Walking the Levadas of Madeira

This magnificent replica of Christopher Columbus’s Flag ship “THE SANTA MARIA“ has been built on the island of Madeira( between July 1997-Jully 1998) in the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos , to celebrate Columbus’s month long journey across the Atlantic to discover “ The Indies” in Asia - as he thought they were. In fact, he discovered the Caribbean and was the first European to set foot on the Americas.

Columbus was born in 1451. He spent many years in the Portuguese Merchant navy, often calling into Madeira and married Dona Filipa Perestrello e Moniz daughter of the first governor of Madeira.

Today, The Santa Maria offers visitors a daily experience that takes you back to the 15th century. Re-live his voyage of discovery and imagine how he felt as headed into the unknown.