Panorama of Funchal from the Monte hill		Most of Madeira' seaside is rocky
First you see the airport	It is not so far in the sea as said	but close
The runway indeed is on columns	Actually from the air you first see the "Islas desertas", an uninhabited chain of islands
Near the airport is Machico, where the Portuguese first landed in 1419, driven here by a storm Their leader, João Gonçalves Zarco is considered the discoverer of the island	According to legend, an English couple escaping from forced marriage in the14th century, reached the island Machico has the name after "Machim", the name of the husband	North of Machico, the cap of Sao Lourenço, the easternmost end of the island
As there are no sandy beaches but rocks, hotels are high above the seaside	The biggest industry in Madeira is tourism, no wonder that there are a lot of hotels	The pools of the hotels are the places where one can swim
	The spectacular volcanic scenery of mountains, rocks, valleys and the seaside explain this
	After tourism, come bananas and Madeira wine.	Madeira wine is a fortified wine, existing in sweet, semi-dry and dry varieties
	Ancient farmers' houses are now souvenir shops Most of them are in Santana, in the north	While sugar cane, erstwhile an important industry, is now mainly used to produce the famous Madeira rum
	Funchal
	The cathedral
Chafariz fountain Banco Santander	Around the cathedral is the inner city The seat of the Legislative Assembly	The statue of João Gonçalves Zarco in front of Banco portugal  and the Bank's spectacular gate
Another bank building. Caixa Geral	In front of the house the bust of Polish general Pilsudski, who spent some years in Madeira	Selling vegetables in traditional Madeira costume
	Fort Sao Lourenço	Rotunda Infante - to the honour of Henry the discoverer Sissyi (Empress Elisabeth of Austria) stayed in Madeira
Saint Francis quarter on the outskirts of Funchal	with a statue of the saint	Memorial for the equestrian postman "The Messenger" by Ricardo Velosa
The street is flanked by restaurants and painted doors	Workers' Market and Saint Mary street Shopping and restaurant passages	The Market
	The cable car to Monte above the street Sculpture in a restaurant
The fishing hall Espada: Scabbard fish, a local speciality
Traditional costume	Azulejo ceramics at the entrance of the market	Old scales
	Chimneys of Madeira
	All chimneys have air outlets on the side and this gives a funny view, as if they had eyes or noses