Day 45 ~ Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde

 February 24, 2022

74 degrees, gloriously sunny, wickedly windy!

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY ~ Aye, aye!

"Aye" is Old English for "yes." The seaman's reply of "Aye, aye," means "I understand and I will obey." (I wonder if they couldn't work that into the groom's wedding vows somehow...)

Oh, the joys of not rolling and pitching! I've been lurching along the halls lately, making good use of the handrails. I do pretty well when the movement is up and down, but wallowing side to side makes me pathetically grateful to whoever invented scopolamine. It was such a delight to wake and realize we were no longer moving. And then to step out onto the verandah to be welcomed by this lovely harbor...

The land mass in the distance is Santo Antao, Sao Vicente's near neighbor in the Cape Verde chain.

When the Portuguese discovered these previously uninhabited islands in the 1500's, they set about colonizing them, but Sao Vicente was the last island to be developed. (With the exception of Santa Luzia island which is kept only as a nature preserve because there is not enough water for human habitation. Our guide for today, Ivandro, has visited the island as part of a crew to clean the beaches and says there is nothing there but lots of birds and, maybe not surprisingly, huge formerly domesticated cats!) But even though Sao Vicente got a later start, the most important port in the whole chain is here at Mindelo, and as the birthplace of Cesaria Evora, famed singer of "morna" ballads, it has become the cultural capital of this island nation.

There are some beautiful homes in the mountains, but they have to have their own catchment system for water. In the towns, citizens have access to water generated by desalination plants.

We opted for the Viking included tour and had set our expectations relatively low, because the Viking excursion presenter had told us that we would be given the very best the island had to offer, but our definition of "best" and theirs might differ. However we were happily surprised. The tour began with our guide Ivandro explaining more about his island and country while we wound through the charming, clean streets of Mindelo. The ubiquitous, angry-looking graffiti that had bothered me so in South America was rare here. 

The standard of living is "average" according to Ivandro. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by their constitution. 85% of the population is Roman Catholic owing to the Portuguese heritage. Portuguese is the national language, though the islanders also have their own patois with a mix of some African dialects. Public education features 6 years of primary and 6 of secondary school. There are 10 universities on the islands.  

The view from the top of Sao Vicente's highest peak--2400ft.

Our tour took us over some of the island's rough cobblestone roads. It fooled the heck out of my iphone. Thanks to the bumpy ride, the silly thing thinks I've climbed 61 floors today. It's easy to spot the island's volcanic past in the rugged terrain, yet there are also sections of striped sedimentation and evidence of upheavals in the past. The island is suffering through the fourth year of drought, but even in the best of times, it receives very little rainfall. Their rainiest month is September with an average of...hold onto your umbrella...only 1.5 inches of liquid sunshine. 

Yet even with the arid climate, they manage some agriculture. We passed by a large shrimp farm that produces enough prawns for export. And several fruit and vegetable farms that make use of subterranean water they pump to the surface using windmills. The water is then diverted into soaker hoses to nourish the small patches of cultivated ground.

Goats seem to thrive on the arid slopes and before Sao Vicente was colonized it was used as an oversized grazing area!

Who are those masked tourists?

Praia Beach (right behind us) is one of the most important breeding grounds for loggerhead turtles. Every year, the females come ashore to lay their eggs and the Cape Verdeans carefully protect the unguarded babies for the 45 days of incubation in the warm sand. Then they try to make sure as many as possible reach the sea once they break out of their shells. 

Our tour guide was passionate about his home and wanted us to see the best parts of his island, so he took us to a beach where the island holds an international music festival each year. The water is gorgeous--all emerald, turquoise and cobalt.   The fine sand is counterbalanced by large, pock-marked basalt stones, a reminder of the island's volcanic history.

I'd love to try to paint this scene once we get home!

Ivandro pointed out the fine white sand piling up in dunes. (See the photo below.) Local sand on the beaches is more yellow and coarser. The sand you see near the base of the mountains has blown all the way from the Sahara in Africa. To me, it's a reminder that we may be separated from other places by miles, but the whole world and all the people who live in it, are connected in ways of which we're not always aware. 

Praia Beach

I'm sorry I seem to be falling behind on this blog again. The Star is suffering with poor WiFi because its antennae has been damaged, so I spend a lot of time waiting for images to load. The DH is having similar difficulty putting together his photo montages. The antennae is scheduled to be fixed when we reach Cadiz, Spain.  

Lest you think we're living in Lalaland, uninterested in the plight of others, I want to share that we are able to stay informed about what's happening in Eastern Europe, following events on BBC. We are concerned for Ukraine right now and are lifting up those courageous defenders of Kyiv. To our family and friends, let me reassure you we are not traveling near the war area, but if Viking suspects we're in the slightest danger, I'm sure they'll change our itinerary to keep us out of harm's way. 

The DH is going to let his montage run overnight in the hopes that tomorrow I'll be able to post it then. He's got some really good shots of this beautiful island. 

More soon...