Coming up! The Bird family visits Madeira,
and Liam makes a new friend! Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
The Portuguese archipelago of Madeira is a bit of a paradise. Combining the old world charm
of Europe with a semi-tropical climate, lets just say, it’s a beautiful place. Although Madeira is
part of Portugal, it is located less than 400 miles off the coast of Africa in the eastern
Atlantic Ocean. I brought the whole family on this Blue World adventure….and we don’t
travel light with all that scuba gear. Elise and Liam are getting good at moving all the stuff.
We begin our stay with a little sightseeing. We stop at overlooks,
and make our way into the capital of Funchal. We check out the local architecture,
picture-perfect harbors, and have lunch with a spectacular view. We
check out the local vineyards, where they grow grapes to make a world-famous desert
wine called….you guessed it, Madeira wine. So of course we needed to try it! After lunch,
we have a tasting and learn a little about the unique way this wine is made. But they don’t
just grow grapes. Bananas are another important export. We go for an afternoon walk and find a
waterfall dumping right out on a road. It’s not just a place for the locals to cool off.
This is a Madeiran car wash! No charge! The next morning we meet Pedro Gomes, the owner of Scorpio
Madeira Diving Center. He introduces us to Joao Martins, our divemaster. Pedro and Joao are
excited to show us some of the great things to see underwater here in Madeira, or as the locals say
it Madeira. With our fearless trip leader Arlindo Serrao, we start putting the gear together.
Then we get a dive briefing from Joao. Okay, so corals here, the black corals…
Our trip leader Arlindo Serrao runs Portugal Dive, a company that specializes in organizing
dive trips in Portugal. If you have a problem, this is the sign for a problem.
He put together our whole itinerary. Soon it’s time to bring our cameras down to the boat.
We are thrilled with glassy-calm conditions. See
the other day, Dad was telling me about how when an octopus is attached to your
finger, it’s one of the weirdest sensations you can ever experience.
So today I’m hoping we will find an octopus so I can experience that. Let’s go for a dive!
Yes! On our way to the dive site, we pass some curious looking geological formations.
We need a geologist because we have a lot of questions about this geology.
Is there a geologist on the boat? No but I probably can tell you something!
The vertical lines were lava flows that pushed through the rock.
Then the whole side of this hill broke off and fell into the ocean, giving a cutaway view.
Soon its time gear up and hit the water. Nice! Ah
that was smooth. oh I know! This is pretty cool. To enter the water,
we all have our favorite method. I go for the backwards plunge. Liam prefers the giant stride.
And Christine is taking it old school with the Jacques Cousteau back roll.
Underwater, we find some awesome crystal clear visibility!
Oh and look… we found that hillside that fell off the cliff revealing the lava veins.
Sinking down into the blue, I’m surprised there isn’t more coral. But that’s because
the water gets cooler in the winter—a little too cool for coral. I find
a few colonial zoanthids—they look like coral and are quite similar.
It’s not too cool for fish. There’s a big school of snapper mixed together with a bunch of Salema
Porgy, also known as the “Dreamfish” because it can sometimes cause ichthyoallyeinotoxism when
eaten. Ichthyoallyeinotoxism, otherwise known as hallucinogenic fish inebriation,
causes effects similar to LSD, including vivid auditory and visual hallucinations,
which have been described as terrifying. And the effects can last more than a day!
Note to self: fish are friends, not food. That fact kind of makes the sea stars,
sponges an a few fire worms seem a little boring in comparison.
But this beautiful anemone is kind of trippy.
A lizardfish has a low tolerance for cameras. Joao points out something in the rocks.
It’s a pair of arrow crabs, very similar to the ones in the Caribbean but with a
slightly different coloration. It’s hard to lose Joao with his pink fins.
We follow as he tries to hypnotize a sea bream…with
no luck. Hunting around for other stuff, I come across the most brilliant and beautiful
parrotfish I have ever seen. Red with yellow and gray, just like a Ferrari. The locals call them
Mediterranean Parrotfish, but that’s boring. I can only imagine them as Ferrari Parrotfish. Sadly,
only the female is so colorful. The male is a dull gray. That must be the Porsche Parrotfish. Soon
Liam pulls me away from the parrotfish because Joao has found a small octopus.
When I arrive, Christine is getting some closeups. It looks pretty big in the closeup!
Liam is determined to feel what it’s like when an octopus grabs
his hand. So he offers up a hand in friendship.
Naturally, the cephalopod is wary. This could be a trap. But we’re patient.
The octopus is very curious of this pale,
chromatophore-challenged pentapus. But afraid to make the first move.
Eventually it musters the courage to make a move. And with suction cups firmly stuck,
the little octopus attempts to pull Liam into his lair. You know, just like dad said,
it’s actually really hard to describe what it’s like when an octopus grabs your finger
But if I did have to put it into words, I would say that it feels like a million
little suction cups grabbing your finger and pulling at it with surprising strength.
After the octopus gives up, I grab a few more shots, until he decides to move on.
Then its time to head back to the boat.
We do a safety stop on the anchor line for a couple minutes, and then head to the surface.
No matter how you say it, Madeira or Madeira, it’s a magical place. It combines the old world charm
of Europe with the warm vibes of the tropics. For divers, it offers warm, crystal clear water and
Hey Guys! If you want to learn more about diving in Portugal,
check out portugaldive.com. They’re the Portugal diving experts!