Madeira: Mountains In The North Of The Island

The photo is of the mountains in northern Madeira.

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago located in the north Atlantic, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the Canary Islands.

More photos of Madeira here.

The Palheiros And Sights Of Madeira

How people live, or have lived in other countries always interests me. The photo above shows the traditional houses in Madeira known as Palheiros - which is roughly translated as 'haystacks'.

The design of these 'A' framed houses goes right back to the 1600s. When I was last in Madeira, I came across this one in the village of Santana. There aren't too many about nowadays, though the design is still used to house cattle - but these usually now have a corrugated iron roof instead of the traditional thatch.

In the homes there is a living area downstairs with a short ladder leading to the tiny upstairs sleeping section. We were lucky enough to be invited into the house in the photo.

Must get back to the Madeira mountains ...



... coastline ...



... the capital Funchal ...


... the flowers ...


... and so much more.