Madeira Piano Fest

The Association of the Friends of the Madeira Conservatory of Music present yet another unique musical festival: Madeira Piano Fest, an event to be held between November, 4th to 5th and 11th to 12th.

This year´s edition features ten pianists from eight different countries (Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, and Portugal) performing various combinations: piano duet recitals and four hands piano concerts.

From harmonious and humoristic pieces, to pieces with great emotional depth and artistic impact, from virtuosity and brilliance to nearly orchestral sound effects, the Madeira Piano Fest wants to demonstrate this instrument´s almost unlimited potential, a key element for developing the creativity of many composers from a range of different periods, resulting in a vast repertoire.

The musical pieces will be played using Steinway and Bechstein pianos, at the Baltazar Dias Municipal Theatre.

Madeira Nature Festival

During the first week of October several active tourism activities will take place on land, sea, and air, promoted by partners (agents that are officially certified to promote tourist entertainment activities), including jeep tours and safaris, hiking and walks along the levadas, canyoning, BTT biking, horse riding, quad biking, bird watching, climbing, boat trips/sailing, dolphin and whale watching, boat trips, diving, kayaking, snorkelling, surfing, sight-seeing, parasailing, cable car rides, and much more. 

Land Activities ...

Birdwatching
Madeira Islands offers excellent conditions for Bird Watching either land or sea specimens. This is an excellent opportunity to get in touch with the islands natural heritage. Madeira's rich biodiversity certifies the island as a rich Biogenetic Reserve acknowledge by the European Council as a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO, allowing you to get in touch directly with some of Madeira islands Macaronesia endemic specimens. Walk the islands footpaths and discover birds such as the Trocaz Pigeon (Columba toed), the Lavandeira (schmitzi Motacilla cinerea), the buzzards (Buteo buteo harterti) and the Zino's petrel (Pterodroma Madeira). Should you prefer to go on a boat trip you may also encounter a wide variety of seabirds. There are certified companies specialized in this area which organize land and sea tours, according to your best interests. 

Mountain Biking
Mountain biking is a very popular way to explore and discover Madeira Islands. Riding your bike along the islands you'll discover some of the magical corners of Madeira and Porto Santo islands. Take profit of the pleasure of feeling the surrounding scenery discovering some of the hidden footpaths midst the heart of the Laurissilva forest. 

Canyoning
Going down the clear water streams in Madeira island is a way to disclose some of the untouched and virgin parts of the island. Summertime is the most suitable time of the year to experience the islands northern streams as the water levels are more abundant, turning it into a very exciting challenge. However in wintertime the southern streams are the most appealing as they offer an easier and gentler access. 

Excursions
To discover the archipelago you can choose to engage a guided tour planned by the local certified official professional entities. You can plan either a tour in the sea or in the land through the local travel agents and the local official tourism leisure company/agents. 

Horseback Riding
Riding along intermediate or easy trails is an ideal approach to avoid daily stress, surrounded by beautiful landscapes. 

Jeep Safari
Discover the island in 4x4 vehicle and enjoy its unique panoramic views. Feel the excitement of overcoming natural challenging obstacles and get in touch with untouched settings which will provide you with unforgettable memories. 

Levadas Walks
Madeira's challenging and mountainous relief and its unique environment that will allow you to engage in the discovery of several footpaths placed in natural settings of rare beauty. The north part of the island and central mountain chain are ideal locations for the practice of this activity. Discover Madeira Levada Walks. 

Sea Activities ...

Sailing & Boat Trips
Discover a different side of Madeira Islands. The panoramic views over the coastline enhance the natural beauty of this enchanted island. Schedule a tour to Desertas Islands and visit the last monk seal's (Monachus Monachus) refuge, commonly known by locals as Lobo Marinho. Do not miss the opportunity to observe other marine fauna specimens such as dolphins and with luck, whales. 

Whales & Dolphins
Madeira Island is an ideal destination for the observation of dolphins, whales and other marine specimens namely turtles. Swimming along with some marine mammals, under the guidance of marine biologist teams or certified official guides, will offer you an unforgettable experience surrounded by a mild and peaceful sea setting. Join one of the local certified entertainment agents devoted to the observation of cetaceans that will make you acquainted with this practice allowing you to interact with these animals. 

Scuba diving
Dive into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and discover an intriguing underwater world. Visit some of the islands most inviting diving Nature Reserves. Get in touch with the peacefulness of diving with some of the local fish specimens, used to coexist with divers, providing excellent underwater photography opportunities. In the heart of the Atlantic Ocean lies an interesting undersea world. 

Air Activities ...

Airplane Journeys
Get to know the inland side of the island by engaging yourself in an airplane journey. This is a unique way to discover places that will remain in your mind forever, some of them will even allow you to dream with the garden of Eden! You will discover unspoilt places where Nature seems to be as pure as before the discovery of the island! 

Paragliding
Due to the islands morphological features this is one of the most appealing activities to the lovers of this sports practice. There are excellent locations to engage in this adventure, such as Pico da Cruz, Madalena do Mar viewing point, and also Porto da Cruz and Prazeres.

Tour of Madeira Classic Car Rally

Each year the Madeira Classic Car Club (Clube de Automóveis Clássicos da Madeira) holds its annual Tour of Madeira Classic Car Rally. This year it will take place between the 24^th and 25^th of June. The event is recognized by PAKF (Portuguese Automobile & Karting Federation) and has become an annual sensation.

What is it?

Classic rallying is a type of road rally suitable for most standard classic cars, with no special equipment needed (the equipment allowed depends on the particular rally). These rallies are more about enjoyment than speed, and can be a good introduction to historic motorsport (which also include race meetings, classic endurance, and hillclimbing). A classic road rally is not about speed; in fact, there are severe penalties for finishing too early. The idea of a rally is to travel from a point to another within a certain time (time controls), not too fast or too slow, trying to match a speed average set by the organizers.

Classification?

Classic rallies can be classified as regularity rallies, endurance rallies, and touring rally.

In regularity rallies, a series of intermediate time controls must be visited in the correct order. At each control point, the team stops and has time recorded on a card. At the end of the event, the competitor who has visited all these controls and who has the fewest early or late penalties overall is the winner. Note that with the introduction of electronics, control points can be replaced by sensors which trigger the cars at their given time thanks to a transponder, enabling much accurate penalties system.

Endurance rallies are long-distance motor rallies for vintage, historic and classic cars.

Touring rallying is all about enjoying countryside and the company of classic car owners, which is the case of Madeira’s Tour of Madeira Classic Car Rally.

Classic rallies try to relive some of the great events of the 1960s and 1970s when man and machine were often alone for hours, even days, with little support. Cars now have expendable parts and a gearbox can be changed in twenty minutes. On the long tough rallies of yesteryear drivers had to drive 3000 km exclusively up and down the French Alps, for example, against the clock for most of the way, and look after the gearbox and every other part of the car, since changing them was impossible.

As a rule participants are given a road map, a straightforward ball and arrow system to show the route. The map also provides a diagrammatic representation of the road junction.