the apparent safety of the green valley below, the alpine landscape unfolded before me and so did the human ingenuity to conquer it. The conventional train, unable to vanquish those steep gradients, was a black spot on the faraway station left behind, while our present transport, a cog train - similar to the former Caminho de Ferro do Monte, and wise replacement of the previous one - was leading me to the alpines meadows of the Kleine Scheidegg, right below the monstrous North face of the Ogre and well above the tree line.

On the way up, Milka look-a-like cows and farmers were both taking care of their own private businesses, two steps away from the nearest one-thousand-meter precipice with an easy-going attitude and tranquillity as if they were taking an evening stroll along the Lido Promenade.

At the time I thought this was as extreme as we humans could be. Well, as we all know, where there are humans (or cognitive animals, for that matter) there are also boundaries to be broken. And there are almost no limits to engineering.

On the particular subject of men versus orographic environment, Madeira is, hands down, our little Switzerland.

With a volcanic substrate carved by millions of years of erosive forces, Madeira's landscape is as dramatic as it can possibly be.

And also here the human inventiveness knows no limits in order to overcome the difficulties.

You need to carry heavy weights over a steep mountain trail, suitable only for people or pack animals, but you have to do it with some kind of motorized transportation?

Well, there's a solution for that too!

The reforestation operation taking place by these days along the mountain trail heading to the island's highest peak is being helped by a mechanized assistant, rarely seen in Madeira's "adventureland":

The Kubota KC110H, a small crawler dumper, built for restricted spaces, although not pretty, looked quite effective for the task.

Climbing the steps on the trail seemed to be the most delicate manoeuvre for the machine. Well, if you cannot ride it, you can always walk along with it. Just like motorbiking. On these particular parts of the trail, the additional grip given by the rubber caterpillar tracks makes a difference. It's hard to imagine that a cargo-carrying machine can advance through this terrain. Naturally, steady hands from the driver are paramount.

Pictures taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma EX 10-20mm 1:4-5.6 DC HSM and Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Macro. Fill-flash (on the top picture) provided by Metz 54MZ-3 in Auto mode, with -2/3 EV correction. Post-processing of the original JPEG files in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1.

From Pico do Areeiro to Pico Ruívo - PR 1 - The new route

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the trail between the two highest peaks in Madeira is open, since last April, for traffic, following the repairs that took place after the landslide. Today, six months after the conclusion of the work, the opinions regarding its effectiveness diverge, being most of the hikers skeptic about the durability of the chosen option: the construction of a whole new section of the trail, instead of repairing the damaged one. Many believe the new route will not survive the Winter season approaching and the consequent worsening weather conditions. Time will tell.

Regardless of the decision's technical questionability, the fact is this was a strenuous work for a group of construction workers, since all the materials, due to the remoteness of the location, had to be carried by human portage, including an eighty-kilograms generator.

The photos below, taken one day before the official public opening, gives us a vision of the structures built in-situ to surpass the terrain obstacles.

Picture above:

On the afternoon of the last working day, a team of surveyors and construction workers retreat from the newly-finished trail and head on to Achada do Teixeira, ending an intervention that lasted nearly four months.

All photos taken with Nikon D40X and cheap Nikkor 18-55mm DX kit lens. Post-processing of the NEF to TIFF converted files in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Levada dos Cedros - P.R. 14

The Levada dos Cedros has one of the most handsome sources in all the Madeira's levadas. However, as strange as it may seem, this path is not as visited as its nearest neighbours, in Rabaçal valley. Hidden deep in Fanal, this hike is, nevertheless, a pleasurable one, taking you deep into the Laurissilva forest.

The departure point to Levada dos Cedros source, nearby the ER 209 (Regional Road).

 

Description:

Departure position:

Lat:   32º49'33"N

Long: 017º09'29"W

Altitude: 870 mts

Source (arrival) position:

Lat:    32º47'57"N

Long: 017º08?39"W

Altitude: 910 mts

 

Distance: 5.4 kms

Time:       aprox. 1h30m

The round hike (from departure to departure) will take you about three hours on the trail and nearly eleven kilometres of walking.
 

Wooden bridge in Levada dos Cedros...

The always luxurious vegetation is a constant presence, as we proceed deeper into the Laurissilva, heading to the source of the levada.

The remote and luxuriant source of Levada dos Cedros, deep inside the primeval forest of Fanal. A well-kept Garden of Eden, rightfully deserving a visit and the 5.5 kms long approach march.
Pictures made with Nikon D40X with Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens and Nikon Coolpix P7100. Tripod Sirui T005 for the last picture.
Post-processing of the converted Nikon NEF Raw to TIFF files in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1.

Summer spirit

As the Summer advances, the religious festivities multiply all over Madeira. These fairs and festivals, peaking during the month of August, are normally organized by the municipalities' parishes as an homage to their patron saint.

In the end, more than a religious experience, these events end up being great social meetings, gathering not only the locals but also the tourists and the emigrants of the Madeira diaspora, who return to their homeland to review family and friends.

Among the biggest, the Arraial dos Lameiros, in São Vicente, during the first weekend of August, is, probably, the most loved one.

Thousands of people in the streets, religious ceremonies in a beautifully decorated chapel, music, party, food and the typical "poncha" within one of the most enchanted natural and human landscapes of Madeira.

Picture taken last Saturday night in Lameiros, North coast, with Nikon Coolpix P7100 and Sirui T005 tripod and ball head. Post-processing in Nikon Capture NX-D and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Montado do Pereiro

 

Both pictures taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma DC 18-50mm f/2.8 EX Macro HSM. Hoya HMC Super 77mm Circular Polarizer. Manfrotto tripod and ball head.

For more informations, please check the DRFCN site.

P.R. 1 is now open

Concluding a strenuous work which started on the past January, a team of construction workers finished today the repair of the most celebrated of all the Madeira mountain trails: the PR 1, connecting the highest peaks of Madeira.

Just in time to be ready for the present year's edition of the MIUT (Madeira Island Ultra Trail), scheduled for the next Saturday, the repair operations suffered several meteorological setbacks, namely rainy and snowy conditions, forcing the constructers to slow down.

Well, better later than never. And the island's trail event, growing famous year after year, will, once again, have on its route the notorious path connecting Pico Ruívo to Pico do Areeiro.

The Pico Ruívo mountain hut will be, once again, a mandatory passage for all the athletes participating in the present year's MIUT. Here pictured yesterday, at midnight, during a particularly amazing and clear blue sky.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Sigma Aspherical 24mm f/1.8 D EX DG Macro mounted on Sirui T-005 travel tripod and ball-head.

Post processing in Nikon View NX2 (conversion from NEF to TIFF) and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.2

Madeira - First Snowfall of 2014

 

A few pictures of the first snowfall of the present year of 2014 in the mountains of our Madeira island. The pictures were made yesterday (the 16th), in a short walk during the afternoon, when the roads to the central massif were opened by the Forestal Police and the Civil Protection, thus enabling us to hike from the Achada do Teixeira plateau to the Pico Ruívo mountain hut.

The conditions for photography were not the best, because the afternoon on the mountain was grey, windy and wet.

So we skipped the visit to the peak itself, since it served no purpose whatsoever. We remained in the mountain hut area, trying to make the best of the winter conditions laying in front of us.

Through all the hike the air temperature varied between 0ºC and +2ºC and the humidity remained near 100%.

Pictures made at a altitude of 1775 mts, near the mountain hut, with a Nikon D40X and cheap Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S GII ED DX kit lens. Post-processing in Nikon View NX2 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1.

Bee polinizing

Bee polinizing a wild flower near the Achada do Teixeira plateau.

Picture taken handheld with Nikon D40X and Sigma DC 18-50mm f/2.8 EX Macro HSM zoom lens. Post-processing of converted NEF to TIFF file in Nikon View NX 2 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Ilhéu Mole on a Winter night

The Ilhéu Mole is a small islet located on the NW coast of Madeira island, near the village of Porto Moniz.

A small lighthouse was erected on its top plateau, powered by solar panels.

Technical details:
Name: Ilhéu Mole lighthouse
Location: North-western coast of Madeira island
Position: 32º 52'N 017º 09''W
Height: 3mts
Focal height: 65mts above sea level
Range: W - 10nm R - 8nm
Characteristic: Fl WR 5s

Picture taken on a stormy evening, a few days ago, with Nikon D610 and Nikkor AF-D 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5. Sirui T 005 travel tripod and ball-head. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Rural tourism

As the 35th most visited country in the world in 2012 (numbers from the UNWTO), Portugal has, since several decades ago, a mature tourism sector.

The Portuguese hospitality is legendary, and it's rare to find a foreign citizen issuing negative comments on account of a bad touristic experience in our country.

The reasons for this are quite simple: we are a small country and thus (at least for now) quite safe. There are no internal fractures that threatens the nation's social stability, since we, besides being a state, are also a nation (the oldest nation state in Europe, in fact; independent since 1139 and with its sovereignty recognized by the Pope Alexander III, on the year 1179).

On the other hand, we are naturally curious for other cultures. Contrary to the present general philosophy of the so-called (wanna-be)hegemonic states worldwide, we do enjoy to learn. And what a better way to do that than talking to a foreigner. Learning is what we've been doing since the Discoveries.

You don't believe it? Check our globally respected cuisine and you'll know what I mean: you'll find pieces of Africa, the Americas and Asia on it.

So, it's no surprise that, with this modest, interested, down-to-earth and cosmopolitan way of living, our country became a destination for more than 13 million tourists on the past year. You have to recognize that, in a nation of nearly ten million, these are not bad numbers.

Such a strong worldwide demand for Portugal is answered by the country's hospitality industry, which is increasingly complex, year after year.

Nearly forty years ago, after the Carnation Revolution, the country was poor and tourism accommodations were restricted to hotels in the main cities and pensions and hostels in the smaller towns.

Well, a lot has changed since then. Like everywhere in the world, we now have resorts, lodges, motels, you name it.

Increasing in popularity (taking, for that, advantage of the perfect conditions offered by the country for nature tourism) is the rural tourism.

It uses the concept of "casas de campo" (country houses) as accommodation units and it aims at a growing niche in the market: that one of people tired of city noise, pollution and confusion and looking for a more relaxed vacation experience, preferably amidst nature or inserted in a true-to-values community lifestyle.

Portugal has now thousands of these places, many recovered from ancient secular constructions and given a new life from new owners. The autonomous regions of Madeira and Açores are no exception to the national whole.

A couple of days ago, interested in the concept, I accepted a kind invitation from a friend and headed to the North of the island to enjoy a relaxed day, away from the South coast more frivolous existence. The chosen place was the "Moinho do Comandante", or Captain's Mill. Located in the small place of Fajã do Cedro Gordo (São Roque do Faial), this was, previously, an old water mill, used for flour production.

An old building (dated from 1829), the water mill constructed near the Ribeira da Ametade stream changed hands several times in its life until being bought (already in ruins) by the former TAP airline Captain Carlos Melo Vidal in more recent years.

From that time on, an intense reconstruction and expansion work took place, leading to the inauguration, in 1999.

Nowadays, the "Moinho do Comandante", fully integrated in the surrounding landscape, is a fine example of what the "sustainable development" concept means, when particularly related to the tourism industry.

I'm glad to live in a country were thousands of these small good examples keep flourishing.

The "Moinho do Comandante" as seen from the bridge over the Ribeira da Ametade stream...

...and picturing the high peaks above Fajã da Nogueira valley, in the distant horizon.

Covered in green leafs during Spring time, the mill walls exhibit now a more bucolic, autumnal and naked look, nevertheless equally interesting.

The gate bell.

All pictures taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma 70-200mm 1:2.8D APO EX HSM, 18-50mm 1:2.8 EX Macro HSM DC and 10-20mm 1:4-5.6 EX DC HSM lenses. 77mm Hoya HMC Super circular polarizer and Cokin graduated neutral density filters.

Manfrotto 055 NAT3 tripod and 410 Junior Geared Head.

Post-processing of all images in Nikon View NX2 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Ribeira da Janela mouth and hydroelectric power plant at dusk

Built in 1965, the hydroelectric power plant of Ribeira da Janela, located in the mouth of the stream bearing the same name, is one of the two (the other being the Central da Calheta de Inverno) that is located at sea level.

Contrary to its higher-altitude sisters, which water is channelled in the famous levadas, after energy production, to irrigate the agriculture fields located in the lower altitudes, the Ribeira da Janela plant is a pure energy-generating unit, losing its water to the ocean nearby, after turbination.

A totally automatic installation, the Ribeira da Janela power plant is remotely operated.

The plant, normally operating just one generator in daylight, activates the second turbine-alternator group at evening time, normally at sunset, when the electrical energy consumption increases.

The Ribeira da Janela power plant is responsible for an yearly average production of 8 GWh.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Sigma DC 18-50mm 1:2.8 EX Macro HSM. Manfrotto 055NAT3 tripod and Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head.

Conversion of the NEF 14 bits to TIFF 16 bits file in Nikon free View NX2 software. Post-processing of the resulting TIFF file and posterior conversion to JPEG for web publishing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Ribeira da Janela islets

Located at the mouth of Ribeira da Janela stream, on the Northern coast of Madeira island, near the touristic village of Porto Moniz, these islets represent one of the most dramatic landscapes on the North coast of the island.

Generally beaten by strong winds and rough seas, the Ribeira da Janela mouth is, nevertheless, a magical place, although a bit intimidating.

One of the most photographed spots on the island, here you rarely find two days alike.

Picture taken during the past afternoon, with Nikon D300 and Sigma DC 18-50mm f/2.8 EX Macro HSM. Hoya Pro 1 Digital 72mm MC UV10 filter. Manfrotto Junior geared head and 535 MPro carbon fiber tripod.

Post-processing of converted RAW to TIFF file in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

The end of Summer

The Autumn season has just started but the feeling is that the Summer's already long gone. Once again we sense that melancholic mood on the air, the changing colours on the trees and the nearly abrupt climate change, with the temperature decreasing rapidly and the more and more frequent appearance of the rain.

On Madeira's highest peaks the blue skies and clear atmosphere give their place more often to a claustrophobic misty drizzle, converting the hikes to these places into masochistic experiments.

However, even during those grey days we are able to find some magic in the high lands. Sometimes, just in the form of a mountain hut's open door and a warm coffee mug waiting for us inside.

In the picture: Chilli peppers over kitchen countertop on a rainy Autumn afternoon, in Pico Ruívo mountain hut.

Picture taken with Nikon D40X and cheap Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1

Achada do Teixeira

The Madeira's central ridge, as seen from Achada do Teixeira plateau. The starting point of many hikes to the island's highest point, at evening light, this past afternoon.

Picture taken with Panasonic DMC-GH2 and 14-42mm kit Panasonic lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, ver. 4.1 and Silkypix software, version 3.1