PICTORIAL TOUR OF MADEIRA
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
I hope that you will enjoy your pictorial tour of Madeira-
often referred to as a garden in the Atlantic. So you won't tire
easily (and wait so long for downloads of photos) I've divided the
tour into several sections. This will allow you to visit all
parts of the island now, or spread your tour over several visits.
I will keep my commentary brief and let the photos and
captions guide you through most of the island. For an island
that's approximately 36 miles (58 km) long and 14 miles (23 km)
wide, visitors can find a wide variety of landscapes and weather
conditions. A beautiful summer day in Funchal can at the same
time be a chilly or foggy day in the higher elevations.
Within an hour's drive you can move from areas
with lush vegetation and forests to almost dessert-like areas.
Flowers and a variety of fruits and vegetables can be found
growning in just about any piece of land not taken up by a home.
Were it not for the extensive irrigation system of levadas, the
island would be almost all dessert-like.
This pictorial tour of the island is in no way meant to show
all there is to see and experience. There are so many countries
of equal or even more beauty. The island of Madeira ranks high as
a vacation (holiday) destination for the British, Germans, and
others from mainland Europe. Hopefully, this small sampling of
photos will give you some idea why.
ITINERARY
