Our house, The Perfect Cottage (that is its name although it is also a perfectly good description), lies at the end of a very long, steep road, Estrada da Pedreiras, 2000ft above sea level and right on the edge of the ancient Laurissilva forest. The view is magnificent and is what attracted us even more than the house itself.
The Laurissilva Forest is unique to the Macaronesian islands in the Atlantic, and Madeira has the largest area of forest,about 22 thousands hectares. In 1999 the island's forest areas were designated a UNESCO world heritage site, and the Sao Vicente valley is a perfect example of this with its lush green mountains and wide valley which are home to a wide variety of trees, including Laurissilva and Eucalyptus, and varieties of endemic and exotic flora, birds and animals. Indeed, the Madeiran Firecrest, the smallest bird endemic to the island and much sought after by birdwatchers, frequents our garden almost every day, enjoying the shade of the bushes and trees and no doubt exploiting the menu of insects that inhabit them.
Behind the house, the mountain rises steeply and is densely populated by greenery with buzzards and kestrels soaring high above. Across the valley, beyond Freiteiras, wind turbines sit high up on the Paul de Serra plain, sails turning lazily, and the mists often gather around the peaks. Levadas and pathways wind around the valley and up to Encumaeda, but we have not yet found one that ascends the steep wall of rock and trees behind our house or to Boaventura beyond.
At the mouth of the valley is the Atlantic Ocean. No sandy beach here though; relentless breakers crash onto the rocky shoreline often making it to the road beyond, whilst a waterfall emerges from high above only to descend to the bay over a hundred metres below, it is truly a sight to behold.
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