Sao Vicente Cape Verde cultural capital
Music and Carnaval band bars and night clubs
Apart from two extinct volcanos Monte Verde rising 774m and Topona
660m on the East Coast, Sao Vicente is a flat plain. The mountains
shield some of the island from the North-Easterly Trades. Discovered
on Saint Vincent’s Day, the 22nd January 1492, it was settled
from1838 when the British established a coaling station and later
a telegraph relay. The bars and cafes of Mindelo reflect its maritime
and British history. It is the cultural centre for music, poetry
and novels. The British introduced both cricket and golf. Although
once well cultivated, farming is now failing due to drought. The
golf course - the only one so far in the islands - is on baked mud
with browns instead of greens. A lot of English words have made
it into the local version of criolu.
. The hinterland is quite empty, but ideal for walking or riding
around.
See Mindelo the most developed
town in Cape Verde
J from Scotland spent only a couple of days there
"Sao Vicente is a totally different island. We spent only
a couple of days there but did a tour of the island and found some
lovely small beaches and fishing villages"
S from Lancs comments
"Sao Vicente was beautiful I hired a taxi driver and he took
me all over the island for €30, not bad hey. But all those
half built properties just left there. But in the town of Mindelo
it is lovely. I went down a quiet road just off the main area to
be suddenly followed by two men so before anything could happen
I turned round towards them and walked past them unharmed. But if
I`d carried on down this dark road looking for a restaurant I am
sure my purse would have been robbed."
H from Essex liked it best of all.
"Sao Vicente was my favourite island. Fascinating mixture of people
and incredible landscapes. The Nautical Bar in Mindelo is a must
as is Nella's restaurant. Only two negatives, didn't get to meet
Cesaria Evora as she had left the day before for Paris and the Hotel
Loutcha where the staff seem not to care about anything, all a bit
gloomy really. "
F from Portugal
"Next to Sao Vicente's Airport there is a large beach surrounded
by a majestic arid landscape. Foya Branca Hotel faces the beach
very closely. The hotel Foya Branca has villas' with great panoramic
ocean view. The night fell and we went on to Mindelo, the largest
city in the island and the country's second largest. Sao Vicente
is a small island compared to others but it is the second most populated
after Santiago. Here it is the second largest town in Cape Verde,
Mindelo. Mindelo is considered the cultural capital mostly because
of music that seems to be everywhere. Mindelo has the most important
port in the country which is located in Mindelo Bay. This bay faces
the majestic mountains of Santo Antao, the island 1 hour away by
boat. On the left side of this bay Mount Cara (seems a human face)
looks towards the ocean. Behind Mindelo it is Mount Verde (Green)
that seems to dominate this side of the island. From there one can
look at Gatas Bay down there with its famous beach and Music festival
site. On the other side of the island, the village of Calhau faces
the desert island of Santa Luzia.
Laginha
The white, sandy beach of Laginha is where Chez Loutcha, a local restaurant
offers beach barbecues on Sundays.
Baia das Gatas
An hour from Mindelo, on the North Coast at Baia das Gatas, sand
and shingle form a long beach with a shallow paddling lagoon no
more than 1m deep. There are a couple of traditional Portuguese-style
restaurants, near the beach. In August it hosts the famous festival
of tropical music from all over the world.
J from Rhode Island wente there
We found a mini van/bus to take us to the other side of the
island. As we drove out of Mindelo the colorful houses became
grey concrete. We drove through desert like mountains, brown with
dirt as their main surface, and a few houses. We came to the other
side and got out on the beach. The town had one main street, and
we were greeted by friendly children playing with sticks who excitedly
wanted us to take their pictures. We met an old fisherman who
was in a meeting with other fisherman. We couldn’t really understand
him,
The drive out to Salamanza took about half an hour. The drive
back to Mindelo took half that time, as our driver raced to get
us back on time. I had a coffee and listened to a lady sing the
longing melodies of Cape Verdean music. We then went to an outdoor
concert and listened to great musicians who were either from Mali
or Senegal. Sao Vicente is yet another place I wish to return
to. "
Sao Pedro
A small fishing village, 10 km from Mindelo beside the airport runway
is famous for its beach where a wind funnel offers ideal conditions
for surfing. The Foya Branca Hotel is on this windy spot and the sea
has large breakers at most seasons.
Monte Verde
Monte Verde is the highest point of Sao Vicente. In sharp contrast
to the surrounding flatlands, rising 774m above the plain and with
views of Sao Nicolau and the bird island of Santa Luzia. F from Portugal
admired the view
" Next day, we drove up to Monte Verde from where the view over
Mindelo and Baia das Gatas is astonishing. We drove to Calhau at
the end of the island to have lunch in 'Chez Loutcha' but it was
closed. Back to Mindelo to snack on Azores cheese. That evening
we listened to 'Mornas' live and to Discotheque Pimm's and then
to Histep, the 'working' disco. At 05:30 we were pushing our Suzuki
Vitara without fuel back to the hotel. By 06:00 we were dozing only
to get up half an hour later to catch the boat to Santo Antao."
Calhau
On the East Coast, a small fishing village, reached by a tortuous
road passing between the peaks of extinct volcanoes. This is the place
to eat fish and visit the Caves of Topim.
