We were sitting in the bar of a one-horse village in the hills on the tiny island of Porto Santo. We seemed to be the only customers in quite a while. There was nothing to the village but the bar, a small farm, a couple of cottages, and the dusty track. In the sweltering heat there was no sound other than the buzzing of flies. Finishing our beers, we rose, pushed through the swing doors … and froze. Outside was a swarthy man with a shot-gun and bandolier. He was wearing a black hat.

We followed his gaze across the dried-up gulch where on the other side of the valley there stood another man, similarly armed but with a greasy white hat. They stood eyeing one another in silence. Then we spotted a third, lying on the roof of the barn. And a fourth, in camouflage gear, down at the bottom end of the gulch.

It was the perfect setting for a spaghetti western. We wouldn't have been a bit surprised to hear the theme tune of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" start up – the baddies waiting for the last chime to strike before gunning each other down. What we did hear though was the sudden rustle of a beater from deep in the undergrowth in the bottom of the gulch, and the bark of excited dogs. They were hunting rabbits.

Hunting rabbits on Porto Santo

One broke cover and ran out right between the legs of the guy at the end of the gulch. Off guard, he pointed his gun straight down, but with great presence of mind (I thought) resisted the urge to shoot himself in the foot. Instead a few quick paces, and a couple of despairing shots that kicked up the dust in the wake of the rabbit that had dashed for shelter in some rocks. Black Hat lifted his eyes to the heavens, spat in the dust and grinned at us. The dogs – hungry looking lurchers - might go without that evening, but at least he’d be owed a beer for the miss.

Porto Santo.

Shooting rabbits seemed to be the island obsession in Porto Santo. All day long the sound of gunfire echoed over the hills while we were there.

Porto Santo is a volcanic island in the Atlantic 40 miles from Madeira, and a long way from anywhere else. Just 7 miles long and with a population of about 5,000, it has gone from poverty to wealth in the last two decades. Too dry to support agriculture, it has been opened up as an exclusive tourist destination. Among a number of new prestige projects is a superbly equipped beach sports stadium, that was completely deserted and unused while we were anchored nearby, even though it was a holiday week. It would have been a greater contribution to the local sports culture if the money had been used to dump a few thousand more rabbits.