Aloe Vera admiring the sea

Warm blue

Maybe it's the slight purple tinge, maybe the pink memories. Never mind why. The sky over Madeira is warm blue.

Driving down a mountain

Mountain walks can be an amazing. But driving down the mountain, when the evening comes, is unforgettable. While you progress down curvy serpentines, the surrounding rock glistens in the final rays sunshine. You're immersed in a world that is warm, safe and breathtakingly beautiful. Then, suddenly, you're in the middle of a white cloud, surrounded by dark trees and eerie night shadows.
The sunset magic is over before you can say "goodbye".

Cloud of clover

Curral das Freiras, Madeira

A couple more seconds...

Pico do Arieiro, Madeira

Christmas Plant, oh... hang on, it's a Christmas Tree!

Madeira is renowned for great outdoor gardens, full of plants just like the ones people grow in pots in their living room, back in mainland Europe. But in the warm Mediterranean climate innocent potted plants turn out to be not-so-innocent, monstrous trees or giant shrubs. Such is the case of Poinsettia, the red-leaved decorative flower popular in Europe at Christmas. In the outdoors, this innocent beauty can grow up to 4 meters tall. So if you’re spending Christmas in Madeira, rather than putting a Christmas Plant in the middle of your dining table, you can put the table underneath it, and enjoy the sight of a blue sky spotted with fiery red flowers ;)

Last rays of sunshine

Breathtaking Madeira continued: Sunset at Pico do Arieiro

Curral das Freiras (English: The Nun's Valley) is a mountainous village nested in the shadow of Pico do Arieiro and Pico Ruivo in the heart of Madeira. The community living in this valley is isolated from the outside world by perilous cliffs, and getting in and out of there by car is one of a kind experience. The shot comes from a 1h descent from Eira do Serrado.

Pico do Arieiro

Huh? What's that? A giant golf ball landed on the surface of Mars?

Nope! It's an observation station on top of Pico do Arieiro. We spent last Christmas in Madeira, a giant mountainous garden emerging from the North Atlantic just 400 km North of the Canary Islands. 

The views are breathtaking, especially at sunset. And we've seen a lot of those, having eased into a slow lifestyle of lunchtime breakfasts and afternoon walks. At 1818 m. above sea level this peak offers a breathtaking view of the island shrouded by fluffy, pink clouds. Beautiful but also deceitful: if you linger watching the sunset, you may expect a long and slow journey home, along hair-raising mountainous crevices, down unnerving hairpin turns. 

Oh, and the road is super narrow, and it's all happening in very dense fog. Ah, they joys of travelling! :)       

New Beginnings

We are heading in a new direction. Goodbye Canterbury Cathedral, shingle beaches of Whitstable and green banks of the Great Stour. The future holds a comeback to street photography, architecture, and... bikes... lots and lots of bikes! :)

 courtesy of Jakub