"The House of the Hortensias"

Casa das Hortensias is located in a very agreeable area, with a unique and very amenable microclimate, on the north Coast of Madeira Island.

The inhabitants are simple people that live of the land and keep their traditions and purity. This house, a traditional architecture building, has been converted into one of the cosiest and typical houses for Tourism in the rural area. Full of charm and good taste the house still maintains its rustic essence, with stone walls and pavements, wooden beams, fruit press and traditional balconies from where a magical and unique view over the blue of the ocean and the green of the vineyards can be seen.

The countryside around the Casa das Hortensias is agricultural and green: handsome vines full of promise for the next harvest can be seen for miles. Loaded papaya trees that have sprouted sporadically can be found either here or there. Shapely banana trees with leafy shade share the same patch with aromatic flowers, robust herbs, and colourful passion fruit plants. On the edges of vegetable terrains some dark fig trees, modest lemon or orange groves, and bouncing avocado trees add to the visual flavour. An emblem of Madeira's flora, the unique "fruit of paradise", can also be found nearby.

On the property the garden is fully laden with the most extraordinary and varied variety of flowers and plants lays as a quilt work before the deep vineyards below and the beautiful and wide Atlantic ocean yonder. A traditional and well preserved wood wine press reminds the visitor of the rich Madeira wine heritage that the area of the village is famous for. The fresh, natural and pure air is almost medicinal to the visitor who lives for most of his or her time in the city. The dreamy bucolic sounds from the countryside rekindle our memories of our youth when springs and summers lasted a lifetime.The bounty of nature is extensive and is shocking to the senses when the sun bursts its warm rays over the rich tapestry of colour and robust plant life in the mornings.