Wednesday, 29 February 2012 - At Sea between Cape Verde Islands and The Canary Islands
Cape Verde Islands
It is not clear how to pronounce the Cape Verde Islands. I asked around and got the explanation that the locals say what sounds like capo verdie but English speakers and "The Portuguese" say that this 200 mile long archipelago of nine inhabited and a bunch of uninhabited very volcanic tropical islands 400 miles west of Senegal is called something like cape verd. Since the local language is a dialect of Portuguese, all this seemed a moot point, or at least one that wouldn't be answered. But that question is nothing compared to those questions that arose from what we saw during our two day long visits to islands at opposite ends of the now independent country.
After Muslim Gambia and the seemingly happy Ghana, it seemed strange to find that this clearly African island nation was distinctly European in architecture, religion, and way of life. Of course with a colonial history dating back hundreds of years, Canada and the USA can be said to be "European" rather than Eskimo or American Indian. Tourism is just developing, mostly by "French Trekkers" (hikers) in the very, very volcanic north, but the most luxurious hotel we saw had a top rack rate of less than 60 euro. This country is poor.
So poor, as a matter or fact, that the largest sources of income we were told are from, 1) Remittances from Cape Verdians who live in Europe or the US, and 2) aid from "China (of course), France, Italy, and Luxembourg." Italy and Luxembourg? I didn't know that Luxembourg gives foreign aid. When our guide talked about the recent elections for Prime Minister and President, it occurred to me that the leaders are elected here for their fund raising abilities primarily. Kind of like university presidents and deans.
After two days, one a full day exploration of the very scenic most northern island, I can say I know what I looked at but not what I saw. So here's my brief report. I'll let the pictures say the rest.
Monday - Praia, Santiago Island, CVI
Our first stop in my 137th country visited (but who's counting) was at the capital city of Praia. We took the Silversea shuttle bus the short distance to the "Plateau", the site of the busy downtown. I found a amateur radio antenna installation--my first "D4" observed. After checking out the fortifications--always with canons aimed at the occasional cruise ship--we walked extensively around the (3) main streets, visited the proverbial busy public market, checked out the mixture of Western and African street life, and returned to the ship to enjoy the scene of peaches being loaded on a small cargo boat for a very long time.
Tuesday - Porto Novo, San Antonio Island, CVI
A full, and I mean full, day excursion was a highlight of our voyage so far. We departed the port--which actually is still under construction--so we didn't actually dock at the port but used the ship's tenders to get ashore. The tour was quite comprehensive, if by comprehensive you mean driving a 100 miles or more on one lane mountain roads up and down precipitous cliffs and through very small villages. The volcanic craters were spectacular, terraced farming was everywhere including places where the ever popular family goat had to be bred with shorter front legs than back ones and the family donkey (used instead of pick up trucks I concluded) had to be taught to lean against rocks to keep its footing. The towns were very basic, and the local houses were actually one room concrete affairs. "We have a concrete factory, paid for by the Italians", said the guide. By the way, the Chinese are building roads and maybe an airport, he also said. I didn't ask and will probably never find out what the Luxembourgians are paying for. It sure wasn't Internet access.
I'll have more to say later, and I'm sure Barbara's blog will address this place in more (useful) detail. So check http://barbara-africa1202.blogspot.com in a few days.
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