Blogs from Cape Verde, Africa - page 2

The island of Fogo is basically a volcano in the middle of the Atlantic. Its beaches are black volcanic sand, striking against the white surf and the blue sea. Portugal once sent convicts here and an eccentric French Duke set up home here in the 1870s, fathering at least 11 children and countless grandchildren.. Most of the island is the volcano's caldera. Sitting at about 1,750 metres it contained two small villages. The ground here is a mixture of volcanic sand, rough volcanic rock and heavy brown boulders. It looks like the moon. Our first walk takes us past the more recent eruption vents, 1995 and 2015. These both spewed molten lava into the caldera below. The paths of the lava are clearly visible. The 2015 eruption lasted 6 weeks and destroyed most of the buildings ... read more

Friday 19th February, 2016. Praia Santiago, Cape Verde Islands We returned once more to this island nation, but this time to the island of Santiagu (Santiago) which is located between the islands of Maio (40 km west) and Fogo (50 km east) in the Sotavento Islands Group. Santiago was the first of the islands to be settled, the town of Cidade Velhabeing founded in Riberia Grande in 1462. Praia lies on the southern coast of Santiago and is home to the island's ferry port and one of the nations four international airports. It is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde. It is a commercial centre and a port that ships coffee, sugar cane and tropical fruits. It has a thriving fishing industry and lots of resort beaches nearby which make it a popular tourist ... 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

Mittwoch, 22.04.2015 St. Helena – Praia (2’128 Seemeilen, 4 Seetage) Auf dem Weg nach Praia überquerten wir zum zweiten Mal auf dieser Reise den Äquator. Im Januar in südlicher- und nun in nördlicher Richtung. Praia ist die Hauptstadt der Kapverden, sie liegt auf der Insel Santiago, einer der südlichsten Inseln der Kapverden. Ursprünglich stand bei der Rückreise, Dakar in Senegal auf dem Programm, diese Destination wurde aber schon vor Reisebeginn gestrichen und Praia auf den Kapverdischen Inseln ins Programm aufgenommen (Ebola?). Unser Schiff legte, mit mächtig Schlick im Hafenbecken aufwirbelnd, um 14.00 Uhr in Praia an. Die planmässige Abfahrt wurde auf 20.00 Uhr angesetzt. Wir hatten also nicht viel Zeit für einen Stadtrundgang. Der Industriehafen, in dem wir vor Anker lagen, war zudem etwa 6 ... read more