Naval officials said the rest of the president’s party on his three-day visit to Madeira were unable to leave the naval frigate D. Francisco de Almeida to board smaller boats to carry them to the island for safety reasons. That included journalists, who were thus unable to witness this part of the visit.
Accompanying the president was Portugal’s Minister of Home Affairs, Constança Urbano de Sousa, the Secretary of State for Defence, Marcos Perestrello, Madeira’s Regional Premier, Miguel Albuquerque, and the director of the Ilhas Desertas natural reserve.
“Let’s go”, said the president as he left the frigate for the speedboat, fully kitted out in waterproof trousers and coat.
It is traditional for Portuguese presidents to visit the Ilhas Desertas, an archipelago located some 30 kilometres south-east of the regional capital, Funchal, in a part of the Atlantic over which Portugal’s economic dominion has in the past been disputed by Spain.
The islands harbour numerous endemic plants and much marine life.
De Sousa had earlier lunched on the frigate after spending the morning in the town of Calheta, on the island of Madeira.
The vessel left Funchal around 3pm and reached the Ilhas Desertas at around 5.30pm.
The president’s current visit to the region is his third in the five and a half months since he took office. His last visit was earlier this month, immediately following the fires that devastated areas around Funchal.