Hard at Work in Madeira
The Sunday Times
“You see that building over there? That’s the airport. I’ve never been. There’s just too much to do here, I’ve never wanted to leave.” Beto Jardim, my coasteering guide, is infectiously enthusiastic, even as we scramble along a cliff face with nothing but rocks and waves below. “Now, we’re going to do the ten-metre jump,” he says and, without skipping a beat, dives head first into the water below. I have to follow. There is no other option. I step to the crumbling edge and leap. Thoughts of my email inbox and deadlines couldn’t be further away as the water rushes past my face — which is surprising because I’m here on the Portuguese island of Madeira on a type of working holiday.
