Spring in Madeira 2014 - On we go!

Oh, how am I supposed to start this post? There is a LITTLE something to explain. My friends on Facebook already know for the most part what happened. But there are not just a few who are not on Facebook and I owe them, I think so, a brief explanation. As many people have noticed, no new video has been uploaded for over 1 1/2 years. Many people feared that I would be sick, or that I would no longer dwell among the living. Well, I live and my health is currently also quite good.

What happened?
Life has happened. I do not want to publicly spread the details here for a variety of reasons and also to protect the privacy of a particular person. What happened to me is certainly not something that anyone, somewhere in the world would be proud to tell. It is also not that something like that just happens to me, but it happens to people around the world at any time. Only, the way HOW it happened to me was so hard for me to take, that it killed my complete creative energy. You could say, it killed my life power. From autumn 2015 to the end of 2016, I was in a state of unbelievable emptiness and futility. Nothing was important or interesting for me. My soul was dead. Reads bad? It was bad!

How are things now?
Much better. It was quite difficult, but I would say that I am at least 50% restored. And it goes on. At present, I think that the best I can do is simply continue to work on my dreams - harder than I have ever done - to achieve my goals. There is a lot of stuff that stacked up on my todo list. Much has been badly damaged eg. ceased to exist during the short period of my "absence". So there is a lot to do. And I notice with every step back to normality, I am getting better.

New video?
Well, you have not subscribed to the channel? Otherwise you must have already received a notification 2 days ago in the evening. The video was uploaded already 2 days ago. However, Youtube again changed something nice at the process of publishing videos and until yesterday evening, I was busy to grasp the whole thing and to put it to use. With the video below, we are continuing the ETERNAL "Madeira 2014" series. This time we are hiking again through the outskirts of Funchal, from Curral dos Romeiros to Terreiro da Luta. There is, of course, a lot of nature to see, a breathtaking panorama view of Funchal and a sacral monumental work, the "Nossa Senhora do Paz". Here is the video:

Soundtrack:
The soundtrack this time is again from a alionsonny classic album. It is the album "Reggae?" from 2009. If you like it, you can buy it on all online music sites like iTunes (CLICK!) or GooglePlay (CLICK!). Of cause it is also available on all streaming services, such as Spotify (CLICK!). Here's the track list:

00:00 - Life goes ON!
05:19 - Springtime 2009
11:06 - Aquatic Dub
16:45 - Summertime 2008

What's next?
We actually still have a full part of this eternal series. Then comes the traditional aftermath in the form of another part. Then this series is FINALLY finished. After that? Oh, don't ask. There is still so much to show. What did I say about "a lot to do"? ;) So: First after finishing the Madeira 2014 series comes the, long promised, bike trip to the North Sea. Then we were already back to Madeira in 2015 and then we recently visited Cyprus for 2 weeks. We have so much video material that it is enough for at least one year, even if I would solely produce videos ... but I can't do this.

Ok, I apologize again for the long time of nothingness. Was not my choice. I will do my best to keep you provided with new videos in the future.

New Madeira 2014 Video: Hiking the Levada dos Tornos!

It is a T and not a P ;)

No, this video is not really new, at least for my friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter. It has been uploaded already almost a week ago. However, a personal problem  kept me from writing the usual blogs and promote the video properly. And then there was also Christmas, when I, like every year, tried unsuccessfully not to participate ;). Anyway: If you missed the video, this blog is certainly a welcome reminder.

Somewhere on the Levada

The Plot

This is the second part of three on the penultimate full day in 2014 on Madeira. After we hiked from Aguas Mansas south to the Levada dos Tornos in the last part, this time we hike for quite a time along it. As already in the last part I was extremly silly, which probably was due to two rather strong ponchas and also because of our generally great mood on that day. The silliness is already noticeable in the intro. I really thought for some time about whether I should leave the bad joke about the "Levada dos Pornos" in the video at all. Yes I am indeed a friend bad jokes. But contrary to an overwhelming number of other Youtubers I spare my audience usually with sexual jokes and innuendo. Just not my style ... usually. So don't panic: This will not become a habit ;). On the Levada we hiked through a countless number of smaller and larger tunnels. The highlight here is a small cave vault, whose former purpose will probably remain a secret forever. Also some "banned ceans" have been consumed again and, quite irresponsible, we also had a beer on the Levada. The shaky camera is also prominently present again. So, dear viewers with inclination to dizziness: Better not watch this, or just turn off / fast forward when the shaky cam parts start. At the end we end up in Camacha, where we didn't really wanted to go. There I placed the thematically appropriate end of this episode, because Camacha is where we left the Levada dos Tornos and started the descent to the coast.

At work in the mysterious cave vault

The Soundtrack

... comes as as in the last part from the alionsonny album "Dub Antiquities". I apologize specifically to everyone who generally does not like Reggae, or my special flavor of it. I do this, as already mentioned in the last blog, at the request of some viewers. And the desire of my audience is my command. And besides this, I at least try to present the works of my three music projects equally in the videos. But if you are one of those who like those dusty early works of yours truly, and if you do not already have "Dub Antiquities", I would be exorbitantly happy, if you would buy it on iTunes (CLICK HERE!) or Google Play (CLICK HERE!). Each and every cent will be invested in new equipment and / or tasty beer. Big promise! Oh yes, of course the album is not only available on the two platforms mentioned above, but also in any well-stocked shop for music. It is also available on streaming services. Since the revenue, for example, from Spotify, unfortunately is a bad joke, I would personally recommend to purchase a download. So, enough talk, here as always, the soundtrack in detail:

• 00:00 Mountain Biking on Mars
• 04:05 Fya Pon Everything
• 09:25 Revolution NOW!
• 14:16 Versionist Dub
• 18:25 Drunken Joe In Space

alionsonny - Dub Antiquities cover art

What's next?

Because of the forementioned personal problems, we will not be able to finish the series "Spring on Madeira" this year still. I'm sorry - I planned that differently. But before the third part of the day 13, it is again the Schaalsee bike ride's turn. And I shiver when I think about editing the next part of it, because this last part of the series is very text heavy. And this means, I have to write plenty of subtitles. In this final part we ride from Mölln via Trittau right back to Hamburg. Since the fore mentioned personal problem is anything but over, it may take a while before the next video is uploaded. I'll do my best! But for now have lots of fun with the current video.

Spring in Madeira (2014) - Hike from Aguas Mansas to the Levada dos Tornos!

Why do I almost always have to blink when somebody takes a photo of me?

Here is the latest video from the series "Spring in Madeira" from 2014. And yes, we are approaching the end of the series. Maybe we can scratch it off the list this year still ;). In the ending text of the video I unfortunately wrote accidentally, that I would have already mentioned the reason why the video footage of day 13 is divided into 3 short parts on this blog. In fact I explained it only on the AlionLive Facebook page. I beg your pardon for any confusion and will, before I tell the plot of the video as always, catch up on the explanation now. The whole unedited material of day 13 is about 1 hour 20 minutes long. Initially I wanted to divide it into two parts. However, I would have had to place a very unpleasant episode cut in the middle of a hike along the Levada dos Tornos if I did this. But I like my episode cuts neatly on thematic boundaries. And this is only possible if I divide the material into three parts, namely:

• Part 1 - From Aguas Mansas to Levada dos Tornos
• Part 2 - Along the Levada dos Tornos to Camacha
• Part 3 - From Camacha to Garajau

And before anyone assumes again, I would do this to drive my small Youtube advertising revenue to immeasurable heights: No, it would not be worth it. I just say this: My monthly advertising revenue on YouTube is not even enough to pay the beer I drink during an AlionLive episode. And dividing the video into three instead of two parts doesn't change this significantly ;).

Lunch!

The Plot
Late in the morning of the 13th and penultimate full day of our trip we took the bus in the direction of Santo da Serra and planned to hop off somewhere between Camacha and Santo da Serra and then hike down to the coast in a southwesterly direction. The hike to the Levada dos Tornos had not yet been planned at this point, but it was a quite welcome addition. We left the bus in a small village called Aguas Mansas. Next to the bus stop we found a cozy Poncha bar with a very friendly owner, who didn't speak a word of English, but basic communication was possible. So we had lunch in the form of two very strong Ponchas. Then we started our hike, on which we experienced a real Flower-O-Rama. Therefore, this video consists to a large extent from recordings of many colorful flowers. The view from the road towards the Levada dos Tornos was impressive. Despite the quite foggy weather one could see all the way to the Ponta de Sao Lourenco and have a great view on the airport and the ocean. Due to the "Poncha mood" we were also not just a bit up for a lot of nonsense and discussed interesting topics such as "Beak Sauce" and insidious frogs, which lure unsuspecting goats into the Levadas, by imitating their bleating. A vocally gifted sheep and another one, which mastered "the art of not to be seen" as described by Monty Python perfectly, made everything just perfect.

A great view on the Ponta de Sao Lourenco, the airport and the ocean.

The Soundtrack
Because one or the other viewer asked me to once again use my special flavor of Reggae as the soundtrack, I did exactly this. And because I am a bit grumpy about  the contempt for the Willma Poppen Project works, I used the most ancient and dusty chestnuts from the album "Dub Antiquities". That's what comes of it! If there's anyone who should like what he / she hears, I deliver the usual buying links on GooglePlay (CLICK HERE!) And iTunes (CLICK HERE!). The rest of the links can be found on the official website of the album. The soundtrack in detail:

• 00:00 - Individuality
• 06:09 - Terra
• 11:47 - Malina Dub
• 18:14 - mountain biking on Mars

What's next?
First with the penultimate episode of "Bike ride on the Schaalsee" series. I owe this to the lovers of the bike ride videos. After that comes the nice long walk along the Levada dos Tornos.

But now I wish you, as always exorbitantly good entertainment with the current video!

Spring in Madeira - Day 4 - A short Levada hike

This video is probably one of the shortest of the series. The reason for this was that we went very late to Camacha and the Paradise Valley and somehow I also didn't film very much on that day. Our hike took us along the Levada dos Tornos, which we then left to head north towards the Parque Ecologico do Funchal. On our way, we had an extensive rest at the Abrigo do Pastor, I already visited on day 10 of my trip in 2012. However, I did not notice back then that the Abrigo do Pastor has an impressive restaurant with an unique ambience. After that it was rather late and we did our best to catch the last bus at the Parque Ecologico do Funchal. That did not work at all and so we hiked in complete darkness in the direction of Monte. We were lucky, because on the route a very nice person stopped his car and offered us to drive us to the nearest bus stop, from which a bus was still going. You see again: The people of Madeira are just fantastic. But the footage of this video shows only the part until shortly after our stay at the Abrigo do Pastor. This is due to the rapidly falling darkness and the fact that we were in a hurry to catch that bus.

The soundtrack this time is entirely from the album "Mesopotamia" by the Cimelium project. The soundtrack in detail:

This album is available on iTunes, Amazon, Emusic, Routenote and Spotify. This link takes you to a page, where you find all the links to the album in the shops. And now have fun with this pretty short video, which still offers some beautiful views. The next video will be much longer.

AlionLive Return 2 Madeira - Day 13 - Hiking with Beatrice!

Yes, it went pretty fast this time ...and it would have been even faster if dear Youtube would not have freaked again. I do not know what Google has in mind to make this service more and more unusable. But for sure there's a hidden agenda behind it ;). But anyway, let's get to the good stuff. And the good stuff is: The video is now available for you. WHAAAT? SO SHORT? Well , that's why it went so fast ;).

No, the shortness of the video has another cause, and it is already in the title: I was not hiking alone this time, and you know what I think about filming constantly when I have company. You don't? Well, then you have not really seen many of my videos, especially the first "AlionLive Madeira" series. I will not tell too much about the video, but only the following .

The plot
In the morning, at an already well-known place near the bus station, I pondered quite long about what I would like to do on that day. The reason for this was due to the rather uncertain weather conditions. When I came to a somewhat fragile decision, this was thrown overboard later, due to the fact, that I met a nice person. This person had in fact equally vague plans for the day, and we decided to hike together to wherever. And so we went to the Parque Ecologico do Funchal, from there across the plateau (same route as on day 4 ) and then to Poiso. Because the day was still young, we decided the to hike further into the direction of Santo da Serra. In the end, we ended up in Camacha just in time to catch the last bus back to Funchal. Everything else is explained in detail, using text overlays, in the video.

So, this is expected to be the third last video of this series. "Expected", because I am yet not sure, if I will upload day 14 in one piece. You will soon see the reason for yourself ;). By the way: The series is now over 10 hours long! You do not believe it? Well then click here! This is a link to the playlist of the entire series so far. Sweet, eh? So, here is the small, but nice video of day 13! Have fun!