Overnight In Mindelo
Mindelo, the second largest city with a population of 47,000, is located on the northern island of São Vicente and provides a marked contrast as a clean, orderly city with a European feel.
April 15, 2014
Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde
Our port stop in Mindelo, Ilha de SaoVicente was originally scheduled for April 18 but was moved to an overnight stay on April 15, 2014. Since we had more time than was necessary in Cape Verde, we decided to hire a taxi on the first day, and acquaint ourselves with the volcanic nature of the island.
The roads were newly paved and in good condition. One thing noticeable right away was the arid landscape and absence of trees.
“What is brown in Portuguese,” Bert asked me.
“This place should not be called Cape Verde, but Cape Brown instead,” he continued.
For several minutes, there was no traffic and motorists. Once in a while we would see a small house on a hill, a windmill and a small vegetable garden. It looked like a scene from a Western movie. Our taxi was the only one going on a panoramic drive on winding roads passing volcanic valleys, dramatic coastlines and fishermen's villages. Reaching the highest point on the island up Monte Verde, we saw a glimpse of our ship in the panoramic landscape below.
There was nothing else to see but open skies and white clouds and a very desolate and dry volcanic landscape.
“That island across the water, that is St. Antao, my island. That’s where I come from,” our taxi driver Jose, said. “But I left because there are no jobs there, and no money. My parents still live there,” he continued.
Jose spoke a bit of English and explained that he speaks Portuguese, the official language and a bit of French. He wanted to push on showing us around, so we could give him extra from the agreed US$70 for the four of us, for three hours.
Our next stop was the Praia Grande beach where the view from the coastal drive was magnificent. From there we passed by a few gritty villages. Houses were painted bright purple, pink, sometimes green. A few houses were in mid construction but already occupied as evidenced by clotheslines on the top floor minus roof. Bigger houses have hospitality walls (broken glass embedded and with razor wires). Men and women were sitting under trees while children were running around playing. Dust and dirt around. A few stores and a bar. There was no gasoline station and I wondered if our taxi had enough gas to take us back to the city. What happens if our taxi were to run out of gasoline.
Back in the city, we had lunch and looked for an Internet cafe afterwards, but we didn't find one. We then went to the handicraft market where there really was nothing special to buy or see. There was a lot of cheap trinkets made in China,and a few hand carvings from Africa. The next day, there was really nothing to do or see in Mindelo and we could not understand why we had to stay overnight until 5:00 pm. the next day. So we went to the Mindelo Marina and bought a few mugs of beer so we could get access to WiFi.
Overall, it was a lousy overnight stay and although people were friendly, there is really nothing of excitement or anything interesting after you've seen the volcanic landscape and the beach area. A half days stay would be more than plenty!
Comments
Another island we have not visited yet, thanks for the story and good photos. We have a new grandson and were away for two weeks in CA. From Kim L, on May 3, 2014 at 10:32 p.m What a brown island with good looking people! Thanks for sharing. From Kim L., on May 6, 2014 at 12:45 a.m