Tag 10: São Vincente - West Africa with a Portuguese past

The Cape Verde Islands consist of 15 islands, eight of which are inhabited. Mindelo is the main city and is located on the island of Sao Vicente. Historically strongly influenced by the Portuguese, it has the most important harbor and has about 70,000 inhabitants.

At the exit of the harbor, a young man immediately approached us to offer a three-hour tour for €30 per person in good English. We looked at each other shaking our heads and the price dropped to €25. We explained that we were thinking of a shorter ride in the area. He then removed the two beach stops and offered the tour with 1.5 hours and €20 per person. Deal! He accompanied us to the car and introduced us to the driver, Walter, who also speaks English.

Already with my first question, it turned out that his English skills were limited to "our next stop is...". But he was a good driver. The roads, partly asphalted, partly cobblestone, allowed speeds between 20 and 60 km/h. At the second stop, my seatbelt got stuck. After a longer joint effort, I was freed and Walter asked me to henceforth do without the belt.

First, we went to a fishing village. Few houses, 3 colorful boats on the beach, and 2 fishing boats in operation. That was it. The next stop was Baia de Gatas, some new houses, a closed restaurant, but a beautiful sandy beach with parking. Then we went to Monte Verde. The narrow road led up the mountain in increasingly tight hairpin bends. The drive alone was an adventure. In oncoming traffic, we had to make way close to the abyss and in some places, you could still see the consequences of previous landslides. But Walter skillfully chauffeured us to the top. There we found a viewing platform and a hut with a room. This was half filled with a bar, which had quite impressive spirits to offer. However, the lonely man on site was not a sales genius. The panoramic view was slightly obscured by the passing clouds, and we waited again and again for the moment that revealed certain perspectives. The panorama from the almost 800-meter-high mountain over Mindelo and the surrounding area was impressive.

Back in Mindelo, we said goodbye to Walter and strolled leisurely through the (manageable) center back to the harbor. We all agreed that the tour was definitely worth the money.