São Nicolau

24 December 2020

Since we are back in Rotterdam, we have shared multiple memories with you. Today, Urs Röthlisberger tells us more about his time in Cape Verde.

“In fact, my favourite island in Cabo Verde is São Nicolau. Different highlights are combined here. Our captain is also a big fan of São Nicolau…. Even after all his visits.

São Nicolauis a cross-section of all the different islands. Endlessly long, hand-laid stone roads, rugged and dry areas with volcanic past, lonely valleys, a little green where it rains from time to time, many simple fishing villages, some manual farming, many unique spots and paradisiacal living together in simple villages. São Nicolauis a little bit of everything and not yet discovered by tourists. Therefore, the island is as original as it can be, pure Cape Verdean culture.

If you wander through the alleys of RibeiraBrava, you somehow feel that the educated and intellectual classes have come together here over the years and centuries. Poets and musicians founded the cultural identity of Cabo Verde here. It was here where the freedom fighters against slavery and colonial masters met and formed. You can feel this grove, coupled with the remoteness of the whole island archipelago.

The Oosterscheldeis anchored off the fishing port of Tarrafal. I even bought two cans of tuna in the local “fish factory” and at the market I bought spices and a bag of beans and corn. Sometime in spring it will be a feast with sentimental memories – Cape Verdean stew with beans, white corn, potatoes, tuna, a glass of white wine and afterwards of course for dessert a glass of sweet Ponche. Mmmmm…

A little bit further north, there is a fantastic rocky outcrop at the lonely beach Carbeirinho– my highlight of all the different highlights of this trip. We were lucky and the waves were especially wild, high and mighty when we visited. Layers of rock, beautifully piled up like pancakes, washed out over the centuries. Simply insanity. A place of power that I took into my heart. I hope that I can draw on this power for a long time – Carbeirinho. Beautiful.”