The Extraordinary Cape Verde Islands
Rik
Wed 15 Nov 2023 18:00
The town of Mindello has a great musical vibrancy, all the restaurants have live music and the ambiance is quite unique.
We took a tour of our island San Vincente on Monday and learned so much from our fabulous guide Larissa.
The locals call the islands Cabo Verde, pronounced Cabo Verd
The children are taught in Portuguese at school but speak Creole at home
Music is very important, there are four different types, all of which were banned under the Portuguese dictatorship before independence.
She sang us a song from the “melancholy“ genre about a mother singing to a son wanting to leave the island for a better life during hard times. It was quite moving.
Almost all of the houses are unfinished because people are poor and build them slowly over many years. Sometimes started by the parents and finished by the children.
It is only community spirit that gets them though the hard times. “I help my neighbours today because they need me, I know I will need them tomorrow”. Quite recently it didn’t rain for five years, causing famine on the islands, helping each other helped them survive. Many men left the islands during this time to find employment elsewhere.
It often rains on neighbouring Sata Antao but not on San Vincente
The mother of a family generally performs the role of mother and father.
The locals love colour and Wall Art is everywhere.
Their beaches were blown here from the Sahara
Not much grows here.
Yesterday we went to Santa Antao and we’re completely blown away !! Only a hour away by ferry, much of the island is green and lush, with scenery more spectacular than anything we have seen before, yet somehow hardly anyone outside Cabo Verde knows about it.
We were guided by David, who is going to Germany for a year to learn German as he has noticed an increasing number of Germans on his hiking tours.
We tried “Grog” which is basically Rum and “Punch” which is basically Petrol. Distilling is illegal at certain times of the year as the government want to keep the quality high !!
The photos do not do it justice but may give you an idea.
Thank you Cabo Verde