Madeira na revista de bordo da companhia britânica Jet2

Data: 21-03-2010

A edição de Fevereiro/Março de 2010 da revista de bordo 'Jetaway' (circulação de 80 mil exemplares) da companhia aérea britânica Jet2, publica um artigo de três páginas da autoria da jornalista Lucille Howe, com imagens da fotógrafa Fiona Neilson. Esta reportagem surge na sequência de uma viagem de imprensa que a Associação de Promoção da Madeira organizou no passado mês de Dezembro de 2009 no âmbito da nova ligação da Jet2 de Manchester para a Madeira.

Com o título 'Living levada loca', o artigo foca a natureza luxuriante da ilha, em especial, as levadas. Compara ainda a Laurissilva com a floresta tropical brasileira, além de mencionar a sua reminiscência com as imagens do último filme do realizador James Cameron - Avatar.


DN Madeira



LIVING LEVADA LOCA





Madeira’s winding waterways keep the Island of Eternal Spring bursting with life. Lucille Howe goes with the flow

Forget your Chanel handbag or your Gucci glasses, the one accessory any self-respecting traveller on Madeira will need is a stick. The fact that the island doesn’t have any beaches shouldn’t deter you, what it does have is miles and miles of tracks through the lushest vegetation this side of Brazil.

Hillside paths, paved with stones, were, among other things, the walkways used to ferry the village priest and doctor up to needy locals in papooses – the lazy swines! On the southwest side of the island, I’m told that 15kg of sweet potatoes – grown high up the mountain where salt from the Atlantic wouldn’t spoil the crop – would be carried down to the village of Ponta da Galé at its base and bananas from the lower plantations transported back up.

Thankfully, today all you need to bring for these circulation-boosting jaunts is a bottle of water and a slice of Madeira cake for sustenance.

Angelo Conceicao from Mountain Expedition (www.madeiraexpeditions.com) explains that the levadas make the best trails. Meaning “bringing water”, these 200 canals, built in the 16th century, worm 1,500 miles around the island at an approximate 10cm gradient to transport water, which mainly falls on the wet, northern side of the island, to the drier south. At least 50 of these levadas are wide and deep enough to swim in – Angelo regularly does – and they are lined with the kind of fauna and wildlife that could make a nature lover break into a skip.

Erica trees are like the thirsty children of the island, sucking out all the water from passing rain clouds and spitting it out through their roots to create gushing waterfalls. More trees equals more water – for each one, some 30 to 100 litres is siphoned into the ground every day. You can also see a tiny golden bird called the Firecrest that’s unique to island, and breathe in amazing scents of pine and eucalyptus.

However, you mustn’t try these walks alone. Spring and summer are generally sunny but in other months you might find that an unexpected downpour or mist creates unforeseen problems. Angelo expertly guided us across waterfalls with fierce currents and through slippery mud while we chanced upon a walker on her hands and knees with her bottom in the air, obviously in a spot of bother and looking more like someone crawling home from the pub after a bender than a woman on a health kick. But the next day I set off, with a friend, from Choupana Hills, over fallen trees, through waterfalls that soaked our trainers, and green that wallpapered the mountainside (don’t expect to see any sheep… the government had them removed because of the havoc they caused to the crops) and felt like real explorers. An hour-and-a-half later our glutes had “switched on” and we emerged at the Monte Palace Tropical Garden (www.montepalace.com) with its Japanese pergola and fountain. It was time to throw away the stick and get to the bottom in the most entertaining form of transport ever – tobogganing in a wicker basket, aided by two men in Breton tops and straw hats. Yes, really.

SHOES OFF
For anyone who has soaked their trainers on a levada trek (note to self: bring proper hiking boots), hotel manager Celina Sousa has devised a reflexology-style barefoot walk at Hotel Jardim Atlantico (www.jardim. atlantico.com) to do while they dry. Loosely based on the principle that the ref lexes in the feet have corresponding organs in the body, this 800m pied-à-treat was “made up” by Celina as a sensory pleasure rather than something scientific.

Free to both visitors and residents at the eco hotel, there are 17 shallow beds of raw materials to tread underfoot. We started with the slightly confrontational bed of pine cones which, thankfully, had been softened by a recent downpour. Celina promised it would “awaken my feet”, improve my posture and boost my circulation and, after a few “eeks”, “ouches” and “grrrs”, my tootsies were definitely alert, even if my posture was misshapen after adopting strange positions to compensate for the pain.

Undeterred, Celina all but Riverdanced over some pine needles (like cotton wool after the cones), shards of gravel and stones until we reached the volcanic sand imported from the nearby island of Porto Santo. I sunk for a minute and took in the insanely beautiful view – reminiscent of scenes from Avatar 3D – which included a small surfing village at the base being pummelled by the tempestuous Atlantic. The Barefoot Walk has been landscaped with the help of volunteers from the hotel to include giant African lilies. Fennel, rosemary and citronella made heady bedfellows and were picked for a replenishing herbal tea we enjoyed afterwards. After bark, laurel leaves and lava stones, we tiptoed to the 17th and final stop – a trough of clay and rainwater which oozed between the toes and instantly eradicated all memory of the pine cones.

More cerebral than a nullifying spa treatment, the experience did engage my brain as I responded to the various temperatures and textures. Despite Celina enthusiastically regaling us with a story of a wedding party undertaking the trail, I recommend it as a solitary experience to do at your own speed while contemplating the scenery. After a scrub with a nail-brush I felt invigorated – and in need of a good pedicure.


PUT YOUR FEET UP

If you want to be close to the action, the newly opened Vine Hotel (www.hotelthevine.com) is part of the Design Hotels group, so you can expect all sorts of contemporary and innovative features such as movement-sensitive lights under the bed, a waterfall shower setting and Vinotherapy spa. I tried the red wine Divine Bath, which is a soak in active ingredients extracted from grape seeds, vine leaves and other vine material “whose antioxidant and regenerating powers combat the action of free radicals, and act as an effective anti-ageing therapy”, according to the therapist.

For a cooler climate, try the luxury Choupana Hills resort (www.choupanahills.com) above Funchal, where private Balinese-style villas and two heated swimming pools await. Its Xôpana eatery is a prime destination for Madeiran gourmets, and chef Momo Abbane served up a feast which included the whitest, f leshiest scallops ever. Leave room to eat at Riso restaurant (www.riso-fx.com) with its rice-based menu and sleek interior next to lapping waves. Try the crab, ginger, shrimp and roast endive risotto – it’s perfect. With thanks to www.madeiraislands.travel

WALK THIS WAY…

For those who like to walk and talk, here’s a guide to the best treks on the island:

Levada das 25 Fontes Meaning “25 fountains”, this walk starts in Rabaçal, passing the Risco waterfall and heading to 25 Fontes in the west.
Distance: 4.6km Time: 3h Highest point: 1,290m Lowest point: 900m

Ponta de São Lourenço This trail is located on the eastern coast, beginning in Baia D’Abra and ending in Cais do Sardinha. The arid climate and north winds have sculpted the low vegetation. Keen gardeners will enjoy the 31 plants endemic to the island. Distance: 4km Time: 2h 30m Highest point: 110m Lowest point: 5m

Vereda do Areeiro This walk starts on Pico do Areeiro (the third highest peak) and ends on Achada do Teixeira in Pico Ruivo (the highest). Look out for caves that serve as shelters for cattle and shepherds. Distance: 7km Time: 3h 30m Highest point: 1,861m Lowest point: 1,542m

Levada do Caldeirão Verde This levada is located on the north coast, starting in Queimadas Forest Park and ending at Caldeirão Verde lagoon. Distance: 6.5km Time: 5h 30m Highest point: 980m Lowest point: 890m

Caminho do Pináculo e Folhadal Located on the north coast, this trail leads to the areas of Bica da Cana, Casa do Caramujo and Folhadal, coming to an end at Encumeada. Distance: 14km Time: 6h 30m Highest point: 1,620m Lowest point: 1,000m

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