Selvagem Grande Madeira (Part 2)

Manuel José hunting for geckos    

At this point Manuel José suddenly started scrabbling on the ground and lifting up rocks. Despite their best efforts to evade him, he eventually triumphantly lifted up a gecko which seemed to actually quite like being stroked and passed around. Their scaly feet allow them to climb on almost smooth walls as well as, I discovered, on clothes. Our friendly gecko clung for quite some time on my shorts.

Handling a gecko   

Chatting to one of the researchers   

As well as learning about the island we also chatted at length with the crew of Sea Dragon. The small permanent crew was augmented by visitors and research guests and we learnt that they were on their way to Arrecife for maintenance work before heading west across the Atlantic and then on to Hawaii where they would pick up research scientists for a project in the atolls in that part of the Pacific.

Walking back across the central plateau of Selvagem Grande we also met to an Englishman researching the nesting sites of the island’s Cory’s Shearwaters. University students, particularly those studying for their PhDs often get permission to carry out research on the island and, of course, their findings help build up a more detailed picture of the wildlife on the island.

Looking down on Ensenada das Cagarras again   

The circular tour brought us back to Ensenada das Cagarras and a climb down the other side of the bay.

Once again, we were treated to close up views of the shearwater chicks in their rock nests; it was just fabulous to be that close to them.

Dr Frank Zino’s house (green roof, left)   

We learned more about the recent expansion of the settlement and also how the islands became a nature reserve. Originally the Portuguese authorities had sold fishing licenses for the area but a forward-thinking Madeiran businessman and birdwatcher, Dr Frank Zino, visited the island and recognised its environmental significance. In 1969 he found petrels on the island which it had been thought had become extinct (now called Zino’s Petrels) and he had used his wealth to buy all of the fishing licenses thus preventing the sea area from being exploited. Through his work and determination, the islands became a Natural Park and in recognition of this, and his long link with the island, he has the only private house in the islands (pictured above with the green roof). Dr Zino still visits Selvagem Grande every year for several weeks to continue his study of the island and its wildlife.

Sadly for us, the last steps down the cliff brought us back to the settlement and the end of our tour of the island. We are indebted to Manuel José for his time, enthusiasm and patience in showing us around the island. It was an amazing experience and we learnt a great deal.

We also learnt where the prison cell is on the island and, despite it having the best view in the complex, we felt it prudent to return to BV and bring back our paperwork and passports rather than risk becoming permanent residents! Official checks and immigration completed, we returned to BV hot and ready for a swim.

This time when we went snorkelling I took my camera with me. The very large shoal of long fish had gone but we were still treated to the delights of swimming amongst many others.

On the rocks we also saw lots of bright red crabs with yellow feet which seemed to be sunning themselves. Initially we though that they might be dead, cooked by the sun, but as we swam closer they scuttled away. It made getting a photograph of them quite difficult with a small underwater camera!

Our visit to Selvagem Grande has to be one of the highlights of our year, if not our cruise, so far. It is a far more remote island than any we have previously visited, populated just by a few wardens and researchers and (bizarrely!) a policemen, and with such fantastic native wildlife that seems almost totally unconcerned by human presence. It was a privilege to be permitted to visit and we were incredibly lucky that the weather allowed us to do so too. It’s a place that I think we will happily recall for our whole lives.

Selvagem Grande, Madeira, Portugal