Guest message 42

January 2014

Key words & ideas:

"You have a very, very nice house!"; "Madeira is a wonderful Island."

Please, click on the image for better reading

Carnival of Madeira 2014: programme

This year the Carnival events will take place between February 25 and March 5, 2014.

The Carnival of Madeira (Carnaval in Portuguese) is an annual festival held forty days before Easter, that ends on Shrove Tuesday (called Fat Tuesday in Madeira - Terça-feira Gorda in Portuguese) the day before Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent).

Here is the programme.

Street Events:
From the Wednesday before Carnival allow yourself to be captivated by the magic of Carnival in Funchal city centre, especially the central walkway of Avenida Arriaga, which becomes the focus for numerous street events including carnival music, performances, pageants and events of various kinds that contribute to rousing the carnival spirit in tourists and residents alike.

Children's Carnival:
The morning of the Friday before Carnival is given over to children. A thousand of so young carnival goers from various schools and kindergartens in Funchal, all in costume, parade through the city centre (Avenida Arriaga), where they are entertained with carnival fun.

Solidarity Carnival:
On the afternoon of the Friday before Carnival, the city centre is again the scene of another highly original and creative event. With an energy that sweeps everybody along with it, hundreds of carnival goers from the Funchal Community Development Association parade along Avenida Arriaga to the Municipal Gardens, where they perform a show in which they are the leading players.

Parade of Floats:
On Saturday night the centre of Funchal is thronged with thousands of tourists and residents who come to watch the parade of floats, one of the major attractions of the Madeira Carnival. Over a thousand participants spread between ten groups and a dozen floats parade to the sound of carnival music, all of them choreographed and rehearsed beforehand and dressed in eye-catching costumes, radiating an unbeatable enthusiasm that gets everyone going.

"Trapalhão" Parade:
On the Tuesday of Carnival everyone is free to display their originality. Carnival goers come out spontaneously onto the streets in fancy dress, mostly grotesque or caricatured, to take part individually or in groups in a typically Madeiran informal parade in which humour and social satire about regional, national or international events form the inspiration for the throngs of participants.

--
More info:
History and traditions of Carnival in Madeira
Carnival of Madeira

Nature & Adventure in Madeira

(video direct link)

Nature & Adventure activities (Active Tourism) are extra reasons to visit Madeira Islands. On land, on air or on sea, the choices are plenty and everybody can experience activities, offering a multiplicity range, designed for all age groups.

Particularly in CALHETA municipality territory (Southwest), where Jardim do Mar is located, you can do all: hiking, mountain biking, surf, bodyboard, wind surfing, diving, climbing, canyoning, paragliding, sailing, dolphin & whale watching or (big game) fishing.

CALHETA, besides its breathtaking landscapes and the friendly local people, has the best weather conditions all year round.

It is not the first time we hear someone saying that the impressive landscape is similar to Jurassic Park island ("pretty similar to the Jurassic Park island", it is said on the this video). We have also heard comparisons to New Zealand type landscapes.

All that in Europe and with good climate.

Come and feel the landscape around you. Dive in it.Take a deep breath. Surrender to the charms of an island that exhales energy and inspires emotion and adventure.

Besides all this, you may also feel Madeira's Nature profound and empowering quietness, working as a self (relaxing and healing) retreat from modern life rush, stress and anxieties.

--
Related info:
NATURE/ECO Tourism & Madeira & Sofia's Place

Gisela João, a new «fadista»

Gisela João is already one of the best and most applauded Fado singers in Portugal. She has just released her selftitled debut album. Listen to the true emotion in the song "Meu amigo está longe" (My friend/ lover is far away") or in "Vieste do Fim do Mundo" (You came from the end of the world).

Related info:
FADO, THE URBAN SONG OF LISBON

FADO PART OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

SOFIA'S PLACE MUSIC EXPERIENCE - A SOULFUL SELECTION

FADO FILM SELECTION IN SOFIA'S PLACE

SOFIA'S PLACE AUDITORIUM

More information on Fado:
www.museudofado.pt
www.portaldofado.net
www.unesco.org (here)

David Byrne (musician and producer) on Amália's music: "she expresses the sadness of the Universe and existence"

Farmer's Market day

On December 23rd, Madeirans take this opportunity to make their last minute Christmas shopping in a commotion, that intensifies the essence of the "Festa", a designation commonly attributed by locals to refer to the beginning of the Christmas season.

The locals go to the Mercado dos Lavradores (Farmers' Market) to buy the last items or delicacies in order to ultimate their Christmas decorations and prepare the typical delicacies of the season. The market hall thereby becomes small venue taking into consideration such big demand.

The surrounding streets are closed to traffic and are filled with various food stalls that are open all night, selling innumerable regional products like flowers, shrubs, fruits, vegetables, sweets, pork in wine and garlic rolls and typical drinks like "poncha".

More information on Christmas and New Year festivities: HERE

Christmas and New Year 2013-2014

Please, check the photography album by Madeira Tourism

As always, the Festive Season is lived intensely in Madeira islands. Lots of joy, religious celebrations, social gatherings and good food (and drinks, too).

On Christmas Eve it is customary serving chicken soup and various meat dishes at family gatherings. In addition, home-made tangerine, orange or aniseed liquors or a good glass of Madeira wine are also drunk. On Christmas Day generally people eat pork in wine and garlic or stuffed turkey. Furthermore the most common sweets for this season are "Bolo de Família" (Family Cake), "Bolo de Mel" (Honey Cake), and popular sweets like "rosquilhas de manteiga" (butter biscuits) "broas de mel" e "broas de manteiga" (honey and butter biscuits) and "palitos de cerveja" (beer finger biscuits)

Please, also check the Christmas and New Year festivities programme HERE (or in pdf files English, French and German).

(picture by Francisco Correia)

Guest message 41

October 2013

Key words & ideas:

"We had a great stay here"; "We will come back"; "Sofia's Place had everything we needed and our compliments"; "We will recommend the house to everybody."

Please, click on the image for better reading

Guest message 40

September 2013

Key words & ideas:

"It was a great pleasure to be here. The house emanates well-being and happiness. I believe that the people that stay in the house feel at home. See you next year."

Please, click on the images for better reading