Africa Wild

Lovely memories, Lis.

and I sure have lots

I have a cupboard full of old photos going back to the early nineties. The older ones unfortunately drowned when our cellar was flooded many years ago.

I think that I'll post some from France, where I have spent some of my best moments and maybe Spain ..and Denmark

Hopped on a bit late, Lisbeth,

but amazing shots and for sure brilliant places you have visited

Thanks for looking, Pumbaa

Christmas at Madeira 2006 (Scanned photos)

View from Guesthouse

Levada
The levadas of Madeira

The Property “Levadas of Madeira Island are an hydraulic engineering work known internationally as ‘Levadas da Madeira’. The Property and its limits were defined according to the design and the permanent characteristics of this water transportation system of about 800 km of public and private waterways or aqueducts.
The Levadas (from the Portuguese verb “levar” – to carry) are a system of channels or aqueducts of many kilometres in length, mostly bordering mountains but also going through them, with several stretches over rugged rocks, to bring water from different sources to its intermediate or final uses.
Today, the ‘Levadas da Madeira’ constitute an exceptional multi-functional enterprise, transporting water for human consumption, agricultural purposes and the production of electrical energy. They are also paths for discovery and contact with nature and the agricultural landscape, becoming an “ex libris” of the region.
The Levadas are channels where the water runs year-round along an unobstructed surface, in a gentle flow, carried by gravity along channels with a slight incline:
• As a rule, those installed at 1000m altitude, or higher, collect and transport water to the power houses of the hydroelectric plants. The primary function of these waterways is for water collection.
• Those that receive water from the turbines at the hydroelectric plants or that collect water from springs, creeks or streams, in the higher zones of farming areas, are primarily waterways for distribution purposes. These levadas (public or co-owned) have gates that distribute the water through irrigation systems, periodically taking the water to tanks or directly to farm lands.

The origin of the levadas dates back to the first settlements of Madeira Island, in the first quarter of the 15th century, when water became necessary to water farm lands, particularly sugar cane fields – the first crop of high economic value in Madeira – and for the functioning of the first mills and sugar factories. It is worth noting that in the second half of the 15th century, water carried by levadas was essential to Madeira Island’s becoming one of the largest producers and exporters of sugar in Europe, the “World” of those days.

Flowers in the middle of winter
Typical Portuguese Architecture
Kitch for Christmas!
On the way to a very nice restaurant. I was starting a cold
The inland of the island
The coast
Mercato dos Lavoradores at Funchal, the capital
Airport

Looks lovely!! Not much left of that fish!

I still remember that it was delicious

WOW, all those beautiful flowers and the different kind of fruit (looks extremely inviting, yum) as well as the landscape and the superb tile mosaics. So nice to look at!

The only thing... they have a knack for Christmas kitsch, hey?