Madeira blog

31 October

More then 30 ideas on how to spend a rainy day on Madeira!

Of course, when you're on vacation, it's usually more enjoyable when it doesn't rain. But Madeira has more to offer during those rare rainy moments than most people might think. For us, it was quite a surprise to see how much there is to do on the island, which may not always be immediately apparent to visitors. Here's a nice collection of things to visit or do on a rainy day during your vacation here.

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08 April

Digital Nomads on Madeira island

About six months after we finished our project here on Madeira in 2019, suddenly everything came to a standstill again. We were just getting used to receiving guests in our little paradise. On 14 March 2020, not knowing then, we waved goodbye to our last guests, the airport pretty much went on lockdown and here on Madeira we went into a fairly severe lockdown.

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03 February

Our love for animals on Madeira

Three years ago, Anne and I came to Madeira to settle down. By now, most of our project has been completed. With some small fun things left to do, we wanted to go for the next step. A new pet seemed like something really nice to have again.

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31 December

Final day of 2020

It is 6.30 a.m. on 31 December 2020. The alarm clock rings and we both get up from bed. It is the last day of this year that has begun. 

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01 October

Banana island

Anyone who has not yet been to Madeira is mainly familiar with the name "Madeira flower island", but less obvious is the name "banana island". And that while the annual export is more than 600,000 kg to the mainland.

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15 May

Grocery shopping or getting a drink on a terrace

Maintaining a monthly blog in a period when the impulses from outside have disappeared does not seem to be easy at first. After all, we don't really experience much outside of our gate to write about. Provided you can count a weekly trip to the local supermarket. Let's not get into the details about that too much. Or is it?

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06 May

Recipe: Poncha da Madeira

In Madeira, you will find many roadside bars making Poncha. Often, this is already indicated outside with a sign with a picture of the traditional glass and a caralhinho (more on this later) next to it. 

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20 January

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - 5 redenen waarom je in December naar Madeira wil!

Madeira is onlangs alweer voor de vijfde keer verkozen tot ‘Best Island Destination Of The World’, iets waar we met z’n allen trots op mogen zijn. Jaarrond kun je hier genieten van de mooie en vaak ruwe natuur, het zachte klimaat en lekker eten en drinken, Madeira heeft voor ieder wat wils! Zo ook in December, mocht je nog een leuke bestemming zoeken voor bijvoorbeeld de kerstvakantie.

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08 August

The last step of our renovation and looking to the future

On January 11, 2018 we came to Madeira together to start our new life. A new challenge, a different work pace, better weather and, above all, more time for each other.

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11 July

Arco da Calheta: Craft

From the first time we came to Portugal and Madeira, we were both in love with the type of Portuguese pavement stones called Calçada Portuguesa.

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13 June

Arco da Calheta: Island mentality

Since we have been living in Madeira, a number of things have changed for us compared to our lives on Texel. There are great things that really make a difference, such as the climate.

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09 May

Arco da Calheta: Octopus

After living in Madeira for almost 15 months, we moved in to our own newly renovated house 2 weeks ago. A reward for the long and intensive 6 months of renovation while living in the middle of the 'construction pit'.

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11 April

Arco da Calheta: Island feeling

Six months in rubble and dust ... We regularly scroll through our (mega) digital archive of renovation photos. So much debris, time and again we are surprised to look at the 'before photos'.

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14 March

Arco da Calheta: Time flies

Six days a week 'our' workmen are busy preparing everything, so our week is always completely filled. Every morning from 8:00 we are ready for all questions and we try to have everything arranged as much as possible.

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14 February

Arco da Calheta: The move

About a year ago we boarded the plane together to start our new life in Arco da Calheta in Madeira. After running a catering company on Texel for almost 16 years, we were ready to start a new life.

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07 September

Live your best life

Hotel-restaurant De Smulpot in Den Burg will change hands after almost sixty-five years. Owner Dave Huizinga is moving with partner Anne Rienstra to Madeira early next year, where they have bought an estate.

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