To Palmeira

15 December 2014

Also São Nicolau shows how beautiful and versatile Cabo Verde is. We did a tour of the island and saw a lot. First a bit of walking in a beautiful old town with many Portuguese influences, looked in a grogue distillery to see how this drink is made and of course we tasted it, straight from the still. Then we drove towards the Monte Gordo along the dragon trees, which grow here like weed. With the 4WD we drove all the way up the mountain and there we made a nice walk, enjoying the view and the variety of green. To finish off we had lunch at the lagoon and then went to Caberinha to admire the eroded rocks. That sounds very boring on paper, but it is the icing on the cake. Not to describe, so I’m not even trying.
Once back on the ship everyone could freshen up before dinner. A three-course dinner on the beach while enjoying live music and a starry sky.
The next day was a sailing day again and straight after departure we set the first sails. Because the wind was coming from the east we had the engine on to assist for a while. By lunchtime suddenly a group of Short-finned pilot whales came along, they followed us for a while. And, finally, after a few bites but no catch, YES! A beautiful Dorado!
We had a great time sailing, but we were not quite going in the right direction. So after dinner we started the engine to go in the right direction during the night. The wind force and especially the waves were slightly higher than expected, so the speed was lower than planned.
At the end of the morning we arrived at Sal Rei on the island of Boa Vista, a very nice contrast to the other island. It is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago, somewhere between 15 and 25 million years old. The erosion has therefore had ample time to shrink the biggest rocks. Where the other islands have high mountains that catch clouds providing fog and rain, this island is flat and thus has almost no natural water supply. Almost nothing grows and it’s a mix of desert, sand dunes and here and there an oasis with date-palms. People come here to enjoy the beautiful long beaches at the azure ocean.
Here we first made a little tour. At night it was time to put ‘our catch’ on the BBQ.
Early this morning we left for the island of Sal. The plan was to go to Santa Maria, but because the wind was easterly 5-6 Bft with high swell from the same direction, we decided to go to Palmeira.