Santo Antão, indescribably beautiful

26 January 2015

Update by Sanne:
“Over the past week we have gained so many new impressions that I hardly know where to begin. It will still be a tough job to make a selection from the countless pictures when we return home.
Ben showed us the highlights and markets of Mindelo and that night a number of us went ashore to celebrate the discovery of the island. The next day we took the ferry to the island of Santo Antão. We made a beautiful descent into a valley, the fog that came passing over the mountain made it like a fairytale-like experience. In the valley we were surrounded by banana trees, sugarcane, mango trees (my personal favourite) and papaya trees. During the taxi ride back to the coast I hardly dared to blink, afraid I would miss something of this incredibly beautiful place. We had a nice lunch at a seaside restaurant and afterwards returned by ferry to Mindelo. What a lovely place, Santo Antão. Here I’ll definitely come back.
The next afternoon we lifted the anchor and we sailed to São Nicolau. We arrived at night and that morning we went on an excursion with first mate Jan and a local guide. In the back of a Toyota pick-up we drove to a national park and made a beautiful walk. The road to the next place was great fun; because the back of the trucks is open you can enjoy the view of the nature around you. We arrive in a sandy area and we’re surprised by the great sea view. I’m afraid I cannot explain how beautiful it is there. The eroded rocks curled itself around us. This place was perfect for a picnic. After the picnic, we jumped back into the trucks and we went to see how grog is made. After this again impressive day we arrived at the ship, where a large bowl of sangria was ready. We went swimming, had a seafood barbecue dinner and danced until it was time to go to bed. Now we are enjoying the sunshine and three white herons in our wake, en route to Boa Vista. “