CANYONING MADEIRA, CORONA, COVID 19: SAFE TOURISM

Even in times of the corona pandemic or after the travel restrictions and exit restrictions have been reduced or even lifted, we at Casa Vento Madeira would like to bring canyoning closer to you as an enthusiastic outdoor athlete.
In order to meet the current regulations in Portugal, based on the Safe Tourism concept of the Madeiran government, we have developed a procedure that makes fantastic and action-packed canyoning possible even with the current restrictions. Our concept is based on the "Covid 19, Canyoning Prevention, Good Practice Guide" regulations developed by the International Canyoning Academy (ICA) in cooperation with the Portuguese government. We therefore meet all current legal requirements in order to guarantee you safe pleasure even in these difficult times.

We recommend wearing a face mask (or higher quality) whenever the social distance of 2 meters cannot be maintained, unless wearing such a mask is counterproductive or impossible due to the circumstances.
The risk of infection cannot be completely eliminated, but it can definitely be minimized.

We and our guests regularly wash our hands completely with soap or disinfect them virucidally.

We advise against the use of disposable gloves when canyoning, as this is counterproductive or even dangerous when practicing the sport.

Our waste management, especially for used masks or paper towels, includes the use of sealable waste bags. Waste will be disposed of after the tour in accordance with the applicable regulations.

As a greeting, the right hand is placed on the heart and nodded slightly. Please keep a distance of 2 meters.

Please wash or disinfect your hands when entering our base. We will be happy to provide you with the relevant products.

Whenever possible, an initial briefing takes place outside or in a well-ventilated area. Sunny places are preferred.

We explain the meaning and general procedures of our Covid 19 concept to you.

We explain the disinfection regulations for the equipment to you (see chapter Equipment).

We explain the applicable rules to you using our Covid 19 briefing card. Specifically, it's about logistics and equipment.

Our top priority is that our guests should be as independent as possible during canyoning in order to make the Corona-related activity as safe as possible.

We ask you to disinfect your hands again before receiving the material.

We try to prepare the material completely for you as far as possible. We wear disposable gloves and mouth and nose protection.

During the handover, we maintain the necessary distance through time lag and spacious grounds or spacious and well-ventilated rooms. You may try on the suit on your own or with the help of your fellow traveler or roommate. Equipment that does not fit you will be handled after the tour as it was used or carried.

Each guest receives his own canyoning backpack to transport material for entry and to transport food during the tour.

Your guide will be at your side to advise and / or guide you and will keep the appropriate distance whenever possible.

Weekly guests get a personal place to store their equipment during their stay with us. With your help, we can therefore rule out any mix-ups.

Each guest and each guide takes care of all their equipment independently.

The material is transported in personally allocated and marked containers that should be lockable if possible.

Each guest and each guide cleans all of their equipment independently.

All personal material will either be
1) washed in at least 30 degrees warm soapy water (pH 5.5 to 8.5) for at least 15 minutes.
2) washed in a virucidal disinfectant solution.
It is important to ensure that the wetsuit is washed inside out.

Material that has been used or tried on once is hung up in a well-ventilated place for at least 72 hours after cleaning before it is given to someone else. We ensure a separation of unused material. We prefer a circulatory system so that once used material is not used again for as long as possible.

When cleaning or disinfecting, we observe the manufacturer's instructions.

Please leave personal items that are not necessary during canyoning at home or in the accommodation.

Personal items that you want / need to take with you on tour will be transported in a personally assigned and marked screw barrel. If necessary, you can share this with your fellow travelers or roommates.

After the tour, please empty the bin yourself and clean it like the rest of the equipment.

Depending on the previous knowledge of all participants, we select a canyon that, due to its difficulties, ensures social distancing as possible during the entire course.

Before the tour, we will teach you the necessary techniques in a spacious area.

As far as safely possible, you will perform all the necessary techniques alone under the supervision of a guide.

Whenever possible, your canyoning guide works alone and is also the driver. This avoids unnecessary contacts.

Whenever possible, we organize the trip to the canyon in individual groups that are in regular contact with each other, for example partners or families. Ideally, this takes place in your own vehicles.

Whenever possible, we avoid mixing groups with different backgrounds. Closed travel groups are not replenished with external customers.

We try to keep the groups small. We consider a group size of one guide and four to six guests to be ideal.

Please keep a distance of 2 meters in the gorge wherever possible to other participants with whom you are not in regular contact anyway.

We mainly select gorges that allow the necessary distance on the approach and departure routes.

Passages with very limited space are avoided whenever possible.

All necessary technical points such as abseiling points are passed individually. We ask the other participants to keep a sufficient distance during this time.

We will teach you all the necessary techniques in good time before the application, so that you are able to use all of the material on your own under distant guide supervision (for example, inserting the rope into the descender).

It is our goal that you as a participant are completely independent. If possible, the necessary assistance should be provided from a distance or from someone wit whom you are in regular contact anyway.

If necessary, we give individual briefings as far as possible in order to avoid group gatherings.

Our activities and trips and the respective additional components are paid for cashless in advance whenever possible. We would only like to accept cash payments in absolute exceptional cases.

Whenever we select partners for individual services, for example for your accommodation, we make sure that they are also committed to the Safe Tourism concept. We check our partners personally for your vacation. Further details can be found on our parallel pages Accommodation and meals.

If necessary, you will receive a Covid 19 questionnaire by email no later than 14 days before the start of the trip or tour. Please fill this out conscientiously the day before the trip or tour and thus increase the safety of all guests against infection. If you have to cancel the trip or tour because of the risk of being infected, and the health department confirms this, we will reimburse you for your travel price.

Before the tour or when traveling after arrival, we may measure the body temperature of each of our team and each of the guests with a contactless laser thermometer. In the event of abnormalities, a control measurement is carried out at a later point in time and, if necessary, a doctor is consulted.

We are not entitled to disclose your whereabouts or the address of your external accommodation to third parties. Should an authority request this, only you are entitled to pass on the address. This applies in particular to quarantine or other entry controls. This does not apply to medical emergencies.

Of course, the data protection regulations apply as before.

Whenever possible, we avoid picking you up from your hotel or accommodation. If collection is unavoidable, please wear mouth and nose protection while driving.

Please let the driver operate the doors and windows.

Please disinfect your hands before boarding. If necessary, we will provide the necessary material.

Please note the same for the return journey.

The above picture is of course by no means representative of our logistics.

As mentioned above, we try to avoid shared trips with mixed groups.

If it is absolutely necessary to drive together in our vehicle, the following maximum occupancy applies, depending on the number of seats:

Groups that are in regular contact with one another, such as families, do not need to distance themselves from one another in the car. Three family members can sit in a row.

We drive as well ventilated as possible, i.e. with the windows at least partially open, as far as that is bearable. In exceptional cases, the vehicle is ventilated via the ventilation system, but never in recirculation mode.

Please use the same seats in our vehicle for the outward and return journey.

We provide at least the following material in our cars:

We can also provide each customer with a personal kit (disinfectant dispenser, individually wrapped masks, sealable garbage bags). The kit will then be adequately configured for your stay with us. If you bring your own material, we can adapt the kit accordingly.

We absolutely avoid using the same vehicle for different groups on the same day. In this absolutely exceptional case, the car is thoroughly disinfected, especially in the interior.

After a completed week of travel, the vehicle is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so that it is in perfect condition for subsequent offers.

In the unlikely event that, despite the extensive precautionary measures, a suspected case of an infection with the corona virus occurs, there is a corresponding emergency plan and the possibility of isolating the respective guest.

The following criteria established by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) apply to suspected infection with the corona virus: