It does not have the same escaped profile, nor does it exhibit the greenness of the island of Madeira, its older sister in this Portuguese archipelago perched in a fold of the Atlantic, some 500 kilometers from the African coast. Porto Santo is arid and flat, bare and porous, enigmatic and austere. It is sun, sand and sea.
Here, in this volcanic territory, beauty has other parameters. Those who measure its strange natural force, its ancestral sand with therapeutic virtues, its geological wonders. Porto Santo is a place that retains a genuine character, as from the beginning of time. A microworld enclosed in just 43 km2, in which more visitors come to see it than the neighbors who live on the island.
Discovered thanks to a storm in 1418, before navigators found the neighboring island, its history is marked by looting by pirates and corsairs who took advantage of its geographical vulnerability. And also because of the drought. It hardly rains in this corner. The tragic record is set in the 19th century: not a drop for 12 years.
In Porto Santo, where you fly from Lisbon and Madeira or arrive by sea from the latter aboard a ferry called Lobo Marinho, the great attraction is a rectilinear beach whose end cannot be seen. A fine, carbonated nine-kilometre sandy area (listed for several years as the best in Europe) bathed by crystalline waters rich in iodine, calcium and magnesium, which provide a beneficial mineral bath.
But staying only with this image of the southern zone would be a kind of crime. The island hides so many secrets that it needs to be explored even in its most hidden folds, either on foot along its very long paths or behind the wheel of an SUV with which to glide safely through its wrinkled orography.
This is how you get to Vila Baleira, the sleepy capital, where the Christopher Columbus House-Museum reminds us that the discoverer lived in this territory for two years, during which he studied the tides that would drive the voyage to the New World. A fact that is also commemorated in September with the Columbus Festival, in which, through theatrical performances, concerts, parades and exhibitions, Porto Santo takes a leap in time to relive that era of overseas conquests.
Vila Baleira, with its characteristic pier, is the main urban center on an island with only two schools, a medical center, a pharmacy and a supermarket. And crossed by a handful of paved roads (most of them are dirt) for which not a single traffic light is needed to regulate them.
The scenery, however, makes up for the rickety drive. Especially in the peaks, where the path advances through the black of the basalt: Pico do Castelo, covered in conifers, Pico do Facho, the highest at 516 meters, and the unusual Pico de Ana Ferreira, whose prismatic columns draw geometric figures in a Incredibly photogenic volcanology testimony.
Nor should you miss the viewpoints, from which there are beautiful views of the island with the ocean on the horizon. In De las Flores, the islet of Cal (also called Baixo) can be seen fantastically, while that of Portela stands out for its emblematic windmills, a relic of the times when Porto Santo was home to the largest cereal crop in Portugal . Up to 41 mills came to be counted, of which five are preserved today, one of them rehabilitated as a bar.
This traditional image of the fields is what for many justifies the name Isla Dorada, as opposed to those who maintain that it is due to the fact that 70 percent of the surface is made up of sand. To verify this, there is nothing better than going to the Fonte da Areia desert, in the north, and marveling at the paleodunes. These sand structures were carved by erosion thousands and thousands of years ago.
As if a giant had molded it, the Morenos cliff also exhibits an amazing print: the one that gives it its size, texture and the 14 shades that cover it like a perfect natural canvas. Next door, a forest of pines, dragon trees and olive trees testifies to man’s struggle against the elements: the trees are the result of a reforestation effort.
Although for vegetation, the one we find in Quinta das Palmeiras, the oasis that gives life to one of the most arid areas. With exuberant plants and unique bird species, this mini-zoo and botanical garden is the dream come true of Carlos Alfonso, a windsurfer obsessed with creating shade on an island accustomed to the ingenuity to fight against his scarce goods.
The problem of water, for example, was resolved with a desalination plant. The water obtained through this process is used for human consumption, while the purified water is used to irrigate the gardens and a golf course which, by the way, was designed by none other than Severiano Ballesteros.
It is what remains to be done, once the island has been covered. Go to the Ribeiro Salgado area to have a Coral beer and some broad beans in vinaigrette on the beach at Mr. Guido’s beach bar. Or merge with the atmosphere of the Bar Girassol, where you queue up to taste its curious specialty: the samosas that a chef from Mozambique began to make 40 years ago.
Or, if not, sit down at the Ponta da Calheta restaurant to taste some of the delicacies of the local gastronomy: swordfish (which is usually battered and accompanied with fried plantain), grilled limpets and the omnipresent bolo do caco, an exquisite baked bread that is served spread with garlic butter to open your mouth to the delicacies of this island.
