Madeira Day 8: Seixal and Santana

Sunday 14 April
Another glorious day in Madeira, today’s destinations being Seixal and Santana on the north coast of the island. As you can see in the lower central photo, we did have a few clouds around today, sitting on the mountain tops. Seixal has a dramatic coastal setting, with its tall cliffs and rocks. In the upper right photo of my collage, in the foreground, you can see one of several natural rock pools, created by small dykes of volcanic rock, which retain the water that enters at high tide. We walked down the hill to the rock pools and enjoyed a coffee overlooking them, but we didn’t swim. We then continued along the coast to the town of Santana, (see extra), famous for its traditional triangular shaped houses, with thatched roofs, representing the natural material that was available to them in this originally isolated part of the island, wood for the walls, and cereal crops such as wheat and rye, providing the thatch for the roof. On the outside they’re known for their bright colours, whilst on the inside there was an attic to store agricultural products and a ground floor for the residential area, divided into a kitchen and a bedroom.