A passage from Dakar to Cape Verdes, on a reach most of the way, 470 miles and 3 nights at sea.  Not a brilliant passage as the last night was very choppy and very uncomfortable sailing, but we arrived safely at 7am just as it got light.  We were the 2^nd boat to arrive out of 33 and we set off 6 hours behind 17 boats in the second group.  So David was thrilled with his navigation.

The Cape Verdes is an archipelago made up of 10 volcanic Islands,  most are very poor with very little rain and lots of wind, so lots of flying dust.  The sea are rich in whales and dolphins, also lots of fish, which we caught and ate.  We saw both Sperm whales and Pilot whales on route and my wire fishing lines where both eaten and I lost my line and lures, I was told this was probably Tuna as they can eat the wire lines….

The Island we are on is Sao Vicente, Mindelo, where there is a small marina, we are bows to the pontoon with lazy lines on the stern.  The Island is completely different to Dakar, the people are poor but friendly and not begging so we we feel safe to walk around on our own.  There are plenty of colonial buildings on the waterfront and lots of new developments being built, most of the restaurants have a plate of the day, usually fish and sweet potatoes all well cooked and reasonably priced.

On the first day we arrived,  David & I went out for a meal on our own to Gaudi’s, which was recommended to us, they ship in Brazilian steaks of course from Brazil, what a wonderful meal !!!  and by the end of the night we had been joined by a few more of the RIDS people to make the night more memorable.. 

This week is going to busy, busy, boat fixing, re stocking for the Atlantic crossing, 15-17 nights at sea and we also have alot of things planned for this week as we have 10 days in Mindelo including a trip around the Island and a ferry ride over to Santo Antao with a stop of 2 nights in the mountain, to go trekking up the volcano.  We will take pictures and put them up on the next blog.

We are both having a wonderful time, it’s been such a humbling experience to see Africa, the poverty, the people, we  cannot believe  how the people live day to day, hand to mouth.  We are so fortunate.

Love to all from Cape Verde, hope it’s not too bad in the UK.

Suzanne & David xxx