PRAIA,

ILHA de SANTIAGO,

CAPE VERDE –

Friday, April 4, 2025, Temperature 68 Degrees, 83% Humidity, 6AM, W – NE@ 1.5 mph

Cape Verde, officially The Republic of Cabo Verde, is an archipelago located 354 miles off the coast of Western Africa and is considered an African Country. The capital is Praia, where we docked. Cape Verde received its independence from Portugal in 1975 and is a semi-presidential republic, meaning there is an elected president and an appointed prime minister. The currency in Cape Verde is the Escudo (although they did accept American money – when we bought some items, John asked for change in Escudos for our grandson; all she had was US money!) The population is 522,000 as of 2023. Today’s population are descendants of the first permanent inhabitant in the late 15th century – Portuguese colonists, West African Slaves and some Italian traders. The official language is Portuguese, but Cape Verde Creole is the recognized national language (everyone we met spoke English as well). Cape Verde is considered one of the most stable democratic governments and most developed countries in Africa but no high-ride development here.

Pico de Antonia is a striking mountain on the island and was beautifully wrapped with clouds as we came into the harbor. Once again, we found ourselves in a Container Port, never the most picturesque neighbors. That’s one of the reasons they are changing to a smaller ship, The Volendam, for next year’s World Cruise. A smaller ship gives more port flexibility. No excursion today, we took the Free Shuttle supplied by the city. The shuttles were smaller buses (approx. 27 passengers) like the ones in Namibia but here, there were plenty, no waiting! The buses weren’t in the best condition; there was no air conditioning (we were warned that the buses for excursions might not have air conditioning or microphones for the guides) but the ride was short and the system well organized. When we arrived at our “disembarking” spot, we were greeted by a very nice young lady who said she was our Shuttle Liaison, and she would be available all day if we had questions or problems. She gave us directions to the Square (about a block away), the Museum, the Market, the Pedestrian Mall and other points of interest. There also were several uniformed policemen keeping watch. There were people “hawking” private tours, but they were very polite and took “No, Thank You” as an answer (unlike some cities where they were too aggressive). We felt very safe here.

We walked to the Square and its fountain. There were beautiful granite mosaic tile sidewalks. We walked down the Pedestrian Mall (no vehicle allowed) and the Market. A young man stopped us on the street to talk. Turns out, his name was Eric and he was from Detroit! He’d come to Cape Verde initially on mission work, had returned home but missed Cape Verde and moved there full time three years ago. He said he thought Cape Verde would be a good “first introduction” to Africa for travelers, but to us, it seemed more like the Caribbean than the African ports we’ve visited.

It is obvious that they are working to develop the tourist trade; their economy is primarily fishing and farming. There are several very nice resorts including the Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort. We had beautiful weather (low 68, high mid 70’s), bluebird skies and refreshing sea breezes – not bad. They also drive on the right side of the road – meaning right and also “correct” in our book. The first time we’ve seen that since South America; the strong British influence in the areas we’ve visited has drivers on the left side of the road everywhere!