Diversifying.

 

Shipping industry changes with the years and port industry has to keep pace. To adapt. For centuries a port of call for transatlantic voyages, welcoming, over decades, the biggest of liners and cruise ships, Funchal reinvents itself nowadays in a new roll, accommodating regularly a new trend in the business that is growing through the years: the mega-yachts.

In the picture one of those - MY Saint Nicolas - departs from Funchal on a calm early morning Spring.

Picture taken with Xiaomi Mi11i.

Serra da Estrela - A late winter season

 

Two months ago, on a short trip to our highest mountain range, Serra da Estrela, a storekeeper told me that the weather was so warm during the New Years Eve that he was selling ice creams at 1600 mts amsl, in his own store, at Lagoa Comprida.

However, as the saying goes, when it rains it pours and, after one of the driest winters in my memory, the end of March brought wet weather and a massive snowfall, carpeting Serra da Estrela, above 1500 mts, in pure white.

In this picture, taken close to Nave the Santo António, an ancient glacier circus, suspended between the glacier valleys of Unhais da Serra and Zêzere river, we can see the majestic sight of the most dramatic landscape in our highest mountain. On the horizon line, where the earth meets the sky, we can see, from left to right, the cyclopic rocky formations of Cântaro Raso, Cântaro Magro and Cântaro Gordo. Like mytological figures, these three monolithic brothers, sculped by water and ice over 300 million years, stand tall, guarding a natural patrimony that we recognize now as deeply vulnerable.

Picture taken handheld with Xiaomi Mi11i smartphone.

Ultralight dreams

Luis Francisco Ponce de León Jiménez is an eighty-year old spanish citizen that is back on the college classrooms, looking for a degree on International Relations, after a plentyful life devoted to knowledge and achieving the completion of ten different university courses along the way.

So, what is the secret for a happy and long fruitful life?

Pursuing our dreams, I imagine, is part of the answer.

The other, as Clint Eastwood, the last of the classic filmmakers, wisely pointed out to Toby Keith is "to just get up every morning and go out. And don't let the old man in."

I'm nowhere near in the same league as this fabulous 93-year old and still active movie director, but I think I can see his point. Keep challeging ourselves through life, keep pushing foward, is the shortest route to a meaningful one. Regardless of our age.

To me, achieving the ultralight aircraft pilot certificate at the already generous age of 53, as modest objectiv as may be for many, was a moment of unquestionable personal satisfaction. So, Clint and Luis are absolutely right. Nearing my mid-fifties and I managed to turn a childhood dream into reality. And, whatahell, it only took forty years.

In the photo, the BRM Land Africa, CS-UVE, with Student-Pilot Francisco Mendes and Pilot-Instructor Paulo Pereira, takes off from runway 15, in Benavente airfield, Ribatejo, Portugal, on a peaceful early March afternoon.

Picture taken, handheld, with Nikon D40-X and Nikon Nikkor 55-200mm AF-S DX VR Zoom F4-5.6G IF-ED cheap kit lens. Light post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Exuberant.

 

Ancient water mill in a luxuriant scenario, close to the village of Castro Laboreiro, in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, Northwest Portugal.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and 18-55mm cheap kit lens. Sirui Traveller tripod and head. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Atlantis

An ancient legend, of a lost kingdom and a beautiful princess suffering for an impossible love, gives us a mystical explanation, lost in time, to the formation of one of the most beautiful places in our planet.

Walking along the margins of the Lagoon of the Seven Cities, deep inside the crater with the same name, surrounded by an enchanted and luxurious sub-tropical forest, it's so easy to let our minds drift far away from the mundane scientific geological theories accepted universally for the formation of the world and, instead, dream awake with kings and queens, lonesome princesses and magical powers.

Could this be the lost Kingdom of Atlantis, right under our feet?

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 200mm f4 AI-s lens. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead.

Azorean journey, part two

The circular hike along the shoreline of the crater lake of Furnas must be one of the most charming in Azores. The flat trail circumvents the whole volcanic crater, amidst a bucolic landscape of neo-gothic chapels, expensive residences of rich aristocratic landlords, conifers, wet meadows, hot springs and gentle mountain streams, in a lenght of about eight kilometers.

On the trail, besides the occasional tourist, you'll find plenty of locals, whole families or solo individuals, walking the route. Sometimes starting the walk on the town of Furnas, distant a couple of kilometers, on the valley below, and returning by the same way, on a usual afternoon stroll.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AI. Surui T005 travel tripod.

Azorean journey, part one

Something intangible attracts seafarers to lighthouses. Granted, these are, normally, conspicuous points on the landscapes. So they are usual sightseeing spots. Normally a stopping point on everyone's periplus, most of the times just for the sake of a good vista over the ocean below.

To me, however, the feeling is deeper. It always has a calming effect, made complete with the rotating optics switching-on in the evening twilights.

In those moments my mind returns to my former self, in one of those many stormy nights at sea, surrounded by pitch black sky and ocean. And, suddenly, the entire hull of the vessel being touched by that warm beam of light. Making us instantly feel that we are not alone in the world. That on the distant shoreline someone is on watch for us. To keep us safe.

For us, at sea, a lighthouse is not just a building. It's a living thing. Each one with a personality of its own.

On the photo above:

Ponta do Arnel Lighthouse, in São Miguel island, Açores, facing calm seas, on a January evening.

Enchanted wilderness

 

The Peneda-Gerês National Park, on the Northwest of mainland Portugal, is the only national park we have in the whole portuguese nation, being the remaining ones with a status of nature reserves or natural parks. Home of human settlements thousands of years before Portugal was even a nation, this remote corner of Portugal has an identity of its own, forged on its isolation, altitude and harsh weather. Spring, however, is another story, as this picture, taken on the high meadows near the millenary town of Castro Laboreiro, shows.

First snows of the year in Madeira

Three days ago, on the highest peak of Madeira, this was the landscape...

...

...

Pictures taken with Huawei P20Lite.

Pico Ruívo trig point lit by the waxing crescent moon

Pico Ruívo trig point (1862 meters above sea level), lit by the waxing crescent Moon, and Milky Way, yesterday around 1930 LT.

Picture taken, as usual, with Nikon D610 and Vivitar 24mm f/2.8. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead.

Milky Way above Pico Ruívo Hut

 

The Milky Way and meteor traces, photographed, a couple of nights ago, on the Pico Ruívo mountain hut.

Jupiter and Saturn in conjunction

In this photo, framed to NW, taken yesterday, on a moonless night, near Encumeada Alta, we can see simultaneously the Milky Way and Jupiter and Saturn nearly in conjunction above the highest peak in Madeira island, Pico Ruívo.

The conjunction of these two planets happens once every twenty years. However astronomers say that the present one will be the closest one since 1623 and the closest observable since 1226. So we are in the presence of a major astronomical event.

If you have some evening time to spare during these upcoming days, pick up a telescope or a spyglass (if you possess neither, a pair of binoculars will do), dress warm, fill up a thermos with hot tea or coffee and head on to the highest spot above sea level available nearby. Seat down, relax and wait for the night sky to appear and work its magic.

The most dramatic moment of this conjunction, according to the calculations, will happen on the coming 21st of December (the Winter Solstice), when both planets will be only 0.1 degree apart.

It surely will be a sight worth seeing.

Nikon D610 and cheap manual-focus Vivitar 24mm f/2.8 AI lens, open at f/4. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead. 

Pico do Arieiro and Pico das Torres

 

Pico do Arieiro radar station with Pico das Torres on the foreground, as seen from the Pico Ruívo trail, yesterday, around 1900.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 200mm f4 AI-s lens. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead.

Moonshine

Pico Ruivo mountain hut lit by the moonlight, yesterday around 7 PM. These past days have been an absolute heaven during night time on the high peaks of Madeira. Clear blue skies above cloud line, no wind and intense light from the Earth's satellite, all combining to give the landscape an otherworldy atmosphere.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and cheap Vivitar 24mm f2.8 manual focus lens. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead. ISO 3200 f/4 20"

Tree heather and the Seven Sisters

The Pleiades Star Cluster rises high above the Encumeada Alta ridge; both framed by an old, burnt, tree heather on the foreground, lit by the waxing crescent moon. Yesterday, around 8 PM.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and cheap Vivitar 24mm f2.8 manual focus lens. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead. ISO 3200 f/4 30"

The best prevention for the COVID-19...

... is staying well above the clouds.

Pico Ruívo mountain hut at late afternoon light, photographed, a few days ago, with a simple Huawei P 20 Lite.

The Pride Of Madeira at evening time

The uninformed tourist usually associates Madeira with the localy cultivated Strelitzias or Birds Of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae), just because, due to its obvious beauty and visual impact, it's the flower most commonly seen in markets, shops or touristic events. However, in good truth, this plant was never endemic to Madeira, originating from South Africa and nowadays with a global distribution in nearly every warm and sunny temperated and tropical climates.
Therefore, if we would be asked to name a flower that truly represents the beauty and diversity of Madeira's flora, I'd say that the Pride of Madeira (or Massaroco, as locally known) would come to mind.
A true native to the island of Madeira, the Echium candicans is as beautiful as a wild plant can be and  it is a true delight to see alongside the roads in some urban areas or along the trails on the mountainous regions. Blooming happens between late Spring and early Summer and by the end of July most of their beauty is already gone, vanishing into dryness until the next year. Meanwhile, before that fading moment happens, its ephemeral flowering phase is a pleasure to our eyes and to bees as well, considering the abnormal attention these little bugs give to this particular plant on the course of their pollination duties.
Picture taken near Encumeada Alta, returning from the usual Pico Ruívo hike, at sunset time.
Nikon D300 and Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM. Manfrotto XDB190 tripod and 490RC4 ball head. Flash Godox TT685N.

Santana in a Summer evening

The city of Santana, on the Northern coast of Madeira, always exerted an irresistible enchantement over me. Over the years I lost count to the hundreds of visits made to this charmingly luxurious small town, starting point for so many hikes along the Laurissilva forest and on the high peaks. The reason for that effect is beyond my understanding. Could be because of its obstinate nature, being born and built on the rough northern coast, fustigated by countless storms over the centuries, thus giving it a tough charisma. But also because of its melancholic and peaceful mood on the late Spring and Summer evenings, reminding us that the natural world is in perpetual motion. And no storm ever lasts. And all that enclosed by an eternal greenish landscape, in a strong contrast with the common pastel tones of the southern slopes. And, seriously, who, amongst you, doens't like the green colour in nature?

Nikon D300 and Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM. Manfrotto XDB190 tripod and 490RC4 ball head.

Flower of the season - The Common Foxglove

The Digitalis purpurea is a common presence in Madeira, during Spring and Summer seasons, blooming in the laurel forest and also in the mountains, particularly near springs or in ground areas with high percentage of water.

In spite of its beauty, this plant is highly poisonous to humans, if ingested.

However, its toxins, digitoxin and digoxin, properly processed are used as medication for heart failure for more than two centuries.

Nikon D300, Sigma 300mm f2.8, Manfrotto tripod and ball-head

Sunset over Pico das Torres

Yesterday's sunset over the second highest peak of Madeira: Pico das Torres (1851 mts above sea level). On the background, looking so close due to a highly compressed telephoto framing, stands the third highest: Pico do Arieiro, with its military radar.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR, Manfrotto tripod and ball-head