Cabo Verde - A Great Surprise!

 We've been in Cabo Verde for almost two weeks now.  Our short stay here in this small island country has been great, and has put us back into the cruising and exploring mode that we most enjoy about the sailing vagabond lifestyle.  Before our arrival, we knew little about Cabo Verde, other than as a fueling stop for boats on their way from Europe to the Caribbean.  

The reality is that the country has a rich history and culture, mixing the African heritage of the people whose ancestors were brought here by the slave trade in the 16th and 17th centuries, with the Portuguese culture of the people who brought them here and colonized the country as the first European outpost in the tropics.  It has a pleasant laid back vibe, with friendly people and a growing tourism trade.

The volcanic islands are a mix of extremely arid, desert-like rugged topography on one side of the islands, mixed with lush, nearly rainforest environment on the other.  We've been staying in the town of Mindelo on Isla San Vicente, and spent a few days exploring neighboring island Santo Antao as well.  

The marina here sees a wide variety of boats.  Most are either cruising sailboats or deep sea sport fishing charter boats, mixed with the small open wooden fishing boats of the local fishermen.

The fish are sold on the beach when they reach shore, or in the local open fish market.

Fish are salted to preserve them.  The woman said treated this way they are good for 3 or 4 days without refrigeration

While most of the fleet are represented by the usual gamut of typical cruising boats, there have been some standouts.

Little SHAKA, with BRAVO behind.

This one was our favorite....just 5 meters long, the boat was built by Jakub Dabrowski, the young Polish sailor here on the left.  The other lad is his friend, and together they have sailed from Poland and are now bound for the Caribbean!  Shaka has no motor, but apparently they have located a 3 hp outboard in Martinique at a good price, so that is their destination!!!  What a terrific adventure!!  No doubt the stories will get better with every telling!!!

 

 

 

Jakub even designed and built the vane self steering gear himself!

Together with the rest of the boats on the dock, we all honked horns and gave them an enthusiastic sendoff when they departed a week ago.  

 They have a gps tracker on board, and are making good progress, averaging 5-7 km/hour as they make their way across the pond.  Jakub estimated that it would take them 3-4 weeks.  If you want to follow their progress, you can view their tracker at

https://share.garmin.com/share/JakubDabrowski

 

 

In a rather different approach to ocean cruising, there are these two crazy Italian guys here on the dock...

They have piloted this 38 foot inflatable RIB from Palermo Sicily to here, and are bound for Los Angeles!!!  (The captain has previously made an Atlantic crossing in the boat to New York, but he has never been in the Pacific!!!)  They estimate it will take them 6 days to cross from here to the Caribbean, and a couple of more months to reach LA!  They clearly know what they're doing, but is this the right tool for the job?  Nah, don't think so!

I asked where they cook pasta, and they got really animated....."NO...NO...NO cooking!!!  This thing is a bomb!!!"  They eat only cold food aboard, and reluctantly said the pasta will have to wait until they reach shore!  The funniest part is they have some kind of eco grant to study ocean pollution on the voyage!!!  I don't know what the burn rate is of the 600 hp, but if ever there was a case of "green washing", this is it!!!

 

We left Bravo safely tied up in the marina and headed over to neighboring Santo Antao by ferry for a few days of hiking and sight seeing.  The island was a real delight, and the hiking amazing, on the trails that the local citizens use to walk to their terraced fields and neighboring villages.  The land, all on the side of an enormous extinct volcano, is incredibly steep, but many generations of construction of the terraces, fed by springs near the top of the volcano, have allowed them to carve out a living, growing food for their families and to sell in the local markets. 

We stayed in a guest house part way up the Paul valley, and spent a full day hiking there. In no particular order, here are a few shots to give an overview of this incredible, dramatic landscape...

 

 

 

 

View from our guest house window.

 

On our third day on the island, we hopped in the back of a pickup truck for a sometimes hairball drive across the center of the mountains, the original route across the island prior to the construction of the faster coast road.  

Really an incredible feat of engineering, the entire 36km is paved with cobble stones, as it winds it's way around the large caldera of a valley north of Paul.  

 

 

 

The dry side of the island is in a drought, having had no rain for over two years.

So that's a wrap on our stay in Cabo Verde.  We took care of some boat minor boat projects, got our PCR covid tests yesterday (still waiting for results!), and are ready to depart tomorrow for Grenada in the Caribbean, after clearing out with customs and immigration in the morning.  (assuming our Covid test is negative!!!)  This passage should take around 14 days give or take, and if anyone wants to follow our tracker, the URL is:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SVBRAVO

As always, the caveat....do NOT worry if you don't see us, or our progress seems to stop.  It's most likely just an issue with the satellite connection.  We have several means of communication available on board in case of an actual emergency.

See you on the flip side!