Award Winning...Or Extremely Dangerous? BEWARE Madeira Island's Beauty

Beware Madeira - award winning yet potentially SO dangerous. We explore the dangers that go hand-in-hand with award-winning beauty and extreme landscapes in this retired couple's latest Vlog living abroad on the stunning island of Madeira, Portugal.

Transcript

Beauty and danger often go hand in hand, and it's no different here on Madeira.

Madeira is award-winning and beautiful, yet potentially SO dangerous.

For your safety

and for that of your loved ones,
  
don't fall victim to the siren calls of Madeira's inherent beauty.

Remember, bad choices can lead to bad results!

Welcome back to Track Us Down!

If you're just finding us, I'm Monique,

and I'm Doug.

Today, we're driving up to a beautiful lookout,

or as they say in Portuguese - a "Miradouro," called Sitio das Furna.

This location is high up above the VE4 highway, a main highway that divides Madeira in half
  
from Ribeira Brava on the south coast, to Sǎo Vicente on the north coast.

Join us as we drive the winding roads and explore this stunning lookout.

In this latest Vlog as a retired couple living abroad here on the beautiful island of Madeira,

Portugal.

we're going to talk about a contrast of two worlds here on the island, especially if you were a tourist or new to this enchanting island.

On one of our recent episodes,

we talked about how great island living was, especially here on Madeira.

And we truly believe it!

But with that, like any place in the world with winds, rains, waves, cliffs, and mountains,

Madeira demands respect.

Your life, and others you care about depend on it.

[Music]

So there's no talking about Madeira without talking about the beauty of the island.

It's truly jaw-dropping. It's gorgeous. It's fantasy like.

It's really another world.

Yes, so otherworldly in fact,

that they recently filmed the next Star Wars episode here, and it comes out later this year.

I absolutely can't wait!

That's right, and there's no doubt that if you watch our videos

or truly if you watch anything about Madeira,

everyone is always talking about the beauty.

And you know some people, some naysayers, would say we're just "YouTubers" hyping Portugal or Madeira,

and that's definitely not the case.

So let's dive into all the awards that Madeira has won - it is pretty impressive.

If you like a good conversation about retirement, moving or living abroad, or just tips on living a better "Second Half of Life,"

please feel free to subscribe to our channel and give us a thumbs up, we really appreciate your input!

So let's talk about the World Travel Awards.

These awards were created in 1993,

and they're awarded to recognize, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

So the World Travel Awards are basically considered the "Oscars" of tourism,

and is truly the most prestigious prize that can be awarded in the travel sector.

So at the most recent gala awards that took place at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, Germany,

Madeira obtained "triple distinction," that means it won three awards. Wow!

So what exactly did Madeira win?

Madeira won three amazing awards. The first, and for the 10th time, they won the Best Island Destination in Europe.

Second, their neighboring island, their neighborhood island of Porto Santo, won the Best Beach Destination,

and of course, third, the Madeira Promotion Association won the Best Tourism Entity.

Wow! So there you have it, the best island destination in Europe!

You have to think about the competition that there is in Europe, that's pretty amazing.

And Porto Santo is a place that we absolutely love. The beach is stunning,

there's just no doubt about it, it is a beautiful, beautiful beach.

[Music]

For Madeira to be voted the Best Island Destination in all of Europe, there's a lot of competition there.

The Madeira Region took the award from the other 12 islands that were also in the race in the vote.

In the race with Madeira were other islands like the Azores,

the Canary Islands,

Ibiza,

Mallorca, in Spain,

Crete,

the Cyclades in Greece,

Sardinia,

Sicily,

Malta,

Cyprus,

Guernsey,

and Jersey, in the United Kingdom

Wow, that's pretty impressive to beat out all those other islands.

And of course, Porto Santo.

This was the first time that Porto Santo won the award Best Beach Destination in Europe,

And it also beat out a whole bunch of other locations including the Algarve, and Cannes in France

Corfu, and Costa Navarino in Greece,

Mallorca, and Marbella in Spain,

and it beat out Sardinia in Italy,

That's pretty amazing! Madeira and Porto Santo, well-deserved, and well done!

For the third award,

the Madeira Promotion Association won the award for Best Tourism Entity in Europe.

Madeira competed in this category with 13 other nominees,

such as the Tourism of France, of Austria, Croatia,

Tourism of Ireland, Germany, the Greek Tourism, the Spanish Tourism, the Italian Tourism,

the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism,

Slovenia Tourism, Portuguese Tourism, and even Visit England.

Wow, that's a lot of competition. Congratulations to the Madeira Promotion Association.

At the ceremony that took place in Berlin,

it was also announced that Madeira will host

two International World Travel award galas next November.

The first will be the World Golf Awards gala, which is kind of interesting, we do have two beautiful golf courses here on Madeira,

and that's scheduled for November 22nd.

And the second will be the World Travel Awards Global gala,

which will take place on November 24th.

Both will take place at the Savoy Palace in Funchal.

And interestingly enough, the Savoy Palace in Funchal itself also recently won the Best Hotel in Europe award.

That's a lot of awards for Madeira!

I would like to stay at the Savoy Palace, very nice!

So there you go. Madeira obtained "triple distinction" at the World Travel Awards. Wow!

And as Doug mentioned,

Funchal is going to be hosting two International World Travel Award galas in 2024,

So yes, Madeira is truly award-winning.

But Madeira is also VERY unforgiving.

So as we've celebrated Madeira's remarkable achievements,

it's also important to acknowledge the inherent dangers that come with exploring rugged terrain.

And despite its stunning beauty, Madeira does pose significant risks to unsuspecting tourists,

from treacherous cliff edges, to unpredictable weather conditions.

[Wind]

Unfortunately each year, numerous tourists fall victim to accidents

while exploring Madeira's scenic vistas.

Sadly, sometimes even succumbing to fatal injuries caused by falls or drowning incidents.

Yeah, that's pretty sad.

This island's steep cliffs, turbulent seas, and unpredictable weather patterns, present a constant threat to unwary travelers,

highlighting the importance of exercising caution and adhering to safety guidelines at all times.

It seems like so many tourists

put more importance on taking a "Selfie" or swimming in rough waters, than their own safety.

It's in the new news here weekly, if not daily.

Take a look at this:

[waves crashing]

It's hard to get away from some of these headlines when you're looking at Madeira news,

about what's happening to tourists,

or even some people who live here who don't heed the warning signs, they don't stay within the designated areas.

You really do have to refrain from risky behavior,

it's just very critical, very crucial, for tourists to prioritize their safety,

or even for us living here, to prioritize safety,

while exploring Madeira's natural wonders.

And if you take proactive measures and you use common sense,

visitors or even residents

can ensure that you can safely and enjoyably have experiences here on the island.

[Music]

So that means, if you're going out on a long hike, especially just by yourself or two people,

don't just rely on your cell phone for a signal.

You could lose power in your cell phone easily, or there's just no GPS signal.

You should have some kind of little like Garmin inReach device

that will always be in contact with a satellite.

It gives you a little bit of peace of mind.

But of course before you even have something like that, 
you have to start whatever activity you're going to do with common sense.

If the water's too rough, don't go in.

The fire department is called down to the beaches here on Madeira on a weekly basis,

sometimes twice in a day or more, to rescue somebody who's got themselves in trouble with the undercurrent.

It's not worth it on your vacation to go in any waters that look like they're too rough.

And on a hike, if the winds really pick up, or the fog comes in or it starts to get really pouring rain and slippery,

it's okay to call it quits, try again another day.

Just don't take unnecessary risks.

And also, if the sign says don't go behind this sign or don't cross here,

then don't.

They put signs for a reason, and although it may not look dangerous to you

as you look over the sign or the blockage,

they've put it there for a reason.

And we see a lot of people just ignoring those signs and that's really so unsafe.

And just remember that the weather here changes moment to moment.

You could be hot and sunny down by the water, and you go up into the mountains, and you could start a hike and it's beautiful.

And within half an hour, the wind and the mists, the fog, the rain has come in,

and it can get very disorienting.

And you can get lost, even on a levada walk if you're not careful.

You really have to plan your route out ahead of time and just don't take unnecessary risks.

That will ensure a really enjoyable vacation.

And it's okay if you head out on a levada walk or a hike,

and this has happened to us,

you decide that that's enough, and you turn around and you walk back out.

You don't have to complete everything, nobody's keeping check.

Just to let you know, if you are interested in coming on holiday to Madeira, moving to Portugal,

or you would simply like to support our channel,

please join us on Patreon, we'd love to meet you there.

On Patreon, we have the ability to meet up one-on-one with you by a Zoom call,

and a real life in-person meetup when you're in Madeira.

Personalized service!

So if you're coming to Madeira to hike, swim, or just see this island's amazing sites,

please remember to respect Madeira's natural environment and heed the warnings of local authorities.

You can definitely still have a spirit of adventure, just make sure to prioritize your own safety.

You can truly immerse yourself in the beauty and splendor of this enchanting island paradise.

And speaking of enchanting island, look at this top of the lookout!

It is so beautiful up here.

It's warm and sunny, and they've kind of decorated it up a little.

A great place to bring a picnic and just hang out for a while and look at the view.

There are so many of these type of miradouros all around the island, you don't even have to do a big levada walk,

you can just drive to some of these places and just do a short walk out to them.

This one is amazing, what they've done with the renovations up here, and just made it a personal little picnic place.

This is one of our favorite.

There's also a washroom up here, which is kind of nice, the halfway point if you're driving somewhere.

And another thing worth mentioning is if you are coming here and you're older, or you have an older guest,

these kind of lookouts are great stops instead of doing hiking.

There's a little bit of walking involved, but nothing too tough, and the payoff is the amazing view.

It's some of these kind of walks or trails like you see on the other side,

that could get a little bit dodgy

or definitely do get too dodgy.

Don't risk it!

So this has been kind of a 'public service announcement' I guess you could say, on our part here at Track Us Down for this beautiful island of Madeira.

We hope that you enjoyed coming along for this drive with us and seeing this beautiful miradouro,

and this award-winning island.

Thank you so much for spending some of your time with us today,

let us know in the comments your thoughts on Madeira's awards as well as the inherent dangers,

we we love hearing from you.

And as always, check back in, and,

Track Us Down!