Show beautiful madeira tit ak radio towers crown funchar Fun chals s ancient fort prepared by the Natio national naj geographic society washington 1 D C service HANGING seasons do not touch CHANGING C madeira the beautiful guese island on the fringe of the eastern atlantic its velvety green mountains cleft by deep ravines its terraced hillsides brilliant with flowers and flowering vines are the same summer and winter in december the peaks of the tower ing mountains which rise ike 1 ke an amphitheater back of funchal funchar chief city of madeira are sometimes tipped with snow but all else Is vividly green with a riot of multicolored colored blossoms on every terrace of this quaint old town which climbs the hills above a sapphire sea gardens are the striking feature of the Ma detran capital they hang one above the other I 1 ke balconies radiant with flowers of many climes stiff brazilian araucaria arau carta carla pines tall australian eucalyptus and leafy ast atle mango nod to palm palin mimosa and magnolia the indian fig with its wide spread ng ng 7 branches grows beside the flamboyant of madagascar the coral tree of the west indies and the camphor tree of japan most effective in winter are the flo flow w ering creepers the deep magenta and brick red boug gainville as and the blaz ing orange bignonia which form solid masses of color on the high walls filming poinsettias and red pink and white camellias grow as tall as trees clinging to the sheer face of the cl effs which border many of the gardens Is a variety of aloe which thrusts out startling scarlet flower spikes above the blue sea to the gorgeous hues of the flowers add the gray and black of the rock strewn shore lapped by white sea foam the deep terra cotta of the soil in the ravines which intercept the town the pink buff and cream of the houses with their green shutters and red tiled roofs the brilliant chrome green of banana and sugar cane which grow in nearly every garden and you have the natural color picture of funchal funchar automobiles motor busses and trucks new crowd run funchar funchal chals s narrow streets but it Is the native carro or sledge drawn by a pair of patient oxen omen that catches the eye riding in an I 1 oxen cab in one of these two seated curtained and canopied oxeye cabs abs which re big baskets on runners one may glide over smooth polished cob bles to the cog railway that climbs a steep inci ne to pine clad heights 3 feet above the sea A feature of the ascent Is the shower of flowers tossed by blossom laden children who scamp er after sledge and funicular the descent from the mountain can be made in a toboggan sledge which offers an exciting ride the speed of the passenger and cargo sledge Is slow but the downhill running carro pro vides real thrills the broad armchair on runners Is abed in descending selected routes of tilted streets two men hold the sledge in leash by guide ropes as it starts down the slippery stone path they hop onto the back platform and the sl de begins then come flashes of town and sea gaudy blossoms draping high sunlit courts dark haired women and big eyed children framed in vine hung doo doorways r pedestrians flattened against the bays As the sledge approaches a curve ie le crew jump off to guide it with vigorous tugs around the corner checking the speed when the lower lev el W reached A ora 1 Is an oceanic amazon whose height from her crown on the summit of pico ruivo to her base in the briny deep south of funchal funchar Is nearly 20 feet only about one third of this mountain queen Is visible above water her head and shoulders draped in a vivid emerald scarf the islands forming this archi pelago made ra porto santo and two uninhabited groups are of volcanic origin considering the depth of the surrounding sea and the abysmal chasms which everywhere cleave ma deira delra s mountainous surface it Is evi dent that a vist vast period of time must I 1 have bv ea elapsed P d since the begian ng of the countless eruptions erupt lons which went toward ibie e mahln making of this island today no ain craters exist in this group as on theCla the nary and cape verde islands ephy 31 H story of madeira much traditional lore is associated with the discovery of madeira ko ro mans arabs It italians allans spaniards french english and irish have all been cred ted as the first to glimpse the island the most romantic of the legends concerns two english lovers of the fourteenth century robert machin and anna darfelt who eloped from bristol in a small craft and were blown southward to madeira s eastern shore with the coming of the fifteenth century history Is on firmer ground it Is known that the portuguese ma riner zarco sent out by henry the navigator reached porto santo in 1419 then sailed across to a larger island 23 miles awaa awa braving a dark cloud which hung over it an evil omen to the superstitious sailors of that day the forbidding cloud proved to be va por hanging banging over the mounta mountains ins of a beautiful densely wooded land zarco and his followers landed on the shore of a sheltered bay about 12 miles northeast of funchal funchar because of its forests the new land was named ma ala deira delra the portuguese word for wood A A A world renowned figure stands out in the early history of porto santo and madeira christopher columbus rest lessly sailing salling these seas in search of information regarding the then un known western ocean came to porto santo he ile married pretty philippa Phllip pa Per estello the governors laughter daughter the house where they lived in villa balmira baleira the only town in porto santo can st 11 be seen columbus devoted himself to chart making from time to time visiting funchal funchar to gather information in the madeiras Ma delras detras canaries and azores he be listened to the tale of every ad ventur ous sailor he encountered picked up valuable nautical hints and pondered deeply on the drift borne Is landward from the west sugar cane introduced from sicily was responsible tor for madeira Ma delras s pros during the early years of its col ionization negro and moorish slaves were imported from africa to work on the sugar plantations and to build roads and aqueducts the stone irrigate ing canals or levadas extending for miles down the steep mounta n sides still render efficient service without them the lower regions would be wa berless a large part of the year origin of its wine soon after the colonization of ma deira delra the malavasi Mala Mal vesi avest vine was imported by prince henry from crete and other varieties were introduced at a later pe today one type of madeira wine bears the old name Mal malvasia vasta or malmsey famous in england when western european wines of that name were well known and later when ma deira delra wines had taken their place our naval hero john paul jones was at one time master of the two friends a made ra wine ship the finest wines of the island were in de mand in the america colonies ships from boston new york philadelphia and savannah laden with pipe staves timber train oil dried fish and rice brought back pipes of madeira to the wealthy american merchants and planters madeira Is a small island little more than 30 miles in length and less than half this in width but it Is so moun fatuous so gashed by deep gorges and guarded by gigantic headlands tha that access Is d to certain of its sun kissed coastal villages cool mist en uplands and deep fern hung canyons motor busses which connect the villages on the paved highways have made a marked change in the manner of life and outlook of the coun try people the mountain village of camacha above funchar Is the home of the lm wickerwork industry for the bushy willow grows in the beds ol 01 nearby streams at nearly every door men and women weave chairs tables and baskets madeira hand embroidery has become as well known in recent year as madeira wine all through the country one sees women sitting in the open industriously plying their needles at odd moments between household tasks and girls as young as seven OT 01 eight stitching away I 1 ke veterans the island of porto santo Is mud lower and drier than madeira it ha ba stretches of sandy beach wh ch cli the larger island lacks and in summer resident ts of funchal funchar bra e the rough four hour p passage to illa palmira to enjoy the sea sim bath ng |