Cape Verde is one of the smallest and poorest of the African nations, lying 643 km off the coast of
Senegal. 9 of the 10 volcanic islands are inhabited. Sao Vicente is in the northwest group.
The Barlavento islands are the windward islands, which means they are subject to the prevailing winds.
The island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1462 on St Vincent's Day (January 22), hence the name. Due to lack of water it was only used for grazing cattle.
Mindelo is a port city in the northern part of Sao Vicente. It is home to 93% of the island’s population. A settlement was founded by the Portuguese in 1793 and it became a coal deposit for ships of the British East India Company. In 1884 a submarine communications cable was laid between Europe, Africa, India and North America, making Mindelo an important communications centre for the British Empire. Mindelo is situated at the Porto Grande Bay, a large natural harbour. The town is surrounded by low mountains and is crossed by a river (dry in Jan). It is now known for its carnivals.
I did a tour of the island by share taxi. Compared to Sal it is very hilly, the highest peak is 725 m. It was also very windy and rather hazy on the day we visited. Firstly we went up the big mountain behind the town. Our ship in the centre of the photo.
We went in Monte Verde national park. The landscape was volcanic rock, very little green and it was a cobbled road.
Salamansa is a kite surfing area. It was pretty deserted in January.
The villages don't have running water. There is a communal water station in each village and the people have to collect their water in containers. This boy seems to be having a rest.
We continued along the east coast, past the villages of Norte and on to Calhau. We passed some large sand dunes
A short video of our guide doing acrobatics on the sand dune -
An agricultural area, water is obtained by wind pumps and wells
Back at Mindelo we went up to the view point by the meteorological station
After the tour, I walked around the town. Went to the fish market
This is a replica of Belem tower in Lisbon
The outdoor "African" market
The world-famous Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora. She was born on Sao Vicente and is known as the Queen of Morna. Morna is a melancholy musical style that is often sung in Cape Verdean Creole.
Before going back to the cruise terminal I went to Laginha beach. The colour of the sea and sand were beautiful
See my blog Faces of Cape Verde.
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