Hello friends. We traveled from Sal island to São Vicente with just a 40 minute flight and arrived in the capital Mindelo. This place is known as the cultural capital of Cape Verde. The famous singer Cesária Évora was born and built her career here. She is the island's most well known figure, the famous barefoot diva. We walked around the city and explored the surroundings. It was a trip I enjoyed very much.
Mindelo has a much more authentic atmosphere compared to the cities on Sal. There is more history and historical buildings. We started our tour at the market square called Praça Estrela. Various handicrafts are sold there. But most are not local, coming instead from continental Africa like Senegal and Nigeria. In the square named after King Luis I saw the city hall and a big mural of Cesária Évora. This mural was made by a Portuguese street artist called Vhils. Vhils creates these works not with paint, but by carving the plaster using a jackhammer. Sometimes he even uses small explosions.
Mindelo also has a replica of the Belém tower in Lisbon. It is much smaller than the original, was built in 1929. Right next to it we saw the city's main transportation artery stretching along the coast. On the opposite side, Santo Antão the westernmost island of the country was visible. We were decided to go there as well.
To really fit in with the culture you should go to the market. We went to an authentic market where they did not have many souvenirs, just the local people buying things they need. Vegetables, fruits and medicinal herbs were being sold here. What is surprising is that it is sparkling clean and there is no bad odor. I can say it is the cleanest market I have seen recently. People are very kind. There is no atmosphere of trying to trick tourists. Lisbon stret, which passes by the municipal market, leads to the pink building that used to be the Cesária Évora museum. But is now used as the People's house. This place is generally usd for political meetings and is not always open to the public.
We also stopped by the fishing village called Salamansa. This village is a very colorful and characteristic place. The houses are painted in different colors. But I noticed some walls were left bare. The reason for this is a kind of tax trick. A house that is not completely painted is considered unfinished and thus taxes are not paid. There is no central water system in the village. Water is brought by tankers and filled into tanks and people carry it to their homes in canisters. It is an interesting contrast that houses with modern windows do not have tap water.
Another beautiful spot is Baía das Gatas or Bay of cats, named after the sharks. Looking from here, the wide and wild Praia Grande beach at the foot of the local table mountains is visible. These mountains resemble the silhouette of Table mountain in Cape Town.
As an economic note, some villages here look wealthier and the houses are completely painted. The prices of these houses are around 60-70 thousand euros. Although it may seem cheap from the outside, considering the minimum wage in Cape Verde is 160 euros, it is almost impossible for the local people to buy these houses. One of Mindelo's advantages is its natural deep-water port. This bay is actually a nearly circular crater that has been submerged.
We also went to the São Pedro area right next to the airport. There we went out by boat to feed giant turtles and saw stingrays.
We ended our trip back in Mindelo at Praça Nova, called the New square. This is a very elegant square with its old mansions, British style post office building and university. And we saw the house where Cesária Évora lived and passed away from the outside.
If you enjoyed this short São Vicente tour, I recommend you visit. Although the country is poor, its people are very warm and it has a cultural heritage worth seeing. The next stop was Santo Antão.
