Season 14 - Canary Isles to Cape Verdes

 Hi All:

We left the Canadian winter behind early this year arriving in Tenerife on Jan. 8. Leaving home is always a bitter sweet experience, looking forward to new horizons while missing the comforts of home and family. Easton our 2yr old told his mom Grandma and Papa were back in the computer, with everyone looking forward to Skype sessions.

For the first week we had a car to help us stock the boat for forward passage and the purchase of boat parts. The marina, though very secure was a ways out.  Once launched, we headed into Santa Cruz. Here we had our life raft serviced and Mike continued work on the alternator problem. Even with parts brought back from home repairs did not go smoothly. It made for frustrating days and nights.

 

We had daily visits from boat hitchhikers, boys and girls alike looking for passage to Cape Verde or the Caribbean, wanting sailing experience and offering help on the passage. 

Once all our jobs were complete we waited for that weather window, leaving 3 weeks after our arrival. Our departing view of Tenerife was the snow capped mountains through the mist. The promised fair weather did not materialize. The passage was lumpy and cold, to say the least. Heavy swells and strong winds made it possible to see the sunset 5 times in one night. But, we made the 900 mile trip in exactly 7 days, down to the hour.

Sighting Landfall - Cape verdes
 



Mindelo harbour - the 20' boat next door is crossing over
 

Anchorage outside Mindelo harour

The town of Mindelo
 

 

Our destination, Mindelo, Cape Verde offered a well developed marina and a stable night’s sleep, but once outside the marina things were a little different. Mike was besieged by offers for help from boat boys looking for any kind of work. It became annoying, but at the same time understandable as jobs are scarce and poverty is evident all around.

 

Supplies are limited and since it is winter fresh fruit and vegetables are scarce..

The colourful markets are a daily event and we are amazed by the women carrying huge baskets of produce on their heads.

 

When the archipelago was discovered by European explorers, they encountered islands carpeted in green. As a source of food for subsequent passages they introduced goats, which stripped the landscape bare. Today in conjunction with drought, little vegetation remains. The island where we are based is essentially a volcanic sand pile.

Dessert like Sao Vicente

 

Sao Vicente will be our only landfall in the Cape Verde archipelago, but we did take the one hour ferry to Santo Antao a neighbouring island and to quote others it was “jaw droppingly beautiful”. Its’ volcanic history has left many peaks and valleys, each a little different from the last one. But in contract, the NE corner is very lush producing vegtables, sugar cane (rum) and even some coffee. Life here is difficult too. Farm homes are often little more than a hovel without the comforts of sanitation and electricity. But as our guide said many don’t know any other way of life.

 

These were some good ones
 

Children in the remote areas only attend school up to grade 6, unless their parents can afford to board them in a more central location. Plus they are required to pay for all books themselves.

NE part of Santa Antao
 



Banana Valley - Santa Antao

 



Remains of the volcano caldera on Santa Antao
 

Terraced farming for sugar cane, coffee, yams
 



 

Kids carnival dress - witches, vampires, mice seemed most popular??





 

 

Main road around Sao Antao - hand built
 

Carnival has just arrived in the islands and it is overwhelmingly loud!! carrying on into the wee hours of the morning.  Celebrations will go on for the rest of the month but we are on the eve of departure heading for Barbados- 2000 miles. The trip is termed a milk run, but here is hoping it doesn’t leave us feeling like the trip to Cape Verdes – cottage cheese.

Hand built road covers Santo Antao - volcanic rock road surface

 



Santa Antao coast

 

Where are they now?

If you are interested in our progress of crossing The Atlantic to Barbados, google  winlink.org/user Postions. Enter my radio call sign in the box, upper left of the map.   VE3MTI     I post daily position reports providing the radio gods allow.