Madeira with kids — a quick start guide

Everywhere I travel, I end up writing a little guide, whether I'm paid to do so or just for fun — I love sharing these knowing they might come in handy for other people. When I found myself travelling for a few months to the semi-autonomous Portuguese island of Madeira with a child in tow, I knew I'd end up putting together something like this, and as always, it's a combination of recommendations and tips from other people in the know alongside stuff I find out myself. As the title suggests, this is just a brief guide and not meant to be comprehensive, so I apologise if I've left something out, but hey — just make your additions in the messages below!

Overview:

Portugal is exceedingly kid-friendly; people in general absolutely love kids. In Madeira, there are parks with playgrounds everywhere, 99% of restaurants will welcome children with open arms and most have high chairs. My only complaint would be using a stroller in old town Funchal — alas, cobblestone streets were laid long before strollers were invented. Outside of old town, I haven't had (m)any stroller issues, unsurprising, given how many babies and stroller there are on the island.

Car seat laws:

An age- and weight-appropriate car seat or booster seat is required for all children up to 135cm tall or 12 years of age, whichever happens first. The child must be irn the car seat/booster in a back seat. This doesn't apply to taxis, where car seats/restraints are not required at all. BUT it does apply to Bolts (ie. Madeira's version of Uber), if you're going by the book. (I don't know if a Bolt driver would necessarily reject you if you didn't have one though...) Btw if you're staying for longer, I personally do think you should get a car.

Food:

I'm more or less a "granola mom", so this section pertains mostly to organic and direct-from-farm produce. The larger supermarkets in Madeira (Pingo Doce, Continente) don't tend to stock much organic (Continente is slightly better in that there is a dedicated aisle/area for organic items, but it's mostly dry pantry goods).

For baby/kid specific organic food, Celeiro (an organic/health food chain) is your best bet. If you need formula, they stock Holle (supermarkets and pharmacies sadly only stock industrial brands like Nestle). Celeiro is located right in the centre of old town Funchal opposite the main cathedral, at Rua do Aljube 15.

Some pharmacies stock a small selection of Holle baby food, including some Wells, the pharmacy attached to most Continente supermarkets.

For fresh produce, I've tried ordering/buying from growers these two ways:

1) Quinta Pedagogica da Camacha — farmer Bruno takes orders via WhatsApp, DM me if you want his number.

2) Expo do Agricola Ponta do Sol — weekly farmers' stand, and you can register on their website to order online beforehand to pickup every Saturday: (you can join their WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal from their website). expoagricola.pt

Diapers, wipes etc.:

Major supermarkets and pharmacies will have everything you need, unless you need a specific brand.

However, if you need replacements/accessories for reusable diapers, you'll need to bring your own because I haven't seen much of those.

Gear:

Major kid's stores like Zippy and Chicco will have most things you need, from clothes to high chairs to car seats. They're both in old town Funchal (Zippy in Plaza Madeira shopping mall; Chicco on Rua do Bpo 20), and both in the shopping mall MadeiraShopping.

Leroy Merlin, the hardware/home improvement store has a small section of baby proofing items lime gates and electrical outlet covers. Address : Rua do Engenho Velho 4, Funchal.

Kid to Kid near Forum shopping mall is an excellent little shop for mostly second-hand kids' clothes, as well as new and used toys, furniture, and general kids' stuff. Address: Rua do Vale da Ajuda N23, Funchal.

Origem is a fancier baby store (and pre- and postpartum centre and baby spa) in Ajuda (Funchal) if you're looking for higher-end clothes, utensils, strollers etc. Address: Avenida do Amparo 20, Funchal.

Healthcare:

Fortunately, I've not had much experience in this regard, but from what I've read, Hospital Particular da Madeira (a private hospital) has paediatricians and 24-hour A&E. Address: Avenida Mário Soares 143, Saõ Martinho, Funchal.

EU citizens can use the public system like locals (free or low cost), but depending on the issue, wait times are said to be long.

The emergency number is 112 (fire, ambulance, police).

Community resources:

Unfortunately, but for good reason, I'm going to ask you to fire up your defunct Facebook account and join the English Mom's Club in Madeira group. It's the most active easily-accessed moms' group for any questions before and during your time in Madeira, and listings like playgroups and hobby classes. The search tool can also be helpful for past responses.

there is a really big problem brewing in #nostr

there is no client to test a relay with

the clients all have logic to try other relays all the time for whatever reasons

the clients don't show clear information about the status of connections with relays

the clients for whatever reason decline to send messages to the relays

i set up three users all connected to one relay and have them all follow each other and nothing comes up on the #coracle feed page, though i can copy the links to the posts each one makes and see them in the others

how can i test that my relay works if the client assumes it can't rely on one relay to see events?