Today's port of call was the city of Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente, one of the windward islands of Cape Verde. The total population of this archipelago is 553,000 people that speak mainly Portuguese, some English, and Creole. The city of Mindelo is the capital of Sao Vicente and the population is 69,900 natives (2010). Ninety-three % of the people live in and around this desert-like city. Also making them famous is the annual Mardi Gras at Carnival time, which is said to be the best among African countries. Local music called moma is the prevailing sound heard everywhere.
Located 500 kilometers off the west coast of Senegal, this island chain has volcanic peaks, many beaches, verdant valleys, and seaside villages. The green valleys produce sugar cane, and flowers, not to mention a plethora of produce. Mt. Verde is the highest peak on Sao Vicente at 750 meters, and windsurfing and kite surfing are a growing fad as well. By the way, Sao Vicente island is a mere 88 square miles, not the largest of the group.
The food and drink are all Portuguese-related with a creole touch. Imported olives and wines go well with the cuisine of dishes created with dried corn, beans, rice and fish or meat. Thanks to many Italian tourists, pizza and pasta dishes are available everywhere, and most lucky for us. This is truly a Mediterranean-style town attracting mostly European clientele. And cruise ship passengers like us. We have been to this city before, but it has been so long ago, we had trouble remembering most of it. Perhaps back in the old days, we did a tour that took us out of town.
The currency is the Cape Verdean Escudo with 102.94 CVE equaling $1 USD. Most of the shops and restaurant will quote prices in both escudo and Euro. And most places do not accept US dollars or American Express. The most used cards here are Visa and Master Card.
There were four excursions here starting with a walking tour of the town for 3 ½ hours for $55. It would take you along the beachfront road with shops and monuments, ending up at the fish market and African market. We did all of this and more for free. Then there was a drive up Mt. Verde for views of the islands (weather permitting). You would enjoy a taste of the local liqueur and some of their agriculture snacks. Around the island in a 4 x 4 vehicle for 4 ½ hours for $110 took folks to the inland agricultural area and also to see beaches and caves at a fishing village. And lastly there was a culinary experience for 4 hours and $110 to join a group that would go to a local restaurant for a taste of the meat and fish with beans, corn, potatoes and bananas. We suspect many guests took these excursions because they were priced-right.
It was much cooler this morning with temperatures in the high 70's….not 100's like in The Gambia. There was a 20 mph breeze blowing and the humidity was 69%. A few scattered clouds were overhead, some residual fog, and no rain. Only sunshine for most of the day.
We docked portside to the pier where we had the view of the seawall and the road to town. Sure resembles the same pier as in Funchal, Madeira except not as large. There was a crew drill at 9:30am which lasted for an hour. We left in the middle of it, boarded the small shuttle, and were in the center of town within minutes. It was nice that we did not have to walk in the commercial port area, although we did see people doing it.
The driver let us out in the center of town where we continued to walk the entire seaside road. The first icon we saw had to be the sailfish display in the surf…reminding us of the huge one that is in Manzanillo. Just smaller. A short distance up the road was the monument of Diogo Afonso, who was the Portuguese explorer and founder of Cape Verde. The Torre de Belem, the replica of the one in Lisbon, was built in the 1920's commemorating Lisbon's Belem Tower.
A visit here would not be complete without a stop at the local Fish Market which is always fun to see for us. The expert ladies were busy fileting tuna and other fresh catch of the day. The fishermen were hauling tubs of fish in the back entrance. There was a sign showing the type of fish they catch here as well as some of the deep sea fish that had limits on them. The walls of this market were lined with the typical Portuguese tiled pictures showing historic scenes from the past. Again, this reminded us of the fish market in Funchal which is also Portuguese. By the way, this market was clean and the smell was almost non-existent. What a difference from what we saw and smelled while in Ghana and The Gambia.
Turning uphill, we came upon a series of raised squares that held the outdoor fruit and veggie market. Other stalls had a myriad of souvenirs, much of it beach-related. Flip-flops, clothing, t-shirts and African-style brightly-colored dresses were displayed. Beaded jewelry was more like you would see in the Caribbean Islands, tons of bracelets and necklaces with few earrings. Several tour buses were stopping here and letting their guests out to shop. We are not sure if they took US dollars or Euro only.
Next we found a side street that took us to a church, Nossa Senhora da Luz built in 1862. There were a dozen or more fellows lingering outside the church doors, so we did not go inside. Some were looking for handouts. Across from the church was a wide strip of garden with many benches. All of the shady spots were taken by local fellows.
Coming out on a side street, we turned right and saw the colonial pink and white People's Palace or Palacio Povo built in 1858. It was temporarily closed.
Close to here was the older colonial building which turned out to be the Mercado Municipal. This two story building had every fruit and veggie you could possibly want along with some extras like dried veggies, rice and staples and houseplants. Rum bottles were in the center of each display. This market was organized and very clean with tiled floors and the vaulted ceiling. The vendors were most friendly and showed us their packaged beans, corn, cashews, peanuts, cornmeal and rice. Add some meat or fish and you would have a stew or soup.
From here we made our way back to the seaside road, Avenue Marginal. Following the road, we window-shopped until we passed by the ferry terminal, the port area, and eventually, the wood-fired pizza restaurant U Sabor. It was located across from the Lajinha Beach, an urban beach just a short walk from central Mindelo. The only problem was that we had to climb 34 steps to get to the patio landing of this restaurant. We will do anything for a good wood-fired pizza with beers. Just our luck, it was not crowded and we took seats at the window with a breeze. Meal times here are a lot like European restaurants where the folks dine later. Of course, we had to be back onboard by 2:30pm, and did not want to be rushed for lunch. So we ordered two Strela draft beers and one cheese, ham, salami, and mushroom pizza to share. Beers came first, then we had to wait a while for the pizza. No rush, it was nice to sit and relax after walking all morning. The pizza was really great, but the desserts we ordered were top-notch. One was called petit gateau with ice cream, and turned out to be identical to our volcano cake in the Pinnacle Grill. The second dessert was gelado bolecha, a frozen cake in the center of ice cream covered in a fudge sauce. Delicious.
Hiking back down the stairs slowly, we headed across the street to the beach. There was a road that went to the port area, but we were not allowed to walk there. But on our way out of the side street, a shuttle driver stopped and picked us up. He ended up driving back to the town's center, where we stayed on until more folks came for the ride back. This time we rode all the way back through the dock area to the ship's gangway. We were back in our room by 2pm.
Lo an behold, Kimberly came on the speakers announcing that our departure time had been changed to 6pm, due to slow- bunkering fuel. So we did not have to cut our time in town short to be back early. The complimentary wine and cheese sail away was still on as planned, although there would be no sail away until later. We got involved with downloading photos as always, and forgot the time for the free party was at 2:30 to 3:30pm. Oh well, we do not drink wine anyway, and sure did not need the cheese. But it was a nice touch for the folks that like all that.
The sun was shining on our veranda all afternoon and it was great to relax out there, at least for one of us. We expect the temperatures will be gradually dropping as we make the crossing in the next four days to Puerto Rico. The Captain gave his talk at 5pm and was pleased with today's weather. He apologized for leaving late, but it was not under his control. Now he will have to speed up to make up the lost time in order to get us on schedule to San Juan. Once again, he expects a smooth sailing with winds at 20 knots and sea swells at 6 to 7 feet.
Dinner was labeled "Spice Islands" and offered some different items once again. Chicken tacos were a tasty starter, followed by a Chinese potato salad with vinegar and soy sauce. We chose the same entrée of a soy-brushed chicken with rice, carrots, beans, and eggplant. No….hold the eggplant. There was no dessert for either of us since we had indulged at lunchtime.
The show was a mixed bag of the entertainment team singing various songs. We were so tired from the exercise we got as well as the warm weather we did not go. Good time to turn in early.
Looking forward to four days at sea as we will have to continue the packing.
Bill & Mary Ann
