Sao Vicente

 As our nasty little depression heads up towards the Azores it has been reclassified as a cat1 hurricane. Hurricane Alex........there's a coincidence!

Our new best mate Tom from the bar Simpatico offered to take us on a tour of the island so having spent the morning getting last minute supplies, Carol who we had left aboard had been busy with the sewing machine and created a windscoop for our cabin, this was installed and funnels cool air down onto our bunk, very necessary when the temperatures are approaching the 30s.

At the appointed hour we met up with Tom and we dropped off Christopher our castaway as he needed a job to finance the repairs to Aku Mor, Tom had kindly offered to try and help him out. There was a man needing English speakers for a call centre. Crap job but needs must!

The first stop we made out of town was the local golf course.

This is one of the "greens"

The club house. There was a pack of dogs which chased us away, chasing the car as we left and trying to bite the tyres. Quite entertaining especially for them!

 We continued the tour as Tom explained how foreign investment had enabled a certain amount of agriculture to be developed. This largely mean drilling wells as once water was added to the soil the Cape Verdes are remarkably fertile as they are volcanic in origin.

The many small farms were fed by windmills that pumped water up from artesian wells. One foreign investor had created a water park in the middle of nowhere, possibly a foolish investment, time will tell.

We made our way onto the north coast which has some fabulous beaches.

The island was turning out to be a total surprise, from the sea it looks, well, there's no other word for it, barren.....from closer up it is still barren but it has a fantastic beauty in a planet Mars kind of a way... The colours of the volcanic earths are stunning and there are people obviously happy and making a living everywhere. Passing people on the road would wave spontaneously.

Tom had decided to show us the view from Mount Verde. This involved a truly terrifying drive up precipitous cliff roads with dizzying drops with an almost total lack of barriers! However the views when we arrived at the summit were amazing.

The whole of this part of the archipelago was revealed in a hazy yet stunning vista.

As we dropped off the mountain ( heart in mouth again! ) Tom was telling us about the history and culture of an island that he obviously loves. He took us on a small detour to visit an almost deserted beach that is a famous kitesurfing venue.

The fishing village nearby was very colourful and bustling and seemed much more typical of island life than the capital Mindelo.

As we approached the small town of Baia ( one coincidentally we had sailed past two weeks ago ) Tom explained about the lagoon which was perfect for swimming and the significance of the permanent stage erected on the beach, there is an annual music festival held there which is becoming very popular. Tom also had another bar and holiday apartment complex where we stopped for a cold beer.

It really was a most beautiful spot and I looked out at the calm water just behind the reef and imagined Dark Tarn quietly at anchor there ( maybe?)

 

Tom continued to entertain us with tales from his time on the island and was kind enough to show us around the complex. If I ever write my novel I can think of no better place....

 We drove back through the fascinating volcanic landscape to Mindelo and Tom took us to one of the poorer parts of town to see the sun set over this colourful city.

It was a brilliant way to spend our last day.

Tomorrow we would leave for the Caribean. My feelings about the Cape Verdes are still mixed however I think I can now see the beauty I may have been missing before, for which I can't thank Tom enough for........