Janet and I have been vacationing on the island of Madeira, an equatorial island off of the west coast of Africa, a tropical paradise where the mountains thrust thousands of feet into the sky:

It's the first time I have ever seen wild Poinsettias:

Dining in Madeira

Their seafood might make some Americans squeamish, since when you eat seafood in Madeira, you get it “on the hoof”, as I learned when I ordered sardines:

 
Fresh Sardines in Madeira


You can get scabbard fish in many of the local restaurants, and I made sure to get ours sans head, filleted and battered. Below, the serve it Madeira style, with bananas, a major Madeira export:

 
Scabbardfish served-up Madeira style

Scabbardfish is a flakey white fish, pre-tenderized from the decompression (not firm flesh) and mild in flavor, not unlike halibut.

Madeira has great seafood, and read my notes on eating Madeira deep ocean Espada fish

Culture and the people of Madeira

I was passing a building and I noticed something unusual, a dog walking on a rooftop!  I whipped out my camera but I almost missed him, but I did get a good view of the south end of a north bound roof dog:



But when I zoomed back on my camera I noticed a strange saying painted on the roof, saying:

até a barraca abana


Does this have something to do with Barrack Obama?

Now you must admit that Barraca Abana sounds a lot like Barrack Obama, and I wondered if they are related!

I Asked a local and they said that the saying is a “joke” and Barraca Abana has nothing to do with president Barrack Obama. Rather, it means “shaky shack”, something to do with a commentary of today’s tough economic times!

Anyway, it’s sunny and warm, and we love it here, definitely coming back to paint some of these gorgeous landscapes:

Photos to classify

(WIP)

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