Holiday weather

No Fate Worse Than De'Ath wrote:Could the shadow at the bottom right be of the person taking the photo?

Sure, or another piece of playground equipment. But why would their shadow be going in the opposite direction to the shadows of the main characters in the picture? Their shadows are pointing to the right. This shadow is pointing to the left. Doesn't make sense.

Sean's, Gerry's and the other girl's positions would fit better with sitting on the beach with Sean making a sandcastle.

Maddie's right leg clearly does not belong.

Lance De Boils wrote:Sean's, Gerry's and the other girl's positions would fit better with sitting on the beach with Sean making a sandcastle.

Maddie's right leg clearly does not belong.

That is a very good explanation LDB, hadn't thought of that one and it would make sense. Maddie doesn't fit in, in the position she is, but if she were to the right of the younger ones ??

daffodil wrote:

Lance De Boils wrote:Sean's, Gerry's and the other girl's positions would fit better with sitting on the beach with Sean making a sandcastle.

Maddie's right leg clearly does not belong.

That is a very good explanation LDB, hadn't thought of that one and it would make sense.   Maddie doesn't fit in, in the position she is, but if she were to the right of the younger ones ??

The position Madeleine's in reminds me of when I was a child and I was jumping off something. You bend over like that and swing your arms backwards in order to keep your balance while jumping. Agreed that the right leg is completely weird. And she has no right knee, if you zoom in. Also no right arm, but it could be argued it's hidden by her body,

Something else - the right foot is obviously raised as there's a shadow underneath the shoe. If this is a genuine photo it must have captured her just before she toppled over - there's no way you can keep your balance with your right foot off the ground, in that position.

Also, is there any explanation for the shadow inside Gerry's left arm ??         And the shadow on his shorts too ??        Can he be forming a shadow on the front of his body, yet
also form a shadow behind himself , or am I getting quite confused ?

Shadow of the play thing should be part visible and my puzzle is the tiny human figuresseen through the hole ofthe little building . They're too far away in relation toother people in the same plane. If you see what I mean.

Remove Maddie's right leg. Rotate her 90 deg to the right (clockwise). Sitting (on the beach?) position - very windy day?

Lance De Boils wrote:Sean's, Gerry's and the other girl's positions would fit better with sitting on the beach with Sean making a sandcastle.

Maddie's right leg clearly does not belong.

It does look like Sean is or should be doing with his hands also it looks like wet sand patch on Madeleines knee

tiny wrote:

Lance De Boils wrote:Sean's, Gerry's and the other girl's positions would fit better with sitting on the beach with Sean making a sandcastle.

Maddie's right leg clearly does not belong.

It does look like Sean is or should be doing with his hands also it looks like wet sand patch on Madeleines knee

It's an applique design, stitched hearts or something, which are a bit soiled, you can see in this photo:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Lance De Boils wrote:Remove Maddie's right leg. Rotate her 90 deg to the right (clockwise). Sitting (on the beach?) position - very windy day?

Tried that... seems a bit unnatural for sitting. She could be jumping off a slide though. If you rotate it even more, she could have just slid down the slide (on the other side of the little house) and landed...?

daffodil wrote:Also, is there any explanation for the shadow inside Gerry's left arm ??         And the shadow on his shorts too ??        Can he be forming a shadow on the front of his body, yet
also form a shadow behind himself , or am I getting quite confused ?

I don't think any of the shadows make sense. :-)

thanks Canada 12,mystery solved

tigger wrote:Shadow of  the play thing should be part visible and my puzzle is the tiny human figuresseen through the hole ofthe little building . They're too far away in relation toother people in the same plane. If you see what I mean.

I do see the tiny little figure. Just trying to make sense of it. I can't zoom in well enough to see whether it's a person or just looks like a person. I do know the playground buildings were moved around a lot - saw that in different photos of the area made by different people on different days - they're made out of plastic and aren't all that heavy. So it's possible that originally the little house was facing a different direction and someone was standing behind it, visible through the opening, and there was enough space behind the house to allow for that perspective originally? Then the little house was cut and pasted into the picture with this perspective?

I don't know much about photoshopping but the edge of the tree trunk above the bald guy doesn't look right, suggests a join between the middle and top right hand sections. There appears to be a line running across the grass to the right from the yellow object. Are the bald guy and the playhouse there to cover the join? Still can't believe this is on officially released photo, it's terrible

The Snapper wrote:I don't know much about photoshopping but the edge of the tree trunk above the bald guy doesn't look right, suggests a join between the middle and right hand sections. Is the bald guy (and maybe the playhouse) there to cover the join?

The bald guy will need a join covering himself if he stands like that much longer.

canada12 wrote:

tigger wrote:Shadow of  the play thing should be part visible and my puzzle is the tiny human figuresseen through the hole ofthe little building . They're too far away in relation toother people in the same plane. If you see what I mean.

I do see the tiny little figure. Just trying to make sense of it. I can't zoom in well enough to see whether it's a person or just looks like a person. I do know the playground buildings were moved around a lot - saw that in different photos of the area made by different people on different days -  they're made out of plastic and aren't all that heavy. So it's possible that originally the little house was facing a different direction and someone was standing behind it, visible through the opening, and there was enough space behind the house to allow for that perspective originally? Then the little house was cut and pasted into the picture with this perspective?

To me it looks like a woman with dark long hair,wearing sunglasses and dressed in mauve,although I could be quite wrong

then again having has another look it could be a mans face but defo in mauve(not much help,i know)

Is the 'little person' through the playhouse possibly an adult sitting at a table at the bar behind?

Doug D wrote:Is the 'little person' through the playhouse possibly an adult sitting at a table at the bar behind?

ah,you could be right Doug D,that would account for the size

Is the other little  girl the one on the steps of the plane with Madeleine

tiny wrote:

Doug D wrote:Is the 'little person' through the playhouse possibly an adult sitting at a table at the bar behind?

ah,you could be right Doug D,that would account for the size

Yes that could be the case, if there's more space behind the playhouse and we just can't tell because of the perspective.

tiny wrote:Is the other little  girl the one on the steps of the plane with Madeleine

I think it is.

The Snapper wrote:I don't know much about photoshopping but the edge of the tree trunk above the bald guy doesn't look right, suggests a join between the middle and top right hand sections. There appears to be a line running across the grass to the right from the yellow object. Are the bald guy and the playhouse there to cover the join? Still can't believe this is on officially released photo, it's terrible

Re: the tree - would have to see a photo of the tree on its own to be able to tell, I think.
There is a line running across the grass to the right of the yellow object. It could be just the landscaping... or it could be a join where part of another photo has been added.
Look at the bald guy's foot - he must have doublejointed hips to be able to have his foot facing almost backwards and the rest of his body facing forwards!

tiny wrote:

canada12 wrote:

tigger wrote:Shadow of  the play thing should be part visible and my puzzle is the tiny human figuresseen through the hole ofthe little building . They're too far away in relation toother people in the same plane. If you see what I mean.

I do see the tiny little figure. Just trying to make sense of it. I can't zoom in well enough to see whether it's a person or just looks like a person. I do know the playground buildings were moved around a lot - saw that in different photos of the area made by different people on different days -  they're made out of plastic and aren't all that heavy. So it's possible that originally the little house was facing a different direction and someone was standing behind it, visible through the opening, and there was enough space behind the house to allow for that perspective originally? Then the little house was cut and pasted into the picture with this perspective?

To me it looks like a woman with dark long hair,wearing sunglasses and dressed in mauve,although I could be quite wrong

then again having has another look it could be a mans face but defo in mauve(not much help,i know)

Jane Tanner in a purple top and jeans. But then that can't be, because she didn't bring jeans  

Bom dia tudos,

A quick update for you on the weather here in the Algarve. It's temperate. Winter temps normally 5-20C and summer temps 20-45C. It rains in winter and rarely does in the summer. The summer months also experience a cooling sea breeze in the evenings. Sea conditions are flat during the summer months, with occasional on-shore wind and swell during winter storms that roar up the Atlantic. 

For late April, early May. It's usually about 20-25C during the day and around 15C in the evening. It may rain on the rare occasion, and sometimes it's overcast. Also, due to Portugal being closer to the equator and the squashed sphere shape of the earth, is gets dark quicker, once the sun has set, than say the UK or Tasmania, . This effects the wearing of a jumper in the evenings, especially when it is clear sky. Sea conditions are flat, and water temperature is okay for short swims without a wetsuit (many tourists do swim in April, both in pools and the sea).

What does this all mean?

For starters, there is speculation that Madeline may have been buried. 
Its stops raining and starts getting warm from about March. This means the ground dries out and gets hard. I have a garden, and any digging is done between November and March. Come April, the ground is too hard to dig any more than 15cm. After May, the ground is hard as concrete, and not even one cm can be dug without mechanical means. This would mean it was unlikely she was buried (in unturned soil) at the time, and even more unlikely in the following months. Further. and its been said on one of the blogs (TextUSA I think), regarding dogs digging up the beaches. There are lots of roaming dogs in the Algarve, and anything burried would've been dug up by them, and spotted by passers by. 

For seconds, there is speculation  that Madeline may have been dumped into the sea.
Sea conditions for that time of year in Algarve are flat, no swell and little current. The sea is clear, visibility is good. Her body would have been found. The PJ files looked into ocean currents and sea conditions at the time, and came to the same conclusion. 
Recently, there was tragedy at Praia do Meco. Seven people were swept into the sea by a rouge wave. One survived, and the remaining bodies were found over the last few weeks. Sea conditions on the West Coast at the time were huge waves (5m+). The point being, they were found after rough sea conditions, Madeline was not found in calm sea conditions.

What do I think?

*IF* it happened as or similar to what Amarals book says, then she may have been buried/hidden in one of the existing crypts at the cemetery in Luz (about 400m) from apartment 5a. Add about 200m more for the route to account for the Smith sighting. 600m is about the same distance from the apartment to the sewer pipe on the beach. According to one German newspaper report (and also I spoke to a UK police officer), the cemetery was searched, discretely, around September. However, I couldn't imagine them turning all the stone slabs of around 200 crypts. PJ files write of an unconfirmed sighting of GM at the apartment block directly opposite and overlooking the cemetery in the days after the disappearance. KM writes about laying on stone and looking out to sea. The cemetery is on a slope, all crypts are stone slabs, there is a partial and obscured sea view.

beijos x

Behind Gerry's right shoulder, above the buggy but higher, is that a man's profile or am I getting quite carried away and seeing things that aren't there??

Also there seems to be no sign of Gerry's sunglasses. The chap behind and the 'woman in purple behind the playhouse' are wearing them so they are in a bright sunny day, but Gerry doesn't seem to need them ?

daffodil wrote:Behind Gerry's right shoulder, above the buggy but higher, is that a man's profile or am I getting quite carried away and seeing things that aren't there??

Also there seems to be no sign of Gerry's sunglasses.   The chap behind and the 'woman in purple behind the playhouse' are wearing them so they are in a bright sunny day, but Gerry doesn't seem to need them ?

There's someone with dark hair wearing a brown top and white trousers behind Gerry's right shoulder, leaning over as if talking to someone. Beside him or her is a post, and beside that a buggy.

On Google Earth someone has helpfully uploaded two photos from a similar position

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I wonder why?

Wanting to be helpful ?
Taken 15th Sept 2009. Heavy cloud cover.

So there are seven witnesses who should be able to time/date/validate this photo.(There is someone you can't see casting a shadow behind the lady in black, holding a towel or something).
It can't be too difficult can it, even after all this time (if it hasn't already been done, but not released in the files).
The shadow in bottom right hand corner could be a tree, close to the photographer, which you can see on google maps, appearing to throw a shadow in the 'wrong' direction, but I agree that overall the photo doesn't make too much sense.

canada12 wrote:

tigger wrote:Shadow of  the play thing should be part visible and my puzzle is the tiny human figuresseen through the hole ofthe little building . They're too far away in relation toother people in the same plane. If you see what I mean.

I do see the tiny little figure. Just trying to make sense of it. I can't zoom in well enough to see whether it's a person or just looks like a person. I do know the playground buildings were moved around a lot - saw that in different photos of the area made by different people on different days -  they're made out of plastic and aren't all that heavy. So it's possible that originally the little house was facing a different direction and someone was standing behind it, visible through the opening, and there was enough space behind the house to allow for that perspective originally? Then the little house was cut and pasted into the picture with this perspective?

That's quite possible, imo that looks like a woman with dark hair and sunglasses sitting in the shade of the pavillion which has a sort of veranda around it.