The Endless Gardens on Madeira Island
The gorgeous island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal, was discovered in 1418 by the Portuguese Explorer Joao Goncalves Zarco. It was an uninhabited island 1000 km’s from the capital of Portugal, Lisbon, and just 500 km’s off the coast of Morocco. It is acknowledged for its extraordinary flora and fauna which exist throughout the entire island. One thing you are sure to notice here is the endless amounts of gardens that exist here. The island is known as the “Island of Eternal Spring” and has been an important trading and commercial post for the Portuguese for centuries. Every year, the island is filled with close to a million tourists from all over the world to explore the Madeira wineries, gardens, and many landmark sites.
Madeira’s capital is Funchal and originally was colonized in the early 1420s bringing settlers from Portugal, where the King of Portugal divided the island in half, creating the Donatary-Captain system. The capital is a beautiful, old European city with modern-day flair, exciting shops, and various botanical gardens that scent the air with the constant smell of fresh flowers’.
Madeira’s main exports were sugar cane, wine, bananas, and various tropical fruits during the 15th and 16th century with Madeira being one of the central regions where sugar was produced in mass quantities. The famous Madeira wine that has been a favorite amongst Europeans for centuries is still produced here on Madeira’s island, most notably in Funchal. It is a popular tourist destination on the island to taste the various wines and admire the vast green wineries that blend into the clear blue Atlantic ocean. 
The annual spring flower festival hosted on the island every year is a beautiful sight filled with flowers every color of the rainbow that is adorned all over the cities capital and carpeted throughout the streets with local dancers from every corner of the island’s parish communities come to celebrate in this famous festival. Adults and children are filled with an artistic experience like no other, being exposed to all the unique flora and fauna that adorn this island. This celebration is well-known and relished with music, dances, and many local sweet treats throughout the city. This is a must for anyone who wants to experience a unique culture filled fun time in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. 
