Sao Vicente. Island of San Vicente. Shops and markets in Mindelo
San Vicente is not the largest (about two hundred and thirty square kilometers), but it is one of the two most densely populated Cape Verde Islands. Almost seventy thousand people permanently live here, who are very proud that it was on their island that the legendary “barefoot diva”, singer, was born Cesaria Evora .
But this is not the only remarkable circumstance in the case of Fr. San Vicente. After all, it is quite a popular resort, which guests who make trips do not miss the opportunity to visit. tours to Cape Verde .
All thanks to coal
Diogo Gomes, who has the honor of discovering more than one island in the Cape Verde archipelago, landed here at the very beginning of 1462, on January 22, which is St. Vincent's Day according to the Catholic calendar. Hence the name of the island.
At first they did not begin to settle it - just like Fr. Sal, Sao Vicente Island not rich in water. Residents of the nearby island. Santo Antau they grazed their goat herds here - but that’s all. However, in 1838, the British found coal here, and the island began to develop rapidly. Its convenient location also had an effect, allowing ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean to stock up on coal without any problems.
City of Mindelo
Mindelo on o. Sao Vicente is one of the three main cities of the Cape Verde Islands. It was named after the Portuguese “namesake” from which the first settlers sailed here.
Sports competitions are regularly held here and literary figures gather here. In 2003 Mindelo received the title of "cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking world".
In turn, travelers making tours to Cape Verde, note that Mindelo is a very bohemian place that delights with its music. The best way to get a full impression is to attend one of the many local holidays or carnivals.
Carnivals and holidays in Mindelo
Holidays Cape Verde- a phenomenon with its own special flavor, however, both tourists and local residents assure that this flavor is revealed most clearly in Mindelo. Particularly noteworthy is the festival that is traditionally held here every August during the full moon - it is called “Bahia das Gatas”, in honor of the beach where a group of musicians and dancers regularly gathered for several years in a row, which over time grew into an annual cultural event.
Another typical local event is Mindelakt, a theater festival for amateur groups that takes place in September. If tours to Cape Verde come this time – don’t miss the opportunity to appreciate these unique holidays!
Souvenirs from San Vicente
On about. San Vicente has many workshops, as well as a whole National Crafts Center. Their task is to preserve the traditional crafts of the Cape Verde Islands and make sure that they are not forgotten in the world. Tours to Cape Verde– a great opportunity to bring from here intricate souvenirs made from coke shells, jewelry made from shells, various weaves and batiks; of course, provided that travelers visit San Vicente!
Home of island windsurfing
Today Cape Verde famous for their surfing in all its forms and diving. But not everyone knows that it is the island of San Vicente that is the founder of the entire maritime sports tradition in Cape Verde.
Cape San Vincente (Cabo de São Vicente) is the most southwestern point of Europe and is a very interesting place. Sheer cliffs rising from the ocean, strong winds and waves crashing against the rocks somewhere below - here you really get the feeling of being somewhere on the edge of the earth. And the working lighthouse, as a reminder of the era of glorious sailors and discoverers of new lands, adds romance to this place. At all times, the cape was considered the sacred habitat of the gods, which is confirmed by archaeological finds from the Neolithic, Roman Empire and Phoenician eras. Christians named the cape in honor of the patron saint of seafarers, Saint Vincent of Saragossa.
The cape is located about 6 kilometers from the small town of Sagres, and the road to it passes through deserted terrain on the Atlantic coast.
Cape San Vincente is very similar to another equally famous place, Cape Roca - the westernmost point of Europe (we will visit it in a week), but unlike the latter, it is still less crowded here, although, of course, tourists come here in the evening to look at famous sunset.
The lighthouse is considered the most powerful in Europe, and the light from it is visible at a distance of 60 kilometers, because ships going around the cape must maintain a decent distance for safety reasons. The building houses a small maritime museum, and while Yulia and the children were exploring it, I walked along the rocks looking for the best points for photos.
Rocks reaching a height of 70 meters stretch to the north, and a little further away a stone island sticks out of the water, resembling either a shoe or the head of a dragon.
The vegetation in the surrounding area is quite sparse - mostly small bushes, but the flowers on the slopes of the rocks look very picturesque against the backdrop of the raging waves.
And below the waves, slowly running onto the rocks, crash with a roar, turning into water dust and sea foam. Looking at this spectacle, you can’t help but think how weak and helpless a person is in the face of the elements - it’s scary to even imagine being in these waves.
The nearby cliff to the east of the lighthouse offers the best view. Martin is wearing a matching t-shirt with the words "sea wolf" =)
We really wanted to wait for sunset here, but by this time we still had no certainty about where to spend the night, and the prospect of looking for a place to stay in the dark was somehow not encouraging. Therefore, we drove towards Sagres, but could not help but stop along the way near the Belish beach (Praia do Beliche) in a cozy bay surrounded by rocks. From these rocks you can get a better view of Sagres, hanging over the ocean.
It's scary to look down.
And here is the beach itself and one and a half diggers on it, and while we went down there and reached the far part of it, we were left there completely alone. It would be nice to pitch a tent here, but you don’t know to what level the water rises during high tide, and collapses are possible near the rocks, as indicated by warning signs.
After Marinha Beach, where we had been the day before, it was difficult to surprise us, but Belish still impressed us, and we stayed here almost until sunset, walking along the shore, running through the waves, swimming in the clearest water and enjoying freedom and solitude.
And only when the beach was finally plunged into the shadow of the surrounding rocks, we went to Sagres in search of an overnight stay. It was another wonderful day of a wonderful trip.
Sao Vicente islands Cape Verde natural bay on the island of Sao Vicente. To the east there is a pleasant sandy beach and access to the sea, which is rare on the volcanic islands of Cape Verde. In local waters there is a small harmless shark about 5 feet - the bay is named after it.
Baia Das Gatas is famous for its music festival, which takes place on the first weekend of August and lasts for several days. The first festival took place in 1984 and was essentially a meeting of a group of friends who gathered on the beach to play different music for fun. Over time, other performers and many listeners began to join the friends, and today it is a global event. The rhythms here are usually African, but most of the songs are sung in French.
The festival takes place in the open air and also includes performances by artists and actors.
Mindela
Mindela is a port city, the second largest in Cape Verde. The city is located in a natural harbor, which was once formed as a result of a volcanic eruption, and occupies almost the entire coastline. This bay was used by pirates for several centuries as a transit station and resting place, so it is not surprising that everything here is permeated with the spirit of corsairs and sea robbers.
Until the mid-17th century, Mindela was officially considered uninhabited. The government reluctantly turned a blind eye to the pirate station and made no attempt at armed intervention. But one fine day, 26 frigates with 3,000 people sailed to the island under the leadership of Jacob Willekens, who was supposed to finally conquer the harbor and organize a permanent settlement with a large port here. And so it happened. Although the lack of water on the island greatly hampered the prosperity of the future city.
The city got its name from the first settlers from Mindelo in Portugal. Over time, it became an important seaport, where sailors and pirates from all over the world relaxed in bars and cafes. Today, the main direction of the city's development is tourism. Numerous hotels serve as a haven for travelers who are fascinated by the robber past of this place.
What sights of Sao Vicente did you like? Next to the photo there are icons, by clicking on which you can rate a particular place.
Monte Verde
The island of Sao Vincente is the cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the main tourist resorts in Cape Verde. Everything here is arranged for your pleasure - hotels, bars, restaurants. If you love outdoor recreation with stunning views of the mountains and ocean, the island of San Vincent is suitable for this like no other.
Sao Vicente is an island of volcanic origin. The entire east coast is a mountain range with several notable peaks. The highest point is Mount Verde with a height of 774 meters. It will be especially interesting to travel here by bicycle. The infrastructure of the island is highly developed and you can get to anywhere on the island via convenient roads. Based on them, you can create your own route to the mountains or to the coast.
Climbing on foot will also not pose any difficulties. Although some areas of the island are quite rocky, they are generally low. Unlike other islands in Cape Verde, the peaks here are not as sharp and rocky. Although if you are not confident in your abilities, we recommend finding a local guide in the nearest town of Mindelo.
The most popular attractions of Sao Vicente with descriptions and photographs for every taste. Choose the best places to visit famous places in Sao Vicente on our website.
Independent republic Cape Verde , is considered African. The archipelago lies opposite the westernmost point of Africa (Cape Almadi and Cape Verde in Dakar, Senegal), approximately 1000 km from the continent. 10 large islands, of which 9 are inhabited, and 5 small uninhabited rock islands. The capital is the city of Praia, on the island Santiago .
Cape Verde Islands on the map:
Cape Verde(Cape Verde) on a map from a local bookstore. Now she occupies a worthy place in our wardroom
Cape Verde on a map of the archipelago. The names of the islands with the prefix San- may differ slightly in different sources and even among different islands, and all because there is no clear agreement on how to correctly translate them into Russian :)
Windward Islands (Ilhas de Barlavento): Santo Antau (San Antao), San Vicente , Santa Lucia (uninhabited). San Nicolau, Sal , Boa Vista.
Leeward (Ilhas de Sotavento): Santiago , Mayu, Fogo and Brava.
Language– Portuguese, Creole – a mixture of Portuguese and African dialects. “Cut” Portuguese. Blacks communicated with their oppressors in Creole. The majority of the population speaks it among themselves. Knowledge of Spanish will help mutual understanding between travelers and the local population :).
Sao Vicente Island. West Bank, view from the road
How to get to Cape Verde
By plane from Lisbon, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich. On a yacht, for example, like this:
Airlines:
- TAP (Transport Air Purtugesh)– Portuguese airline
- – Cape Verdian Airlines
The second one is cheaper, but the first one is better. Local airline ( TACV (Transport Air Cabo Verde) likes to cancel and reschedule flights around 12 o'clock, without particularly bothering to notify passengers. Therefore, if you are planning a flight on 4-seat aircraft, 3 of them may be covered. According to the rules, when a flight is rescheduled and there is a long connection, the company must provide passengers with a hotel. In fact, the transfer is planned in such a way that neither mother nor father: you fly past the hotel, and from three in the morning you spend the night at the airport on a chair. Well, the plus is that you lose money, of course, by not being able to catch the next planes of other airlines. They say that the TAR company is about to be closed, then everyone will fly on Portuguese airlines. They also say that they should launch another company soon, then the prices will become more acceptable. But they've been saying that for five years now.
Flight cost With Cape Verde Islands to Moscow ranges from 650 (if you are lucky with discount promotions) to 1500 euros. Mostly planes to Europe fly from Sal Islands , which still needs to be reached. Local plane ticket from Mindelo ( Sao Vicente ) before Sala costs 180 euros.
View of Mindelo. Sao Vicente from Monte Verde, the highest point of the island
Cape Verde. Money and prices
For “disposable” clothes and everything else in Chinese stores, which are everywhere here, prices are comparable to European ones.
High food prices (one and a half to two times higher than the Canary Islands), since almost everything is imported from or from continents.
Some prices in escudo
- Apples – 175 – local, simple. 260 – 280 – glossy, beautiful.
- Snickers – 75. Sugar (brown), kg – 44 – 70.
- Milk, 1 l (long-term storage only) – 60-80.
- Potatoes – 120. Bulgarian. Pepper – simple – 175. Beautiful – 300-400
- Coconut liqueur with local grog, 0.5 l – 500-600
History of the development of the Cape Verde Islands
Cape Verde discovered by the Portuguese around 1462. The lands turned out to be uninhabited, which seems surprising, but understandable: almost all the islands have no sources of fresh water. Europeans began to use the newly discovered lands as a transshipment base for transporting slaves from Africa to America. Here the slaves were waiting to be sent overseas, some were dying, some were sick. The sick were left on the islands. Their descendants, mixed with the descendants of Portuguese slave owners, form the backbone of the current population of the islands - the Creoles.
Cape Verde visited by us:
Sao Vicente Island
Mindelo- the northern capital, it is also a cultural capital, the most beautiful city of the archipelago, a city of poets, artists and musicians. Birthplace of Cesaria Evora. Colonial architecture in the historical center. Here is the country's largest port, in a large protected bay there is an anchorage and the only marina in the country. A hub for yachting, sailors and commercial fishermen for fishing tourists.
Marina Mindelo
View of Marina Mindelo
Anchor– depth 5 meters, sand. Marina is completely European in appearance and design. The only one on the islands.
- Card shower for guests, closed pontoon.
- There is a bar with food on the pontoon. Toilet is free.
- Parking a dinghy at the cafe - 4 euros per day, we agreed on 10 per week. You can bargain to pay less.
- Parking in the marina is 27 (29) euros per day for a size of 40 feet. The cost depends on the length of stay.
- Water - 2 escudos per liter. Twice as expensive as people in the city
- Fuel – diesel is cheaper at the marina than at the gas station.
Marina owner– German, his wife is an Australian of Latvian origin. She lived in Berlin, met her husband there 14 years ago, and went here to develop a business and live.
Internet in the marina and in the marina bar. We catch from a yacht antenna. But when we started downloading movies, the Mariners quickly caught on and began changing the password twice a day... :)
Fishermen take their catch to the market in Mindelo
Sao Antao Island
The most beautiful, green island of the archipelago. High folded mountains with pine forests, gardens and even springs. This is the breadbasket of the archipelago.
Fogs in the Sao Antao mountains at the end of the dry season. After the rainy season (in September), the mountains acquire a richer velvet green color
Car rental- in Porto Novo. There is an international company “Pegasus”, 400 meters from the port along the coast to the north.
- Large pickup – 65 euros per day.
- Plus gasoline.
- If you drive more than 100 km per day, you get a bribe for every extra km.
In the northeast of the island is one of the most beautiful villages in the world, Fontainhas. To get there you need to drive 6 kilometers along a dirt road from the town of Paul along the ocean and into the mountains. Not high, but rocky, if you look down at the ocean from the cabin - it makes you close your eyes :). Tourist websites and brochures write that Fontainhas is located high in the mountains. Lies. Just drive to it - along a dirt road hanging over the ocean. Like this:
The path to the village of Fontainhas along a dirt road
Houses and terraced slopes of Fontainhas
In the town Paul there is an establishment “Black Mamba”, he is held by the Italian Liana. Outdoor tables are hidden in the shade of climbing passion fruit trees, which the hostess immediately picks to prepare a carafe of fresh juice with ice. Grog is also diluted with the same juice - a local alcoholic drink extracted from cane and drunk due to the lack of fresh water on the islands :).
The owner Liana is a stately, fit woman of about 40, hard-working and neat. If you are not here for the first time and come to her during a siesta, Liana can offer you to prepare food from what is at hand, send you upstairs, and she will do fitness on the ground floor while listening to music. Liana has two children, the youngest is a Creole, the eldest, apparently, is still from Italy. Unfortunately, there are no photos of Liana’s establishment due to a dead battery in the camera.
House in Paul, San Antao Island
Our Russian friends from Mindelo also praise the establishment of the Italian F (Ernando? Francesco??) - he lives in a very comfortably decorated home and houses and feeds tourists. It’s better to ask the locals about its location; we never got there.
Tarrafal
The southern tip of the island of San Antao (the names Tarrafal are also on other Cape Verde Islands ), fishing village.
- The drive along the coast is tiring and long - along a dusty rocky dirt road through a lunar landscape for an hour and a half.
- It’s easier to come on a yacht – approx. 20 miles from Mindelo. Anchorage. Great depths. Beach. Beautiful from the sea and green even in the dry season.
- Here, in the cozy “place” of the Spaniard Tomas, they serve ice grog with passion fruit juice. Or just juice. Cold and tasty. Here are the numbers. The establishment speaks Portuguese and Spanish, and Tomas probably also speaks English. The owners themselves live in the house, which they rent out to guests.
U Tomas, Tarrafal, San Antao
Entrance to the restaurant-resort “Marina and Tarrafal” by the Spaniard Tomas, Tarrafal, San Antao
View of Tarrafal from the ocean as you approach the anchorage. San Antao
The streets would be beautiful if they were looked after.
Read more about Tarrafal on the island. San Antao, the features of anchorage and disembarkation from a yacht ashore are written in the material .
Santa Lucia Island (uninhabited)
The Land Before Time - on the uninhabited island of Santa Lucia
Giant sea turtles lay their eggs here. The island was once inhabited by people. Our notes about this wonderful island are in the group on FB (soon they will be transferred to the website)
Cape Verde. Medicine
State healthcare for the local population is almost free; for this you need to pay for something like an insurance policy. Certificates stating that you are low-income will help you get treatment even more free :).
Mindelo has a municipal hospital and at least one good, but expensive private clinic, “MediCentro”. It is located near the marina next to the police station. The girl at the reception even speaks Russian. An initial appointment with a doctor costs 6,000 escudos (5.5 thousand rubles). A Russian urologist works at the clinic. (If necessary, we can provide the contact in a personal message). On Sao Vicente there is a good European laboratory “Labo Jove” (I think so), where they do high-quality tests.
The old Mindelo Hospital is 200 years old. There are hospital buildings and a clinic (consultation center). Inside the building there are open galleries with entrances to offices, trees, and again a closed corridor with office doors. Everyone has been sitting in line on benches since eight in the morning. At nine o'clock the office doors are wide open, but not a single doctor is visible. Then the people perk up and run to one common door, either for coupons or for test results. And again he sits doomedly in front of empty offices. No one takes a turn, everyone just waits. Ostensibly…
Shops and markets in Mindelo
Fish market on the shore opposite the anchorage. From the marina exit - 3 minutes to the right. Just behind the beautiful governor's tower (a copy of some famous tower.)
In the morning there is a lot of tuna at the market; in the cutting department the carcasses are cut up and taken to the traders. A kilo costs between 400 and 500 escudos. Cut into steaks. There is plenty of other seafood - dried, salted and fresh. They speak only Creole (Portuguese). Fish cleaning – 50 escudos
Central city market– in a beautiful colonial building. Everything is clean. Moderate selection of everything vegetable, + wine and grog, preserves, hard local cheese, dried herbs.
On the road from the fish market near the market square (where the booths are painted with pictures from Mindelo’s past) there are also vegetable and fruit shops and markets. . The square itself is a souvenir and clothing area.
The street near the main temple on one side is completely occupied by Chinese shops with Chinese people at the counter. They don't speak English either. There are a lot of inexpensive and disposable things, like everywhere else. 20 years ago, with the arrival of the Chinese in the Cape Verde Islands, all the locals began to be dressed and, finally, put on shoes.
About the people in Cape Verde - ours and the locals - will be here >> (material in the process of creation :))
Other entries from the Cape Verde Islands:
Cape Verde. Photos:
The beach in Mindelo (Sao Vicente island) is made of shell rock. lime, mixing with the turquoise of the ocean, forms a fantastic color of water. Just outside the port, north along the shore from the marina
Bar in Mindelo Marina in the evening, o. Sao Vicente.
Street in the center of Mindelo
street in the center of Mindelo
Rich neighborhood in Mindelo
Panorama of Mindelo, the cultural capital of the archipelago. View of the marina and anchorage
Surf on the uninhabited island of Santa Lucia. The masts of the Lady Mary at anchor are visible through the waves.
View from the anchorage of Santa Lucia Island to Sao Vicente Island at sunset
