Around Madeira

The ferry service to Porto Santo is back in operation following its annual maintenance, but the future of the air service remains unclear. Binter Canarias had a concession from the (national) government to operate the air route which has been the subject of last-minute and short-term extensions. The concession was most recently supposed to end on 24th February, but has now been extended until April 21st. The long-term arrangements are still unknown.

A number of walking routes have reopened as the bad weather has passed. The routes that remain closed are:     PR 1 - Vereda do Areeiro - Vereda Este (via Pico das Torres)     PR 1 - Vereda do Areeiro - Pico do Areeiro – Pico Ruivo     PR 3 - Vereda do Burro (between Poço da Neve and Pico do Areeiro)     PR 4 - Levada do Barreiro     PR 6.2 - Levada do Alecrim     PR 7 - Levada do Moinho     PR 15 – Vereda da Ribeira da Janela     PR 16 - Levada Fajã do Rodrigues     PR 19 - Caminho real do Paul do Mar     PR 20 - Vereda do Jardim do Mar     PR 23 - Levada da Azenha The full list of the current state of walking routes can be found on the  IFCN website. The partial closure of PR 3 is described here . These closures are for the safety of visitors and it is an offence to use the routes when they're closed.

Just a reminder that the vessel Lobo Marinho is out of service for its annual maintenance and so there are presently no sailings between Funchal and Porto Santo. The service resumes on 10th February. The air service continues to operate at present, though it is presently only possible to book flights up to 23rd February. Flights are operated under a concession from the national government which was temporarily extended until this date, but the longer term situation has yet to be resolved.

The IFCN (Institute for Forests and the Conservation of Nature) has issued a further update to the status of the island's walking routes following the inspection of storm damage. The main change is that PR9 is now again open. There have been several changes in quick succession, so it's worth keeping an eye on the IFCN website for recent updates. The following routes are now open:     PR 1 - Vereda do Areeiro     PR 1.1 Vereda da Ilha     PR 1.2 Vereda do Pico Ruivo     PR 1.3 - Vereda da Encumeada     PR 2 - Vereda do Urzal     PR 3 - Vereda do Burro     PR 3.1 - Caminho real do Monte     PR 5 - Vereda das Funduras     PR 6 - Levada das 25 Fontes     PR 6.1 - Levada do Risco     PR 6.2 - Levada do Alecrim     PR 6.3 - Vereda da Lagoa do Vento     PR 8 - Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço     PR 9 - Levada do Caldeirão Verde     PR 10 – Levada do Furado     PR 11 – Vereda dos Balcões     PR 12 - Caminho Real da Encumeada (long-term part-closure for works)     PR 13- Vereda do

  There's a series of concerts  taking place roughly monthly in four of Funchal's museums: the Cidade do Açúcar Museum , the Henrique e Francisco Franco Museum , the Natural History Museum and Monte Station . The programme can be found here where tickets can also be purchased.  Alternatively, tickets (5 euros) can be purchased from the ticket office at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias.