May 14, 2024
Day 130/137
Mindel (Porto Grande), Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde is officially the Republic of Cabo Verde. It is a collection of ten volcanic islands. The Cape Verde islands form a part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Savage Isles. It lies west about 700 kilometers off the of Cape-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa.
Macaronesia is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the costs of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands, which are formed by mountains on the ocean floor whose peaks have risen above the ocean’s surface. The Azores and Madeira are autonomous regions of Portugal, the Canary Islands have the same relationship with Spain, and Cape Verde is a sovereign nation. Macaronesia is part of the African Tectonic Plate. The Zaores has the distinction of being located on the triple junction between the Eurasian, North American and African plates.
Today we are stopping in Cape Verde, or more accurately we are berthing for the day in Mindelo. Mindelo is a port city on the northern part of the island of São Vicente. Iiha de Santiago is the physically largest island, and home ti the capital of Cape Verde, Praia. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, Our Lady of the Light. The city is home to 93% of the entire island's population. It is known for its colorful and animated carnival celebrations.
The archipelago was believed to be uninhabited until the 15th century when Portuguese explores discovered and colonized the islands. Today certain archaeological evidence may exist to suggest humans occupied the islands prior to the arrival of Europeans. Due to its location off the coast of Africa and on the trade route to Brazil and the Caribbean the islands played a key role in the Atlantic slave trade. As a result, Cape Verde was economically prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries. It declined economically in the 19th century after the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade by the British Empire, and many of its inhabitants emigrated during that period. Cape Verde hasn’t regained its economic height, but it is becoming an important commercial center, useful stopover point along major shipping routes and is developing a tourist trade. Cape Verde has been an independent nation since 1975.
Most of the food has to be imported due to three prolonged periods of severe drought, between 1940 and 1958, combined with soil erosion and overgrazing, which have left the whole archipelago unable to feed itself. Mindelo was the cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking world from November 2002 until November 2003. Mindelo is considered the cultural capital of Cape Verde.
Standing on the veranda looking out over the island you can see that it is barren. The town looks fairly small even when standing this close. It does have a rustic beauty. Unfortunately, there is no cruise terminal so we are again berthed in the commercial port which never gives a positive picture of a city, town or country. It does appear efficient however because we were berthed and cleared very quickly and on time.
The excursion today is entitled the highlights of Cape Verde. Probably a misnomer. It is more accurately probably the island of São Vicente. It should be an easy excursion as it is only three-and-a-half hours. We should be back on board by 13:00.
The first stop is Monte Verde. Such a clever name, right? The road up is a little wider than the small motor coach we are in. The road is “paved” with black basaltic stones giving a cobble stone appearance. It also is providing an Africa massage as we traverse the many turns up the hill. Hey, it is cold up here! It feels wonderful, but cold for the first time since San Francisco back in January.
Monte Verde, green mountain, is anything but. It is brown barren and wind swept. It doesn’t look like anything much had grown on this mountain in centuries. Although there are indications of terracing on hill side. Probably once farming was done here prior to the droughts and over farming. The mountain in 744 meters in elevation and offers great views of the island and bay below.
The guide mentions they get about 2 or 3 inches of rain a year. The internet says is it more like 6 inches, but in either case it isn’t sufficient to grow a lot of crops. They apparently use a desalination plant for most of their drinking water. They are offering some local rum like drinks at the look out point. People trying them apparently will feel better for being up here.
Looking down at the roadbed, one has to wonder how well the tires on the motor coaches hold up under under the constant assault of the sharp piece of hard basaltic rock. The rocks seem to be coated with black rubber. It would probably not be wise to take a quick look at the tires on the motor coach, but …. Fortunately they look like they are in good shape. The guide mentions that this is a popular hiking area. To see what? It is part of a national park. Apparently, all the various species of animals and endemic flora are concentrated in this area, not that there was much to see.
The next stop was at a beach. Praia do Norte or Norte da Baía is a beach and town. It is located in the Salamansa area, between Baía das Gatas and Praia Grande, northeast of Monte Verde. Apparently it is the site of a annual music festival. Nothing much to see here. It is a beach in the middle of the week. Only saw one guy in the water and one closed beachside restaurant. Apparently kite surfing is popular during the season.
From here we head south to see the sand dunes made up of sand from the Shara Desert. The guide suggests that the sand is deposited into the ocean by the winds and carried here and deposited on the shore. It is extremely fine sand from mainland Africa. It is nothing like the sand dunes in Namibia.
The motor coach continues on around the island. We stop at a rescue center of the loggerhead turtles. Apparently the fisherman bring injured or too young to survive turtles here to be rehabilitated and released into the sea. There re all of four turtles here today. Two adults and two babies. One of the adults is missing a leg and won’t be able to return to the sea. The other three will be eventually. They are beautiful animals. The water front on which they sit is hard basalt rock. No nice sandy beaches here.
The motor coach continues on. Apparently now we are going through a agricultural valley on the island. The guide explains the drought has caused many to sense operations but there are a few farms still operating. Many have windmills to pull the water from the water table to feed the crops. We can see a number of windmills, but this valley looks more like the dust bowl of Oklahoma in 1930 than anything else. Old broken windmills, some still blindly turning but producing nothing. There are a couple of green patches here and there.
We pass what looks like a water amusement park. The guide says yes it was. But they built it too far from the city, in a place without any public transportation access and without any water. They used to have to truck the water to the park. It was just too remote and expensive for the locals to visit, and too expensive to operate so it closed down.
The motor coach continued on through town and back to the dock. Probably not one of the ideal tropical islands on which to live. Like many places water is scarce, electricity is available less than 24/7, and everything has to be imported. Hawaii or Figi in the 1940’s or 1950’s without the water.
Back on board it was laundry time. Time to work on the blog. Maria is reading her book. We are thinking about what gets packed to got with us and what should be shipped back to San Carlos. There are only seven days left. Exciting on one hand, sand on the other other, and off there was a third hand it would be tired. The clock goes an hour ahead tonight. Lose an hour of sleep.
For now, Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria
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