09.01.2026 – Crumble

Our afternoon tour on the Ribeira Brava was lacking in cetaceans but our guests had the chance to appreciate our beautiful island from the ocean, an experience even the crew tends to underestimate in its value since we have that view all the time. Madeira was created by a hotspot at 4000m depth about 26 million years, with magma flows as well as point and fissure eruptions shaping the island as time passed. This volcanic template was then further shaped by erosion biotically, due to an increased presence of life on the island, as well as abiotic ally, through wind and water movement.

These forces of erosion lead to the crumbling of basalt rock, which can often lead to landslides and cliff breaks along the coastline. Such natural disasters have shaped the southwestern coast with the coastal towns of Paul do Mar and Jardim do Mar, as well as Prazeres and Arco da Calheta being products of such events. In 1929 a large landslide in Cabo Girão even resulted a tsunami  that killed 20 people in Camâra de Lobos.

It is truly humbling to imagine that while we are admiring the current view of Madeira, that ongoing erosion will continue to shape the island maybe leading to a very different appearance in the next decades.

By Paula Thake

Sightings of the day

Ribeira Brava

13:00 No sightings