Madeira Islands
So far this is a pretty cool group of islands. We arrived after a fairly slow passage having to hug africca
for a few days to get south then almost due west fighting SW winds. This time of the year the winds are
supposed to be NE so somebody is wrong! Actually a large tropical depression formed north of us
causing strong winds, waves, and eventually flooding in europe.
So when you arrive in Porto Santo (if you stop there first) watch out for the marina people. They are nice
and friendly, but convince you to take a mooring for a mere 18 euros a night by saying to anchor outside
the breakwater it will cost you 24 a night! Technically this is true, but the government never collects the
fees so anchor out if you wish to save money. Porto santo is a small island and can mostly be seen in a
day or two. Their claim to fame is some long beach that attracts the usual crowd of europeans. Now the
coastline is rugged on the north side and quite scenic.
The main island of Madeira is very green compared to Porto Santo and is only 26 miles away! We
anchored at the NE corner and it turned out to be a national park with a nice hiking trail. If you can
manage to get a dingy onto the rocky beach go for it. The hike is amazing and the rocks very
impressive. We liked it so much we will do it again before we leave.