Essential asked the director of Hotel Quinta da Serra, what is it that makes Madeira "his".
I would like to start this article by mentioning that Madeira, the place that adopted me more than 35 years ago, is, by my own choice, my land, the place where I like to live and where I want to live.
My passion for this island and its people started in 1969 when I came here for the first time. It was an experience that left a mark on me and which I recall very well as it was the first time I travelled by plane, fully at the mercy of the air stewardess, that kind of professional who still today knows how to fill our travels with kindness.
From that year onwards, it was an adventure I repeated annually on my summer holidays when I came to spend long periods at my grandparents’ house in Virtudes in São Martinho. The memories I hold dearest to me from those times were of when me and my cousins and friends used to go to Clube Naval do Funchal together and had great adventures be it diving or building new friendships.
My decision to live here came about naturally in 1979, revealing just how much I care for this land and the way how I’ve always felt “at home” here.
I love every corner of this island a lot, as I usually take a walk with my family, but I do have a place that, for every reason possible, is quite special to me: Fanal.
It’s a place where I go often in the summer, though especially in the winter to recharge my batteries, absorb the landscape and loose myself contemplating those old trees, covered in mist more often than not and where odours blend reminding me of my childhood when I used to play in the fields and felt the fresh odour of wild flowers.
Here I spend time with my family doing picnics or just talking walks, photographing Nature while chatting and contemplating. This place’s energy and mystique make me feel reinvigorated and ready to tackle another few days of work and concerns.
Fanal is, thus, one of those few corners of our island that is still little explored. The visit is one that I dearly recommend, always respecting the site and Nature.
This is “My Madeira”.
