Sofia's Place auditorium

This is Sofia's Place sitting room and auditorium. There you can enjoy music, namely our selection, and watch films served by a sound system composed of Sonus Faber Concerto speakers, Sony CD&DVD player and a Pioneer integrated amplifier. Everything prepared by Nelio, a music lover and audiophile. For our guests' superlative enjoyment. Check the soulful selection of Fado, the urban song of Lisbon and Portugal.
---
Related information:
FADO FILM SELECTION IN SOFIA'S PLACE

SOFIA'S PLACE MUSIC EXPERIENCE

FADO, THE URBAN SONG OF LISBON (AND PORTUGAL)

Sofia's Place MUSIC EXPERIENCE file

We offer our guests the possibility to experience some fine Portuguese and international music that we love. It is a soulful selection you can find in the file "Sofia's Place MUSIC EXPERIENCE".

The human being needs to have more than daily life and practical surviving tasks. More than survive, we need do thrive. Art allows us to evolve and recreate our days and our own life, and have new perspectives and dimensions. Creating mind space and expanding one's horizons. Art gives meaning to life besides offering beauty and entertainment. Please, enjoy and thrive.
---
Related information:
FADO FILM SELECTION IN SOFIA'S PLACE

SOFIA'S PLACE AUDITORIUM

FADO, THE URBAN SONG OF LISBON (AND PORTUGAL)

FADO film selection

"Fados" and "The Art of Amália" are part of the DVD selection for our guests enjoyment

The musical "Fados" (2007) by Carlos Saura and the documentary film "The Art of Amália" (1999) are at our guests disposal. More films will be added in the near future.

---
Related information:
FADO, THE URBAN SONG OF LISBON (AND PORTUGAL)

SOFIA'S PLACE MUSIC EXPERIENCE - A SOULFUL SELECTION

SOFIA'S PLACE AUDITORIUM

Eco tourism & Madeira & Sofia's Place

Balcões in Ribeiro Frio (photo by Turismo de Portugal)

EcoTourism is sustainable tourism, conciliating innovation and tradition.

Sofia's Place owners embrace the principles of sustainable tourism, contributing to the conservation and interpretation of the natural heritage of Madeira's Archipelago. We advise our guests to take outdoor activities as we believe the knowledge of the species and their habitats helps protecting them. The island's unique landscape and natural patrimony deserve all our attention.

Sustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. It means ensuring that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves.

The goal is to avoid tourism causing a great stress on remaining biologically diverse habitats such as the Laurissilva Forest of Madeira which are often used to support mass tourism.

Tourists who promote sustainable tourism are sensitive to these dangers and seek to protect tourist destinations, and to protect tourism as an industry. Sustainable tourists can reduce the impact of tourism in many ways, including:

- informing themselves of the culture, politics and economy of the communities visited;
- anticipating and respecting local cultures, expectations and assumptions;
- contributing to intercultural understanding and tolerance;
- supporting the integrity of local cultures by favoring businesses which conserve cultural heritage and traditional values;
- supporting local economies by purchasing local goods and participating with small, local businesses;
- conserving resources by seeking out businesses that are environmentally conscious, and by using the least possible amount of non - renewable energies.

UNESCO World Heritage
The world’s largest LAURISSILVA forest is located on the island of Madeira. In 1999 the 15,000 hectare indigenous ‘living relic’ was awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It plays an important role in the ecological balance of Madeira thus sustaining the endemic flora and fauna.
--
Related info:
NATURE & ADVENTURE in Madeira Islands
MADEIRA NATURE

text adapted from here

Free Internet access

Free USB Wireless broadband Internet access availabe for our guests in Sofia's Place.

Sofia's Place new business card

Feel free to print these jpeg files if you need :)
Please, click on it for better reading and downloading.

Feng Shui inpires change in the house

NOW: dining room and living room since January 29, 2011

BEFORE: living room and dining room since 1998 until very recently

Thanks to one of our recent guests, a Feng Shui expert, the living room and the dining room exchanged places.

And it looks better and feels much more comfortable. We love the new arrangement and hope that also our guests.

As soon as I told my husband about the guest's advice, he immediately pictured it on his mind and said simply "of course". He had no doubt and understood the benefits. However, it had never occurred to us...

My husband always complained about not feeling comfortable sitting in the living room with his back to the main entrance of the house. It never felt right.

Now the living room is much more cosy, quiet and comfortable at the far end of the room (yin energy).

The dining room offers more space to the main entrance area and there is more light (yang energy). And it is closer to the kitchen and theres is more space to socialize.

More pictures here: dining room and living room slideshow

Sofia's Place by Sanne

Sofia's Place seen by our guest Sanne, January 2011

Mixed media painting of Sofia's Place kindly offered by our guest Sanne. Very special painting that will be kept in the house (it is already hanging in the Romantic bedroom) for the enjoyment of our guests, besides us, the owners. Thank you.

Christmas Tree

Welcoming atmosphere

We have provided a Christmas (pine) Tree to welcome our guests that will spend the next three weeks in Sofia's Place. Christmas time is really intense in Jardim do Mar. The atmosphere is very special. The tree was placed in the living room by the big glass window.

New picture in the surf bedroom

Tony Kitchell (photo by Andrea)

 
Tony Kitchell is a dear friend strongly connected with Jardim do Mar and Sofia's Place.

Tony helped painting some details inside eleven years ago and there is some art of his in the house.

Now, in Sofia's Place there is a picture of Tony hanging on the wall in the Surf bedroom.

Licensed by public authorities

Sofia's Place is a Local Holidays House Rental licensed by the Municipality of Calheta and the Madeiran Tourism Office.

Sofia's Place on Google Earth

Ver mapa maior

Calheta is 5 minutes drive away

The modern Centro das Artes (Art Center) is a main attraction in Calheta

Calheta is an administrative region in the South West of Madeira and covers an area of 115 sq Kilometres and eight villages.

Whale and dolphin spotting or fishing excursions can be arranged from Vila da Calheta, in the marina. Ferry trips from Funchal to the nearby island of Porto Santo can be arranged also in Calheta.

Some of the island's finest scenery and walking are within a 20 minute (10 kilometres) drive into the mountains.

In Calheta you should visit the international Centro das Artes (Art Center) and the rum factory and museum. You can find the old and the new, the roots and the modern, the local and the universal. Madeira is about contrast in every sense.

In the village above Jardim do Mar, 5 kilometres away and named Prazeres (Pleasures), you can find a little zoo and an art gallery by the church. In Prazeres you also find a health resort in Jardim Atlântico Hotel offering a host of facilities, including swimming, tennis, sauna, gym, games room, vegetarian and wholefood restaurant, and a range of holistic therapies.

You can visit locals of cultural and historic interest in the municipality of Calheta or in the whole island, do scenery drives, you can also do whale and dolphin spotting from Calheta Marina, do “levada” walks up in the mountains, do mountain biking, go in boat trips along the coastline, go sailing, pier fishing, big game fishing from Calheta Marina or Funchal, scuba diving or snorkeling, surfing, wind-surfing, water skiing and paragliding.

However many people feel happy just relaxing, sunbathing, walking around and socializing in the friendly and cosy village of Jardim do Mar, where you cannot get bored and have a quiet time at the same time. You can choose quietness and excitement whenever you wish and as you feel. Like you can choose being by the sea or in the mountains in very a short time. The contrast and diversity of experiences offered by Jardim do Mar and Madeira island is perhaps their main factor of attraction.

Location

Jardim do Mar in 2003 by friend William Henry

Lisbon: 900 kilometres (1h15m by plane)

International Airport of Madeira: 50 kilometres

When you arrive at the International Airport of Madeira (East area) you are about 50 kilometres away from Jardim do Mar (South-West, which is the warmest and sunniest area of Madeira). It's about an hour drive. You take the highway that will take your from the airport until Ribeira Brava. Then you continue in the so-called "Express Road" (mainly by the sea and in tunnels) from Ribeira Brava until Estreito da Calheta. Here you find a kind of roundabout, get out to the right, keep in the round about, turn left and then cross the road (carefully) and take a 4km road down to Jardim do Mar.

Capital of Madeira island (Funchal): 35 kilometres

Centre of Calheta municipality: 5 kilometres

Nearest beach: 200 metres

Nearest bar/pub: 100 metres

Top mountains in Calheta: 10 kilometres

Nearest health resort: Jardim Atlântico in Prazeres (5 kilometres) offering a host of facilities, including swimming, tennis, sauna, gym, games room, vegetarian and wholefood restaurant, and a range of holistic therapies

Nearest gym: 5 kilometres

Nearest big supermarket: 6 kilometres (“Pingo Doce” is in Vila da Calheta, by the sand beach)

Nearest hospital: 5 kilometres (Calheta)

Nearest pet hotel: 10 kilometres

Car: recommended (if you just plan going out of Jardim do Mar for groceries, you get a local taxi)

Hanging around in Jardim do Mar

Joe's Bar is the socializing point in Jardim do Mar

There are restaurants and places to hang around in the village.

Famous and cosmopolitan Joe’s Bar is where locals and foreigners hang out, about 100 meters away from Sofia's Place. Close enough to get there in 30 seconds, but far enough of the house to assure quietness. Joe is Sofia’s cousin.

Their dear friend and painter Tony Kitchell owns a gallery next to Joe’s Bar. In this old house (beautifully kept) Sofia used to play in her childhood. It belonged to one of her grandmother’s sister.

If you want to go further down, you will get to the square with trees, a fountain and park benches, next to the local church, where you can relax, sunbathe and watch people passing by in their doings. It is the central and meeting point of Jardim do Mar with beautiful and typical Portuguese stone all around.

You have several ways to walk down towards the ocean and the beach. You can take the old path next to the church and visit Pontinha (West), that used to be the fishermen neighbourhood. From there you can wacth the promenade and the sea.

In the square you can also head East and visit Portinho, five minutes walking down. You can either take the new road next to the village's car park or take the stone path by Teresa's little bar and grocery by the square. In the new road you have Tar Mar restaurant. In Portinho you have a nice bar and small restaurant, in an old and typical house by de promenade and ocean. It belongs to local called Angelino, a cousin of Sofia's grandmother. Community in Jardim do Mar is for real.

There is a pebble beach and peer if you feel like a swim between cups of tea or beers. Then you can go for a stroll in the promenade, a 750 metres wallk breathing the fresh air from the sea and watching the waves. In Pontinha you have the famous surf break. Because of it, Jardim do Mar was named by surfers as the European Hawai.

Reaching the other side at the far West end of the promenade and the village, you are in Vigia. The place in named Vigia (watch) because it used to be a watch point to check any pirates' attacks.

Then you can either return to Pontinha (and go up to the church and square) or back all the way to Portinho or go up the old path from Vigia in the direction of Joe's bar, heading East.

Besides resting and relaxing, watching the birds or contemplating the landscape around, visiting locals of cultural and historic interest in Jardim do Mar and Calheta, walking and socializing, doing scenery drives and getting to know the local gastronomy, you can do a lot more if you wish. You find quietness but never feel bored in inspiring and intense Jardim do Mar. You can socialize and do exciting outdoor activities.

You may go swimming, sunbathing, do whale and dolphin watching from the marina in Calheta, do “levada” walks up in the mountains, do yoga, go sailing, cycling in the promenade, do mountain biking, pier fishing, big game fishing from the marina in Calheta or Funchal, scuba diving or snorkeling, surfing, wind-surfing, water skiing and paragliding.

Some activities depend on weather and time of the year and on your interest for more radical or in a more direct contact with nature.

You can also visit the lighthouse in Ponta do Pargo (a new Golf court is being built nearby) and the naturally occurring aquamarine pools at Porto Moniz.

Sofia's Place surroundings

View over the bay (West)

Sofia's Place stands on the top and center part of the tranquil and romantic village of cobbled footpaths at the foot of breathtaking cliffs. It is located on the sunny southwest part of Madeira, facing shore.

A car park at the edge of the village leaves the square and the urban area largely free of cars. People walk easily home and have no traffic noise.

There is also a seafront pedestrian walk zone (promenade) lined with palm trees, also free of traffic. There you can also watch the waves, surfing, read or ride your bike.

In the Eastern point of the village there is Portinho with a little harbor and a clean pebble beach, for swimming and snorkeling, a shower and beach bar.

In the Western point you can find two more beaches: Vigia and further away the exotic and more exclusive harbor called Enseada. At the far end you can see the next village on the picture above: Paul do Mar.

If you get the chance to come in

Sofia's Place descritpion: accommodation and amenities

If you get the chance to come in, you will know why Sofia and her husband Nelio were happy with the very first design of the house.

A two floor glass window in the front merges the outside and the inside. There is a lot of natural light and open spaces in, which make the place very comfortable and cheerful. Positive vibrations and quietness. It combines some local architectural elements and the modern comfort.

Like Jardim do Mar itself combines the rural and the urbane (cosmopolitan), the green and the blue, quietness and intensity (no chance to feel bored).

The bright colours inside stress the house very exotic and happy atmosphere, and the dark yellow colour outside fits in perfectly in the very pitoresque village.

The paintings by local artists they own were left hanging on the walls as they are connected with the house.

As you may wonder why there are now four bedrooms in Sofia' Place we can say that the Contemplative Bedroom used to be Nelio’s music room. If you listen carefully you may still hear some sounds bouncing on the walls…

As citizens of the world and worldly-wise people, Sofia and Nelio have been open to establish relationships with other cultures. That was something offered in Jardim do Mar, a place that attracts artists, surfers and nature lovers from all over the world.

Besides the cosmopolitan atmosphere and socializing in Jardim do Mar, Sofia and Nelio like to travel and do Yoga. The connection to the Oriental and Indian culture is reflected in two of the bedrooms.

The Surf Bedroom took its name because some of their dearest friends and surfers, like Kris and Will, were hosted in the room in the past and Surf is a sport that made Jardim do Mar famous worldwide. The village is known and the European Hawai among surfers. Jardim do Mar became much more cosmopolitan after the surf explosion in the 90s.

Property type: detached house
Floor area: 200 m2
Rooms:
- 4 bedroom house (sleeps 8)

- 1 Bathroom
- 1 Shower room
- 1 Living room
- 1 Reading/sitting room
- 1 Dining room
- 1 Kitchen
- 1 Pantry
- 1 Balcony outside
- 1 Veranda
- Garden (front side)

Reading room:
.books
.two armchairs
.good natural light

Living room:
.Blue sofa for two people sitting
.Red Sofa for three people sitting
.two puffs by big window
.TV
.DVD player

Dining room:
.dining table and seating for 8 people
.sideboard

Bedrooms:
. 4 bedrooms (sleeps 8 plus a baby)

The Romantic Bedroom: kingsize bed (200x160)
The Contemplative Bedroom: kingsize bed (200x165)
The Bunk Beds Sea Bedroom: two single bunk beds (200x100)
The Surf Bedroom: two single/twin beds (200x100)

.cradle for a baby
.fiited wardrobes with mirrors and drawers, to place clothes in every room

Kitchen:
.fridge/freezer
.microwave
.oven
.4 ring stove
.cooking utensils
.cleaning utensils
.sink
.dishwasher
.table and seating for 4 people
.toaster
.plates and glasses
.iron

Bathroom:
Green Bathroom (upstairs): Toilet, Combination Tub/Shower, Bidet, Washbasin and Mirror

Shower Room:
Blue Shower Room (downstairs): Toilet, Shower, Washbasin and Mirror

Veranda:
.table and two chairs

Entertainment:
. Books
.TV
.Board games

.Internet access: MOBILE BROADBAND WIFI HOTSPOT - up to 5 devices connected simultaneously 

More specifications on the R206 device

Note: there is also free internet access in the village library five minutes walk away from house.

In Sofia's Place sitting room you can enjoy music (turn it into an auditorium), namely our selection of music, and watch films served by a sound system composed of Monitor Audio Silver RS6 speakers, Sony CD&DVD player and a Pioneer integrated amplifier. Everything prepared by Nelio, a music lover and audiophile. For our guests' superlative enjoyment. Check the soulful selection of Fado, the urban song of Lisbon and Portugal. (MORE INFO)


OUTSIDE:

.garden

.balcony with seating, table and hammock

Sofia's Place brief history

Main entrance of the house of Sofia and Nelio's dreams

Sofia was born in Jardim do Mar (municipality of Calheta, Madeira island, Portugal), on the warmest Madeiran coastline with more sunshine exposure.

She built the house of her dreams with her husband Nelio before getting married and having their daughter Elisa. Right in the middle of the green banana fields.

There are no cars near the house or traffic noise. Cars are parked in a car park as no one has road access to their property. Everywhere is in easy reach of the car park.

Sofia’s family lives in the village since ever. Her grandfather José Maria Araújo used to own a watermill that you can visit going through the banana field pathways behind Sofia’s Place. There is a lot to discover and feel around.

Sofia, Nelio and Elisa lived here for ten years and decided to move recently and rent an apartment in a village nearby because the primary school of Jardim do Mar was definitely closed in July 2010. Their daughter Elisa had to go to another school and all three decided to go for a change. However, they visit Jardim do Mar almost every day.

In 20 or 25 years time, when they retire, they may go back to their beloved first home in the village by the sea. And will then stop renting the house for vacation... sorry.