The conveyance of water from the mountainous center to the coastal villages and cities has made Madeira celebrated. The intricate network of irrigation channels are well known to mountain side hikers throughout the world as they also serve as walkways with sensational views. However, the torrent of water that flooded down from the mountains and submerged expanses of Madeira’s capital city, Funchal, will remain ignominious for many years to come. The flood waters brought with them mudslides and an avalanche of rubble and rocks. This destructive act of nature hit the news headlines on 20th February 2010.

Where the wrath of nature strikes with such swift intensity, death cannot be far removed. And, so it was with the anguished events that overtook Madeira. Whilst earliest estimates of fatalities were pessimistically placed in the hundreds, once the mud had been cleared away and the accumulation of rocks and boulders dug out, the eventual death toll was below one hundred. Thankfully, holidaymakers were by and large spared any significant casualties. The hotel district of Funchal escaped relatively unscathed. However, one confirmed British death was reported as a car carrying a 50 year old women from Garton-on-the-Wolds, East Yorkshire, was swept away beneath the flood waters. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Madeira was faced with the clearing up task and a publicity campaign to heal its former glory in the European holiday marketplace.

In its past, Funchal has repeatedly suffered under external hardships – mostly from marauding pirates and the pestilence of disease. However, the commercial center of Madeira has always managed to rise above hardship. This is true of its most recent misfortune. Funchal has collected its strength and expeditiously made good the loss inflicted in February 2010. Indeed, for anyone new to the island, Funchal will very likely seem to be a city untouched by disaster. For returning holidaymakers, changes will be observable, but many of these have actually upgraded the logistics of the city. Funchal is once more proclaiming itself “open for business”.

Possibly nowhere else on the island depicts the adaptability and resourcefulness of the Madeiran public more than Funchal. Today, just a few months after the grisly events of February 2010, the seafront promenade is once again a superior location for the many visiting tourists.

Clearly, the waterfront has been bloated out into the Atlantic – a result of depositing the cleared-up debris that had swept down the mountainside – but it has lost none of its charm.

So, if you feel predisposed to savor a soothing saunter along the promenade the best place to begin is at the westernmost end. Here there is the harbour – a vestige of the old commercial port – with its visiting luxury cruise liners. The new Cunard liner the Queen Elizabeth anchored here on her maiden voyage in 2010. The area remains humming as ever, although the helicopter landing pad has been re-sited from here.

The quay is the subsequent point of interest – little more than a few minutes on from the harbour. Here, the bobbing masts of the jam-packed yachts crowd your field of vision out to sea. Alongside the quay is the public jetty. If you walk along here, up to the water-break wall, you will find a colourful selection of painted murals, left as mementos by visiting sailors.

If you are in need of a meal or snack, there are plenty of quality restaurants and cafes catering for all tastes. Of course, being encompassed by the sea, Madeiran restaurants specialise in all kinds of seafood.

Wandering on, you will pass the Vagrant; a tall-masted yacht once owned by the Beatles. If you lunch here, a miscellany of Beatles’ songs will delight you as you eat. Children of the Sixties will doubtlessly love the fond memories that it invokes. This used to be a waterfront establishment, but due to the deposited rubble, it now stands some 20 metres from the coastline. However, that does not decrease from its historical association. So, whilst feasting here, you can still imagine that you are a honoured guest of the Fab Four.

Beyond the cable car station is Funchal Old Town, the Zona Velha. A little inland from here is the district that bore the full force of the February floods and where the greatest loss of life occurred. Some rehabilitation work is still in the course of action. However, the Old Town remains as nostalgically attractive and welcoming as always.

A little further on, you wind up at the easily recognised, yellow painted St James Fortress, Fortaleza de Sao Tiago. This old construction once defended the city from aggressive attack from the sea. Nowadays it serves as a contemporary art museum and an exclusive restaurant. There is a negligible entrance fee.

This short exploration along Funchal’s seafront promenade will have surely satisfied you that there is something there to entertain all tastes. Can you hear a holiday in Madeira beckoning you? If so, feel gratification in the thought that you will be aiding the Madeiran population in their efforts to repair from the natural disaster of February 2010.