Madeira: floating gardens on the Atlantic

Report Serge Barret / Photos Alain Parinet

A caravel ! This was all that was needed to complete the magical picture of a world battered by the waves of the upper Atlantic. A caravel! The quintessential vessel of all fantasies, a shoddy boat - with a big castle at the stern and not much in front - but a boat which, in terms of departure and real mystery, conveys a large part of the collective imagination. For the moment, this caravel is passing beneath the cliffs and lush gardens of Madeira's other myth, the Reid's Palace. In fact, it is a faithful reproduction of the Santa Maria de Christopher Columbus in which, setting off towards a mysterious infinity, he crossed the Atlantic in 1492; no more than a large boat, no less than a trawler and reproduced identically to represent Madeira at theuniversal exhibition in Lisbonin 1998.

And why Madeira? Because Christopher Columbus lived for a few years on Porto Santo, a small island fringed with white sand off the coast of the Portuguese archipelago, and even married the governor's daughter there. Now, this reproduction takes tourists on a tour of Porto Santo. FunchalThe boat is available in the capital for a few hours of festive cruising, complete with costumed crew and vociferous parrot. But also, and in this case privatised, corporate groups looking for high adventure fantasies.

It's funny, this a sense of Atlantic isolation taking a look elsewhere in America. It's a bit like Azores - which also belong to the large archipelago of Macaronesia with Madeira, the Canaries and Cape Verde - where this feeling is even stronger. But after all, it's just a feeling, no doubt due to the fact that these islands are basically just big rocks battered by the waves; far, far away from Europe in general and Portugal in particular.

Yet Portugal is everywhere in the island's history, starting with its belated discovery in 1419. Even then, it was discovered by navigators during a storm. Joao Gonçalves Zarco and Tristao Vaz Teixeira. to be continued by the first Portuguese settlers, who worked wonders with the help of slaves captured in Africa and the Guanches, the indigenous people of the Canary IslandsTorn from their islands. Land was cleared, sugar cane was grown, vineyards were planted, livestock was reared, villages were created, churches were built and cobbled roads were cut through the chaos of the truly rugged terrain. There were also quite a few adventurers and great discoverers on stopover. And, inevitably, there was the violence of the pirates, who did not mince their words in the area...

Madeira first belonged to the Portuguese crown, before falling into Spanish hands (1582-1640) and then, with Portugal's regained independence, raising its flag once again. Then it was the turn of the English, who, thanks to a royal marriage between a lady from Braganza and Charles II of England, saw Madeira as an opportunity to make a name for themselves. an excellent commercial hub between Europe, Africa, the Americas and even India. Almost all the wine trading companies and crafts, such as wickerwork, were English at the time.

But apart from a few traditions such as tea time Imperturbably respected by the major hotels, it is undeniably Portugal that is to be found everywhere today. With Manueline style, black and white cobblestones on the pavements of Funchal in the vein of those in Lisbon, azulejos on the walls of convents, but also in the street, in a more popular version, like for example, right next to the Teatro Municipal Baltazar in Funchal, those of the Ritz, once one of the most chic cafés in the capital and today a patisserie-tea room.

With its Lisbon-style black and white cobblestones, azulejos and cellars that produce a wine as famous as Porto, Funchal offers a typically Portuguese art of living with a tropical touch.

In a sublime range of blues, they present the habits and customs of the island from a slightly folkloric, but nonetheless edifying, perspective. There are embellished scenes of grape harvests, basket-making and lace-makers at work, as well as curious ox-carts on wooden runners and elegant women being carried around in hammocks, palanquin-style. We'll see later that this mode of transport, with its slightly slave-like connotations, was once widely used, as the terrain of the town and the island in general is a particular killer for short legs.

This city, Funchal, will be explored through its history on a guided tour. food tour organised by Wine Tours Madeira - it is particularly popular with corporate groups, businessmen and women. food tours - from every point of view. Particularly in terms of calories. See you under the jacarandas on Avenida Arriagathe Champs-Élysées of Funchal, after a quick visit to the cathedral This 15th-century church is as austere on the outside as it is richly decorated on the inside, particularly its coffered cedar ceiling and, above all, its high altar with its ten panels of Flemish painting. However, it's not long before we have to leave the sacred behind and get down to the business of earthly sustenance, with our first stop just a few steps away at Made in Madera.

It's 9.30 in the morning, and bang! Right away, a generous glass of Barbusano 2012 white wine, accompanied by fresh cheese crostini. Then it's straight on to a trip to Blandy's Wine Lodgeone of Madeira's most famous and beautiful wine cellars. A tour of the cellars, of course, followed by explanations of the production process, and snap! Tasting! A white Madeira and a red Madeira... It's 10 o'clock in the morning. Time to switch to chocolate, with a stop at one of the island's best chocolate factories, Uau Cacauto a very promising young talent, Tony Fernandes. Then it was Fabrica Santo AntonioThis historic house, which produces delicious biscuits, is the talk of the town. And so on, including a visit to the central market, the mercado dos Lavradores...

Year in, year out, we'll be stopping off at around ten establishments, including a restaurant for a traditional lunch of tuna and marinated pork, washed down with - and snap! - of local beer, followed by another establishment for - and snap! - a poncha tradicional, which bears a striking resemblance to West Indian punch and is all the rage in Madeira... At 2pm, after a delicious black sabre sandwich opposite the market, just in case we were still hungry, the tour was over... We almost regretted the hammock trick seen earlier, on the azulejos of the Ritz...

Between the anecdotes and historical facts recounted by the guide, you will have discovered the charm of the old townIt's a tiny town, with low houses, balconies from which you can breathe in the sea breeze, narrow streets with small round black pebbles, the same ones over which the ox-cart sledges used to glide. And all these old-fashioned stalls and bistros, foreshadowing the flurry of tourist restaurants of the rua Santa MariaBut there are also the lonely café terraces that are very popular next to the golden yellow walls of the fort that encloses this historic district... And the vegetation is everywhere, covering the smallest patch of garden, the smallest square metre of land left undeveloped.

But theFunchal's extraordinary abundance of plantsis even more likely to be found in the upper townAll this omnipresent green can be breathed in even better by climbing up the streets of this town, which is a great place to visit. city-amphitheatre The only part of the city that remains more or less flat is the historic quarter and the harbour. So much so that cars sometimes struggle to get into first gear...

As a result, the municipality has built a cable car starting at the seaside and soaring 3,173 metres, all the way up to the ravishing Nossa Senhora do Monte church - made of basalt and white lime as is traditional - and the fabulous Monte Palace GardensIt's an exotic place beyond imagination, in the district where the English once lived on holiday, as well as the last emperor of Austria, Charles I and his wife Zita, who were in exile at the time.

As for the descent, it's unique in the worldIt's one of the most exhilarating urban experiences you can have. The result is two or three-seater wicker baskets attached to skates, guided down the steep streets of the upper town at breakneck speed by two sturdy white-clad men in bowlers. Two kilometres and ten minutes like that, with the sound of skates scraping on the asphalt, a few cars passing at the end of the route and tight bends taken in chassé - sometimes really chassé - that are as good as those on some fairground rides. It's not a new concept, having been used as a means of transport by the privileged classes at the beginning of the last century. And, as in almost all historic sites, old black and white photos on display at the bottom of the church steps, showing gentlemen in hats and ladies in dungarees, bear witness to this. However, the less adventurous can always take the cable car, or even the taxi or bus. But clearly, that's a lot less fun.

Europe's elite fell under the island's spell at the end of the 19th century.^e century. Madeira then became a fashionable meeting place, much appreciated by the British gentry in particular. The chic atmosphere continues to this day, particularly at Reid's Palace during afternoon tea.

After that, all that remains is to discover the west of the town, where almost all the big hotels are located, including the famous Reid's and its weight of nostalgia, since it welcomed the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth, better known as Sissi, on her second trip and for a few months, when she came to Madeira to treat her tuberculosis, and more certainly her immeasurable melancholy. Her statue, in bloom almost daily, now stands in place of the quinta she rented during her first stay, just in front of the casino and hotel built by the great Brazilian architect Oscar NiemeyerIt bears a striking resemblance to the cathedral in Brasilia. In fact, by moving to Madeira, Sissi was simply following the trend set by the English aristocracy and upper middle classes to spend the winter and take advantage of the quality of the air in Madeira. "the island of flowersthat of "the eternal spring.

Bordered by large hotel complexes, both old and new, theavenida Do Infante extended by theestrada Monumental leads straight to the gates of the city, and thus to the adventure of the winding roads by the sea, which never shy away from a sharp bend, particularly the one that leads to one of Madeira's prettiest little ports, Camara de Lobosabout ten kilometres west of Funchal. It's all there: a black pebble beach acting as a harbour at the end of a cove, painted boats waiting to leave for the fishing, white houses huddled together, a few bistros and restaurants. But also, at the top of the cliff overlooking it all, a Churchill's PlaceNow a restaurant, it marks the spot where the great man painted his seascapes in the 1950s.

From there, head due north, by 4×4 of course, as the chosen route follows the old 'royal road', the very first to cross the island from north to south via the centre. What an experience! First of all, it's a very small, more or less normal road, which climbs up the hill. It's lined with healthy vegetable patches where just about every vegetable on earth grows. There are also banana trees, thousands of them as everywhere else on the island, the occasional vine, hard-working peasants and little whitewashed houses with red tiles. Everything is cultivated in terraces, another Madeira tradition, because the slopes of the mountains are not exactly gentle.

And then there's the old road itself. In fact, it's more like a sunken path lined with ferns, bumping along its old cobblestones which are now potholed, and full of ruts from which only a 4×4 can effectively extricate itself. All in a eucalyptus forest which sometimes lighten to reveal dizzying precipices. What a climb! It's easy to see why the privileged few preferred to take the hammock, leaving the hard work to the farmer porters, who were much stronger than they were.

Between rocky peaks, winding valleys and jagged coastlines, the island's rugged terrain is softened by an abundance of vegetation, sometimes left in its wild state, sometimes sophisticated in sublime gardens covered with all the flowers of creation.

Suddenly, at the top of a hill, a completely different landscape emerges. A windswept plateau of broom and gorse, grazed by herds of cows, and home to the only real, long, straight road. This road passes through a forest of laurel trees, endemic to Madeira and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the time, the road is shrouded in clouds, veiled in layers of mist so damp that moss and ferns parasitise the branches of the trees, which are more than a hundred years old. Then, almost reluctantly, it's back down to the north coast, and the surprise of another remarkable site, an area of natural pools laid out as beautifully cemented beaches, sometimes submerged by the foam of the ocean's big waves, sometimes left completely open to the air. It's great fun, although a little too busy in season.

And then it's back to Funchal, which isn't very far as the crow flies, as the island is only about a kilometre long. 57 km long and 22 km wide. But then, what a journey! Bend after bend, tunnel after tunnel, slope after slope, valley after precipice, ocean overhang and villages clinging to the mountains. The roads are fantastic in Madeira. And what's more, they're lined with lines of flowersThe plant has been planted with giant hydrangeas and buttercups, mimosa and viperina, and even geraniums and agapanthus. 165 species exclusively from Madeira. Because flowers are everywhere on this island. So many that it's impossible to identify them without at least a doctorate in horticulture. Florists have understood this well, preparing large bouquets for departing tourists on the eve of their departure. Birds of paradise, above all. These are also the flowers that symbolise the island and last a whole month in a vase. Just long enough for the memories to fade.