Twenty seconds of The West Coast, written for this very spot. On the tour it plays by itself as you arrive.
The small boulder beach by the harbour wall at Jardim do Mar, at the far south-west corner of the island. Smooth grey stones rather than sand, a sea that is clear on calm days and loud on the rest, and a village behind it of narrow lanes, banana terraces and a seafront promenade. Jardim do Mar is one of Madeira's surf villages, so on a big swell the show is on the water rather than in it. Go late in the day: the cliffs face west and the sunset lands straight on the beach. Swim only when the sea is flat.
