Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde

 

The 10 islands of Cape Verde were discovered by the Portuguese between 1460 and 1462. At the time, the islands were uninhabited, but the explorers colonized the islands. The first European settlement in Africa. Today, the total population is 600,000. The islands have a strategic position off the West Coast of Africa, important to the slave trade. Manufactured goods, rum and cloth traded for slaves, ivory, and gold. The islands became independent in 1975.

São Vicente was the last of the islands to be permanently settled, population 83,000, 80% of the population lives in Mindelo. The harbor was shaped by a volcano, part underwater, part above water. We arrived at a brand-new cruise terminal completed in 2025. Tourism and services represent 60% of the economy. Driving through town, we immediately noticed how much cleaner this city is than what we observed over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the island was hit with its first hurricane last year. Some of the roads we were on suffered damage, especially the bridges over what were now dry creeks. This island is the driest of all the islands. Santo Antão is just northwest of here and receives all the rain. Most of the produce in the markets comes from Santo Antão.

Mato Ingles

We began our tour at the village of Mato Ingles (English woods), but the woods are pretty sparce. We hiked down the valley for about an hour. Dry rivers were very eroded from the occasional flood waters. We visited the largest agricultural area of the island irrigated from several wells. Then onto Praia Grande’ beach not suitable for swimming, but the waves pounding in were great for surfing. The beaches and sand dunes in this area are primarily brought in from the Sahara Desert. 

Beaches of São Vicente

We traveled on to Baja das Gatas where swimming was allowed in a lagoon formed by an old volcano. Here is where the islanders have their annual music festival with a heavy emphasis on reggae music. After lunch, we climbed to the top of Monte Verde, the highest point on São Vicente. Unfortunately, on the steep climb up the mountain, we blew an engine hose. Thankfully, we were in a caravan of 3 buses. So, we crowded on to the other two to complete the climb.

View from Monte Verde to the harbor

Cape Verde was our 113^th country and the last new country on this trip.