Clean up efforts are underway on Madeira, the Portuguese island off the coast of Northern African that was unexpectedly struck by deadly flooding on Saturday. Reports say that a month's worth of rain fell in eight hours, causing deadly mudslides and turning the artistic roadways into riverbeds. Among the hardest hit were Funchal, the cruise ship port and Ribeira Brava (pictured in this post) along the south side of the island.
Clean up is underway in those areas and Madeiran tourism officials are reporting that hotels on the north side of the island are operating and the airport is open. The same officials are saying that those who are planning to visit are being encouraged to do so. A good source of information about Madeira is Madeira Live.
[The photos above were taken during a one-day stop in Funchal last April; our first land stop after a week-long Atlantic Ocean crossing on a Holland America repositioning cruise. With no set plans for our day, we hopped a local bus and visited Ribeira Brava. The roadway wound around steep hillsides and we lost count of the numbers of hairpin turns and tunnels we experienced to reach the charming little town. Top photo is from the bus as we set out and second is Ribeira Brava.]
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