There are four Atlantic islands in the Macaronesia ecoregion: the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago; Cape Verde, an independent African nation; and two separate autonomous islands of Portugal: Azores and Madeira. This documentary covers all but the Canaries.

Because there is a set of small Micronesian islands in the Pacific, some of which LMM has filmed, like our two series' covering Guam, the Marshalls, Palau, the FSM and the Marianas, many assume there must be a macronesia (a large set of islands) somewhere in the world.

But the word Macaronesia has a completely different etymology and meaning from macronesia. Taken from the ancient Greek word, makárōn nêsoi, mentioned in Homer’s 8th Century BC work, the Odyssey, it refers to a semi-legendary place known as Isles of the Blessed, or the Fortunate Isles, a paradise reserved for special deities who were pure enough to gain entrance to the Elysian Fields.

Some say the islands were a mythical place, others say they were known. Today, the islands have been named Macaronesia in light of this Greek legend.

Is the ancient Greek mythology true? Could these islands truly be the legendary Isles of the Blessed, the Greek's Elysium, or possibly the ancient City of Atlantis?

Please contact us at lamanchamedia.org for licensing or to donate. We rely on donations to make these videos. LMM is a California nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax exemption corporation. We create videos around the world educating others as well as bringing to light positive service projects. We have filmed in orphanages, prisons, animal shelters, wildlife conservation projects and the like, and incorporate these with videos on geography, history and culture.

There are three vignettes that accompany this documentary:

Vignettes
Chapter 4: Flores, Azores    • Flores, Azores (Macaronesia: Isles of...  
Chapter 5: São Vicente, Cabo Verde    • São Vicente, Cabo Verde (Macaronesia:...  
Chapter 6: Porto Santo, Madeira    • Porto Santo (Macaronesia: Isles of th...  

Filmed, Edited and Written by David Whalen
Equipment
Panasonic GH5
DJI Mavic 2 Pro

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La Mancha Media