Mindelo, Cape Verde and More

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The night before our arrival at Cape Verde, we enjoyed a wonderful evening with our Cruise Specialists group, starting with a fun cocktail party on the back deck of La Veranda Restaurant. Folks were encouraged to wear something that represented one of the countries along the cruise. We then enjoyed a great dinner together in La Veranda, followed a fun evening of karaoke led by Jamie and Kevin. Doug even joined in the fun by doing the Beatles ‘Let It Be’. Not bad for the first time!

We arrived at our Cape Verde dock at about 8:00am on the 2nd. We were signed up for the Mindelo City Walking Tour at 9:00. Unfortunately, it was early on Sunday morning and town was almost deserted, plus nothing was open. The tour involved being led by a college student, who was not an experienced guide, thus the tour was a real disappointment. We sure haven’t had many on this entire cruise that haven’t met our expectations, but this was one, so we left the group and walked back to the ship.

The town of Mindelo is known for its colorful and animated carnival celebrations. The main economical resources here are fishing, shipping, boating, and more recently, tourism. The culture of Cape Verde reflects its mixed African and Portuguese roots. The town is surrounded by mountains. Mindelo’s deep-water port, Porto Grande, is connected to Mindelo Bay by an underwater volcanic crater, and is used for cruise ships and other commercial traffic.

Cape Verde was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1460 and made the islands part of the Portuguese empire. Due to its location off the coast of Africa, Cape Verde became an important watering station, then sugar cane plantation site, and later a major hub of the trans-Atlantic slave trade that would later form the contemporary African Diaspora. In 1975, Cape Verde achieved independence from Portugal after a long armed struggle in the jungles of Guinea-Bissau.

Our stay here was brief…sailing at 2:00pm for four days at sea.

The next day we were treated to a special lunch that was served in the galley of the Compass Rose Restaurant. As always, the kitchen staff does it up right.

And then on the 4th, we had a great time at another County Fair on the pool deck put on by the crew. Each department designs and sets up a booth. The guests vote on who has the best booth. The guests get raffle tickets for winning in the various booths. At the end, they draw the tickets for gifts and award a prize to the department with the best booth. A great time was had by all!

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Photos

Annette and Mac
Annette with Mac as we enjoy cocktails on the back deck with our Cruise Specialists mates.

Elizabeth
She raises her glass celebrating a fabulous cruise.

Sheik Bruce
Look at this garb! Who is this guy...really?

And Sheik Mike Too
If we did not know better, he looks like the real thing.

Annette in Royal Company
Annette surrounded by the two royals.

Kevin, our Host
Is everyone having fun yet?

Jamie and Kevin
Nice doo Jamie!

The Women of the Safari
Don't they look nice!

The Chipmans and Cays
Didn't know they were married to sheiks.

Our Hosts
Kevin and Susan lead us at the buffet.

Who Wants to Go First?
Jamie and Kevin lead off the karaoke.

The Duet
These guys do real well! Just warming up the crowd.

Manuela and Steve
She has Steve captivated!

Manuela and Bob
Manuela and the judge belt out a tune together.

Larry on the Mike
He gives it a try and did well.

George?
George...is that not Jamie's spiked doo. George belted out a couple tunes including Sinatra's 'My Way'.

Manuela and Her Guy
They did a great duet together. She is a real performer!

Let It Be
Doug was suprised when the mike was handed to him to sing the well known Beatles song.

Downtown Mindela
One of the original buildings downtown as we begin our walking tour of town. Unfortunately, the rest of town looked like this...closed up.

Annette and the Carving
This is some carved statue!

Colonial Architecture
Much of the downtown area had this classic look.