Blogs from São Vicente, Cape Verde, Africa

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

Life at sea. So filled with contrasts that you every minute is torn between the most extreme feelings and emotions there are. A day when the sun smiles down on you and the wind is favourable you feel like you are on the top of the world and everything just makes sense. Whereas when the rain pours down and the wind makes the sea angry you merely feel like a wet spot with no purpose or place! So far on the journey we have experienced mostly sun and nice weather, however as we left Safi in Morocco the wind increased with high waves as a consequence that left many of us sea sick, including me. Right now Gunilla is moored in Mindelo, Cape Verde and we are planning to stay here until Sunday the 9th of ... read more