Sao Vicente-Mindelo
Cape Verde
Music and Carnaval
The fine natural harbour in Mindelo made it a natural enclave
for the British in the years when they ruled the waves. 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.
Once a regular port of call for ocean liners, it now sees only
a few passing yachts and the Onboard Sailing race of Farr 60s to
Barbados each November. The city has a pretty colonial air, with
some fine buildings. Time has passed it by. But there are plenty
of restaurants and bars and many think that it is the most attractive
town in the Cape Verdes. The hinterland is quite empty, but ideal
for walking or riding around.
Mindelo the most sophisticated town in the Cape Verdes
Cape Verde’s second largest town, Mindelo, is a port where
most people live here.The streets have many colonial British and
Portuguese houses and gardens.In the evening, Mindelo's bars and
discotheques come alive with the swaying rhythmic music and dancing.
Most places have live bands which play and bars have live groups
of guitarists and violinists who play traditional Moura music. This
is particularly good at the yacht club or Club Nautico, where you
can listen under billowing jibs, which form sunshades.
J from Scotland found Mindelo lively.
"Mindelo being a major port is much more vibrant and cosmopolitan
and well worth a visit. Places worth a look at in Mindelo - the
African and French cultural centres the fish market, the municipal
market, the old prison (soon to become a casino). "
J from Rhode Island
"Sao Vicente greeted us with colorful buildings, palm trees and
a nice calm harbor.. We went up a hillside to look at an old building
we had seen from shore. We walked up a road and then up a hillside,
dirt sliding into my flip-flops. It was an old jail with a great
view of the harbor. We looked back over the city and saw the different
zones, one of which is named Che Guevara. There is a tall mountain
whose silhouette is a striking image of a man’s face looking up.
The houses around the harbor look very nice. There are certainly
some wealthy people on the islands, though many people are poor
. We had Portuguese beer and Catcupa, a delicious local dish - a
mixture of beans and corn, a fried egg and a few pieces of spicy
sausage. We drank “punch” a delicious sweet, syrupy rum type drink
with lemon or lime slices in it. I had a cup of Cape Verdean Coffee
from Santa Antao, which now might rival a cup of coffee I had had
in the Dominican Republic as the best cup of coffee I have ever
had in my life.
A Senegalese with dreads brought a two-liter bottle of white rum.
from Santa Antao. We stopped back at Club Nautica and listened to
a great band. They sang traditional Cape Verdean music, and then
sang the words of Bob Marley . . . “Emancipate your self from mental
slavery . . .no other can free your mind . . .” Those words stuck
me harder than ever before sitting on an island next to people whose
history was so impacted by the slave trade. Next day, we looked
at a statue whose bird represents peace. We went to the library
and found, of course, all of the literature in Portuguese. I spoke
to a few university students. A few models of tall ships dressed
in flags decorated the halls. We walked around, had lunch in a park
where a man offered to shine our shoes. The park was lined with
palm trees and sunshine. We met some nice children on the street
who spoke great English and liked football and Play Station. . We
went to a market that had cassava, fresh fruit and friendly faces.
We went to an outdoor market selling souvenirs and goods that looked
like they could also be found in West Africa. Blue and while tiled
murals depicted images of Mindelo’s harbor and people working.
N from Arizona found it so different from Boa Vista
"Mindelo is easy to get lost in, not just literally, but figuratively
as well. This city is so alive and you will hear many people tell
you that Mindelo is the smallest big city in the world. Everyone
knows each other, but it's big enough that if you want to avoid
someone, you can. The grocery stores are virtually unlimited and
(gasp!) even open on Sundays! I can't tell you the exact population,
but it's fairly large and just so alive. The change from Boa Vista
is like night and day. . I chose Mindelo because I had been here
once before (last February for Mardi Gras)and loved the feel and
ambiance of the place. It's large, but it's not Praia which I find
too large. Here I can still walk anywhere within a maximum of fifteen
minutes and the stores are plentiful and cheap."
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'srestaurant. 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.
