The Cape Verde Islands, or officially, the Republic of Cape Verde, is an African country consisting of 21 islands and islets, located 373 miles west of their namesake, Cape Verde (Green Cape), the western tip of Africa. The islands are volcanic in origin, like Madeira and the Canary Islands, and have an arid climate with an average annual rainfall of 10 inches and are subject to cyclical droughts.
We spent the day at the island of Santiago where the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, is located. About 70% of the 207,000 inhabitants of these islands are Creole, with 1% white and the reminder African. The language of commerce is Portuguese, but Crioulo, a Creole form of Portuguese, is widely spoken and is the language of art.
Santiago was Cape Verde for hundreds of years. It was here that the first settlers came in 1462 and founded Ribeira Grande, the first European town in the tropics. Those of us on the morning tour visited the bustling market at Praia and the remaining of Ribeira Grande, now called Cidade Velha (Old Town). Due to the riches obtained by the resupplying of ships and the trading of slaves, Ribeira Grande was attacked many times by pirates and the Forte Real do Sao Felipe was built after Francis Drake attacked in 1585. The ruin of the fort sits on a cliff above Cidade Velha and the views from there were breathtaking.
Stops were made during the afternoon tour at the craft center in Sao Domingos and at the Botanical Gardens in Sao Jorge dos Orgaos.
The most adventuresome among us chose to join the all day tour and explore the whole of the island. We also visited the Botanical Gardens and continued to Picos, a picturesque village with spectacular views of the craggy mountains. At lunch we arrived at Tarrafal, a village located on the northwest of the island; here we enjoyed our picnic lunch brought from the ship and went for a swim at the beach with its lovely soft sand and warm water. The drive back was on the coastal road where at each turn we were rewarded with astonishing views of the cobalt sea crushing the rocks.
Recap tonight was a special treat since a local band entertained us with the superb rhythms of Cape Verde. The music of these islands is internationally known and the most famous singer is Cesaria Evora who has sung the morna, the funana, and the coladeira on stages around the world. Our band called Vulcao de Fogo (the fire volcano) was lively and played a variety of different rhythms giving us a good taste of what this archipelago has to offer artistically. At dinner we cast our lines and sailed, but in our hearts we had the feeling of having being in distant and harsh land where the resilient inhabitants have survived so many hardships with grace and hopefulness.
