Cabo Verde

 The population of Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) is around 550,000 people, with the majority living on the main islands of Santiago, Sal, and Sao Vicente. The official language is Portuguese, but Cape Verdean Creole is widely spoken. The country's economy is largely based on tourism, fishing, and services, and it has been recognized as one of the most politically stable and democratic countries in Africa.

Cape Verde has a rich cultural heritage, with influences from Portuguese, African, and Brazilian traditions. Its music, including genres like morna and coladeira, has gained international recognition through artists like Cesaria Evora.

My trip to Cabo Verde was refreshing after such a long work week out to sea, upon arrival we were met with very friendly locals who help us get a local sim card for our mobile phone since our provider didn’t have any coverage in this country. We then embarked on walking around to all the different local souvenir shops, looking at the amazing sculptures, craft works and beautiful paintings on the surrounding buildings. We were getting a bit hungry from all the walking around and we decided to locate a local restaurant to rest, relax and have a bite to eat. We ended up at the Ocean Café, the menu was eclectic and included many options, both local and international, and we ended up ordering a Mexican loaded nacho plate, individual sea food appetizers, we even tried the national dish cachupa and some alcoholic beverages. While we consumed our meal patrons were unexpectedly treated with a flash mob style dance by the staff to local music (apparently this happens once an hour). After a few more of our friends from the ship joined us we enjoyed more of the local scene, street performers (one with a monkey) and indulged on ice cream (the selections were beyond what I expected and nevertheless I enjoyed every bit). We went back to the ship looking forward to our next free day off to do some more exploration.

 

Day 2 of my trip started with me taking a diving lesson (I had always wanted to try this for a long time). We found a local diving instructor,, after some routine paperwork and paying a fee (120Euros), after we completed the required briefing on what we will be doing, Shane was an experienced diver so for him it was a refresher course, we kitted up and we went into the water. Everything seemed to be going great I performed all the steps as discussed but I just couldn’t seem to pop my ears whilst by using my nose instead of breathing through my mouth (apparently this rarely happens) so instead I had to go back to the beach and hung out while Shane went to dive down and checked out the local wrecks. Afterwards we met up with colleagues from the ship as well as a new friend we met who was visiting from Germany (Nadine). We ate lunch, explored into the surrounding neighborhood where we were met by local shop owners who were very persistent and trying to convince us to purchase souvenirs. We decided to relax for the rest of the afternoon by the beach and enjoy the cool breeze whilst we drank Mojitos and Sangria. We enjoyed another wonderful evening chatting with friends who went zip lining and swimming with sharks (maybe next time I will have more time to fully explore as I intended) but nevertheless this was a great opportunity to visit such a rare jewel off the coast of Africa.

In the end, my visit to Cabo Verde was a memorable and enriching experience, one that I will always treasure. The country's natural beauty, rich culture, and wonderful people made this trip a true treat to behold.