Mindelo, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde

This island-country is located about 350 miles off the western coast of Africa. We docked at one of ten volcanic islands. Cape Verde became an important watering station, then sugar cane plantation site and later a major slave trade center. Now it’s a nation that lacks resources and has severe droughts. Ours was the only ship in port, about a mile from the main town. We rode into town on our bikes once again and were pleasantly pleased with what we found. Mindelo is a port town in the northern part of the island of Sao Vincent. The harbor is mountainous, clean, quaint and inviting. The architecture was clearly influenced by the Portuguese, with bright pastel colors and cobblestone streets. Population is African, white Portuguese, Spanish and Italian and the official language is Portuguese. We visited the fish and vegetable markets, where women brought their goods in baskets balanced on their heads. People didn’t harass us, nor did we see any begging (people had erroneously told us that would happen!)