While operating on Madeira in 1989 at CT3/W6JKV, we would walk along these mountaintop trails. Watch your step!
This is an island off the coast of North Africa. Madeira is Portuguese and has been a European resort area for centuries.
Madeira is dominated by tall, steep vertical mountains, and the whole island is oriented to walking on these mountains! It is the most striking experience. You can walk the entire length of the island, including the highest point at 5400 feet. I'd like to add that it's also plenty scary when you're on one of those narrow walkways and looking straight down from the ridgeline. While operating from Madeira there was awesome propagation on 50 MHz to Europe, Japan and the US during the CQ Worldwide Contest.
It isn't easy setting up a 2-meter moonbounce antenna array on Cocos. Steep cliffs surround you and the beach is unbelievably rocky.
Located in the Pacific about 300 miles from Costa Rica, Isla de Cocos was a favorite of many famous pirates who reportedly buried their treasure here, so it's often called Treasure Island. Now it's a Costa Rican nature preserve and uninhabited except for the country's wildlife staff and pleasure boaters.
Historically, Cocos has been difficult to find because the island is so tall that it's always covered with clouds. (You can't imagine how tall!) This is one of the world's great diving places, and probably number one for sharks. They are not hungry, according to Jacques Cousteau, who made the island a subject of one of his TV specials. I took his word for it. The accommodations are good, if you don't like to shower. Here's a tip If you're looking for romance, don't look here. Because you're near the equator, it's too hot to sleep anywhere but on the deck of the sailboat that brings you to Cocos. So much for privacy!
On Cocos I enjoyed my first EME contact on 2 meters. It's physically difficult to operate there because the shore is so narrow and the mountains are so vertical. Also, like on all islands, the wind is a constant problem. We had a windstorm that knocked over the entire antenna array, which graphically illustrated why it's important for elements to be made of solid aluminum. Better to bend than break!
