The Green Cape (that wasn't green)

So yesterday we were on the island of Cape Verde and today we are traveling east toward Senegal on the continent of Africa. The port at Cape Verde (Porto Grande Bay) is a natural harbor. Despite it’s name ("Green Cape") these islands are not green at all. The terrain is mountainous but they also have beautiful beaches with the most turquoise water I have ever seen. I wish I could have taken photos of the beach near the port but we were riding in a van and didn’t stop there.

 

approaching Cape Verde

In the morning we took the shuttle from the port into the city of San Vicente with some friends from the ship. Most of the photos below were snapped as we walked along the downtown streets.

 

Porto Grande - Cape Verde

 

wall art - local singer/songwriter Cesária Évora

fish & veggies for sale

get your produce here

groceries sold here

 

hard at work

the fish market - a great place to hang out (if you're a cat)!

May I help you?

 

The islands of Cape Verde were first discovered by the Portuguese in the mid-15th century, and only obtained their independence from Portugal in 1975. In its beginnings, Cape Verde was used as a slave holding area between Africa and the Americas. Although they may be African geographically speaking, they still have a strong Latin flavor. The inhabitants are a mix of Portuguese and African. Cabo Verde is the only country in West Africa with a population of primarily mixed European/African descent. Portuguese is the official language. 75-80% of the population identifies as Roman Catholic.

  

Our Lady of the Light Church

Praca Town Hall

 

 

a walk around the town

 

In the afternoon we took an excursion where we made short stops at an African craft market where some of the men and women were dressed in their traditional African style clothing. We also visited a vegetable market and walked around the Praca area in the city.  Parts of the city looked really run down and other parts had very nice shops.

 

colorful woven baskets from Senegal

Afterwards, we were driven along the coast to the top of Monte Verde, the highest point on Cape Verde island at 2440 feet, for a photo op. It was cold, windy and cloud covered at the top, as you can see from my photos. 

I must admit that we didn't learn very much. Our guide didn't speak much English and on top of that he low-talked and was hard to hear. At times, it was almost like playing Charades as he tried to think of words he wanted to say and the passengers were trying to help him out. lol! The weather was beautiful (high of 77) so all in all, it was still a very nice day!

driving up to Monte Verde

view from the top of Monte Verde

beautiful coastline near Baia das Gatas