Blogs from São Vicente, Cape Verde, Africa

We left Brazil on the 20th and then headed north. We had 5 days at sea. During this time we continued with the quizzes, having moderate success and I kept going to choir rehearsals. In between there was food, drinks and music. However, 2 significant events took place. On the 23rd the whole ship celebrated St George's Day. Our trivia that day was around famous Georges while it was formal night with very British food.The concert was celebrating famous British artists such as the Beatles and David Bowie. The dancers and singers were very good. On the 25th, they held a special service for Anzac Day, not at dawn, but they did it very well. Most of the senior members of the crew attended and the resident vicar conducted a respectful ceremony. They even gave out ... read more

Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands The westernmost promontory of Africa, Cape Verde gives its name to the group of islands almost 400 miles to the west. Mindelo, is the main town of St Vincent with picturesque and colourful Portuguese colonial buildings. Cape Verde became independent in 1975 from the Portuguese. The islands have led a chequered history, for along time the economy of the islands was based on little else but the slave trade, the islands being on the route from West Africa to the New World. Nowadays the economy depends on the airport on Sal, the port facilities in Mindelo and agriculture. Coffee and bananas are the main exports, with salt being produced on the island do Sal. Fishing is a flourishing industry and a by product from the volcanoes is exported to make cement. Arrived ... read more

Cape Verde, Porto Grande Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony until 1975 when it gained independence. In 1990 they became a democracy. It is very hot, very dry and by our standards poor. The principal activity is fishing. One of the objectives of the tour we took was to view the island from the top of a mountain. Unfortunately the top was covered in clouds so only pictures from stops as we climbed and descended the mountain. The drive was very bumpy, but then most of the roads were bumpy.... read more

Whenever we begin an ocean passage, I think of the early explorers and what thay must have thought as they began their journey to the unknown. Now crossing an ocean is a fairly common occurrence especially with the advent of GPS, radar and stabilizers. The weather is always unpredictable but modern day ships are better able to handle sudden storms and rough seas. This cruise across the Atlantic Ocean turned out to be the best weather-wise of our previous fifteen crossings. The southerly route and the time of year improve the chances for a smooth cruise. As the toast goes, we had “fair winds and following seas” all the way. To celebrate this passage we decided to have a dinner party for our Cruise Specialists group. We thought that another fancy meal would be a bit ... read more

Happy Palm Sunday! Today we are in Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands, which is just off the most western part of the African continent. It is a volcanic island that gets almost no rain, so the dark barren mountains run right down to the sea. Very dramatic. They speak Portugese here so I can't read the billboards and signs. But they drive on the proper side of the road! It seems most of the other places we've been don't! :-) Since it is Palm Sunday, everything in the town is closed, so we just walked around. The beautiful old buildings are painted gorgeous bright colors and there are lots of really old, but still-in-use wooden fishing boats in the harbor. There isn't a cloud in the sky and the temp is about 75, so perfect touring weather. ... read more