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| Madeira is situated in the
North Atlantic (32o 38` N, 16o 54` W) and has an area of 736 square
kilometres. The maximum length is 58 km, from Ponta do Pargo to S. Lourenço
and width 23 km, from Ponta de S. Jorge to Ponta da Cruz.
When we were school kids, the Portuguese history told us that Madeira was discovered by João Gonçaves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira in 1420 but today, new records came to life and attribute the first visit to the island to Manuel Pessanha, a Genovese admiral employed by the then king D. Dinis of Portugal in 1317. Regardless who came first, Madeira was the first settlement outside of Portugal and the beginning of the golden era of the Discoveries.
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From the airport we followed the most amazing highway system we have seen, puncturing the mountains to make the 22 km trip to Funchal a breeze |
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The highway from the Airport to Funchal |
View of Funchal |
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| The view from our room at the Hotel Porto Mare | |
