Repairs and Carnival Mindelo

Mindelo is a port city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. It has African and Portuguese influence, with one or two of the buildings reminding us of Portugal and not forgetting the language is Portuguese too (our pidgin Portuguese became useful once again 😶) However there is most definitely a strong African vibe to the place too. The marina here is a little questionable as there is no protective wall with quite an alarming swell. The boat was constantly moving and in the 10 days we stayed we snapped several docking lines and a rubber snubber! 😟 We would suggest to any other sailors going there to have the large metal spring snubbers and less costly polypropylene dock lines if possible. The staff on the other hand were lovely, and quite helpful. We had the water line and prop scrubbed for €40 (bargain when you consider what was floating around in the marina ) and they were also very useful in pointing us to the right place to be for the Carnival party 💃. One of the first things we noticed about this island was the climate, it was so overcast and quite gloomy most days which really quite shocked us. It wasn't that it was cold, it was because we just felt like we were living in an almost constant grey cloud. But saying that, I still needed sun lotion as the sun was still strong through the cloud. We found there are a lot of beggars out on the streets as soon as you get through the marina gates, but they weren't too pushy. Taking the rubbish was an experience at times, as I don't think the rubbish ever made it to the skip with all the help volunteering to put it in! Although Mindelo is meant to be quite a rich area by African standards, it was really very evident how poor it is here. Nigel managed to find a place for the repairs on the wind vane (CabNave) with the help of a taxi driver who also helped with translating making life relatively easy. The job was completed within 3 days at a very reasonable cost, we were totally amazed at the efficiency and the workmanship appeared very good too. It was great that Asbjørn was on hand to help Nigel as there was a little muscle power required for the refitting of the wind vane and it meant we were able to let the boys tinker with the toys while the girls meandered around the shops and Market 😆. The market was a fascinating place Ann Louis and I really felt that we had well and truly left Europe behind. There were lots of little concrete huts in one area that mainly sold trinkets, souvenirs and clothes, but I had also read that there was a lady called Mercy who makes handmade flags. On our second visit to the market we eventually found her as Nigel and I wanted a white rose Yorkshire flag making,😊 to represent where we are from as everybody thinks we are Welsh! (Only Steely is Welsh boyo! ⛵) Mercy was a lovely lady and was able to make and complete the flag in a short time-frame before we left, at a very fair price of 30€. I would recommend her to any other yachties, she is in hut 72 😉 As we had decided to stay for Carnival we wanted to know where the best place to see it would be, which is when we were advised to get tickets for the party. Ann Louis and I manged to get the tickets that cost 18€ each with all food and booze included (wahay good times 😄) We also found out that the party tickets had sold out quickly and that locals and others were still trying to obtain tickets. The night of the party was fantastic we had such a great night, unfortunately Asbjørn had to go home but Nigel, Ann Louis and I quite literally danced the night away. Every time Nigel went to the bar he asked for Gin but was always given rum and cokes which cracked Ann Louis and I up, 😂😂 I think he gave up after the 3rd drink. Funny how when we went we came back with Gin though! 😇 Nigel's note : When I asked for rum and coke, she said, "Oh you don't want gin and tonic now then ?" That's when I gave up. 😩) We didn't know it was fancy dress but it was good fun to see others costumes, there was some real imaginative ones too. However one of the funniest things we saw at the end of the night was a big show down between the Priest and nuns 😂 quite surreal 😂 Nigel's note : Um... One of the Nuns punched the Priest on the nose The samba band from one of the carnival groups gave an amazing performance. And apparently we saw a famous singer of Cape Verdes I think called 'Vu' unfortunately I have no pictures from the party as I didn't want to risk losing the camcorder! The main Carnival event is the biggest of the Cape Verde Islands, with several floats and lots of beautiful colourfully dressed dancers. The samba bands were awesome too however there was one group who stood out from the crowd and we found out later that they won 😃. (In the photos you will see a float with a head playing a sax. That was the winning group) The streets were alive with happy people and all manner of street vendors. We tried things such as battered fish balls, we had BBQ chicken cooked from a BBQ that had been made out of an old bath, talk about imaginative. There was just one dampener to the evening of the carnival and that was the pick pocketers were defiantly out and about. I had my my gate key card in my camcorder bag that was stolen but luckily I had the camcorder in my hand taking pics and nothing else in either of our pockets. So we do count ourselves very lucky really. The sad thing was, Nigel thought it was a child that had been put to work 😡 As he spotted some manoeuvring going on but didn't think twice about it till after the event! We decided between us and SV Cassie we would hire a car for the day and have a look around the island. We ended up with this rickety old jeep that squashed Ann Louise and I in the back with no opening windows! We were given a map of the Island that seemed somewhat bereft of information regarding the roads. But still we headed for the furthest point of the island. Urmmm well actually as we tried to leave this relatively small city we found ourselves in the hills and dirt tracks in the slums of Mindelo which really appeared very poor and run down. The boys spotted a woman (who looked like she was dressed for clubbing while stood on the road side!) (Nigel's note : 😆) They pulled over to ask directions. The woman was very welcoming and chatty and really wanted to help with the directions and even offered to show them personally. (Nigel'ss note: 😆😆) Before looking around the vehicle , and as if by surprise, she suddenly spotted there was no room in the back! But then with a smile offered to sit on Asbjørns knee. Urrmmm hello boys we are in the back here be very very careful (you never know when Ann Louis will implement the 2 second rule 😈 it involves a fork you know!!! enough said 😂) Anyway above mentioned lady and her fellow male friend that suddenly appeared from nowhere were kind enough to eventually show us the way we needed to go 😥 We ended up at a place called Cat Island, I was quite surprised not to see a gazillion cats, but apparently it is called this because the shape at the end of the island is meant to be cat like. I can tell you there really was nothing there other than a couple of cafe restaurant type places, a bit of a beach and other taxi's taking people on a tour of the island! Nigel then looked at the map and thought it would be a great idea to head to a beach on the east coast. On the way there there was one stretch of the road that had been newly made and very good, it did not take us long to realise why. The views! of the Atlantic Ocean coastline where actually breathtaking beautiful. The only thing missing was a viewpoint to stop for photo opportunities. We struggled to find the road that we needed to take to find the beach, eventually we had to ask. We were told to turn down a dirt track. With some doubts Nigel did this and we found ourselves pretty much on a 5 mile dirt track ride that was pretty precarious at points! With tracks that could have taken us god knows where. However Nigel did a sterling job and managed to get us there in one piece. (Thank god for 4 wheel drives) (Nigel's note : Proudly puffs out chest 😆) When we arrived at the beach we were sorely disappointed! There was one old derelict building and the sand had so much broken glass on it. There was no opportunity for swimming either as there was quite some swell and under current going on. Nonetheless, we had Brought our lunch and in all fairness there are much worse places in the world to have a picnic 😉. After this we then drove back toward Mindelo and found ourselves pretty much in the tip area. It was appalling as there was rubbish wrapped around trees and groves for miles and miles. It is quite frightening that people actually live among this amount of rubbish, as their makeshift tin and wood dwellings were apparent. It has certainly left an imprint on my memory! We ended up driving back into Mindelo and going to the beautiful white beach Ann Louis and I found ourselves at a few days before (albeit a little touristy with all the swanky cafes) but still an unexpected find of such a white beach and turquoise seas as neither of expected to find these until we got to the Caribbean. After refreshments here we just drove around awhile and very unexpectedly found ourselves at a very high viewing point of Mindelo with great photo opportunity. Even though again to everyone's amusement I am standing about 10 paces back away from the edge because of this recent aversion to heights that seems to have developed 😵😭😞😧😠 But all in all, the day was an interesting day out and gave us all a real feel for the island that I'm sure none of us will forget anytime soon in our quest for island exploration adventures. So now that we have seen the island and enjoyed the carnival it was time to finish off the preparations for the second and longest leg of our journey across the Atlantic Ocean. We all went to the market to stock up on a few more fresh veggies and fruit. On the way there Ann Louis and I were just chatting when all of a sudden this man pointed at Ann Louis and shouted something at her then came passed me and shoved and ? kind of hit me on my arm. We were quite taken aback and shocked and immediately got out of his way. Of course the boys were 10 paces behind and didn't see anything. After that we certainly made sure they were right there with us for the rest of the trip! The night before we left we met two other couples that were also setting off the next day. One couple were heading for Brazil but the other couple Fred and Pascal were heading in the same direction as us to Barbados. We all swapped satphone numbers so that we could keep in touch over the ocean and plus we thought it would be fun to be able to see were we all were. To sum up Mindelo after spending 10 days there, Nigel and I thought it was quite apparent at how poor the country and people are. Nigel said that It reminded him of his visit to mainland Africa 25 years ago. We were glad that the detour had allowed us to experience and see the Island particularly during the happy period of carnival. Overall we enjoyed our time there but have no desire to return. Nigel's notes:

For other yachties wanting to visit, advice we would pass on is as follows: 1, As mentioned earlier about the marina and the swell bring steel spring snubbers or go on anchor. 2, One would also require a large bulging wallet to enter the one small chandlery shop at the marina. 3, Go and find local companies for welding etc they were much cheaper. (CabNave) 4, We were also able to get our gas bottles filled with total ease here too and at low cost. (We have the stainless steel Spanish variety) 5, Beware of pickpockets! 6, Expect significant island effect on the wind and sea state on departure, particularly when heading south and then west from Mindelo.

#Repairs #Marinalife #CapeVerdes #Carnival #Atlanticpreperations #2016