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Raylah - LOG DAY 5-The Cape Verdes discovered



We came to Cape Verdes expecting no more than some barren islands with poor communities, a place to regroup, repair, refuel, refresh and restart. We leave with memories of a special place and a proud and welcoming people.
Our first view of the archipelago was the majestic and precipitous cliffs of Sao Vicente, a wonder to behold even if a sailors nightmare as a lee shore. Our tour of the nearby Island of Santo Antao showed us mountain scenery that was stunning even to the most jaded traveller. It had the feeling of a lost world where the appearance of a dinosaur would not have been out of place. Towering pinnacle rocks covered in sub tropical vegetation contain narrow valleys and volcanic calderas often shrouded in cloud and mist where the islanders living in isolated holdings and little settlements have laboured to terrace the slopes to grow maize as there staple crop.
The towns we saw have not yet been ‘manicured’ by the tourism that these poor islands are so keen to encourage. The influence of the islands Portuguese Colonial past can be seen everywhere in the impressive, if sometimes run down, historic buildings. The shops are all small and local ,with little cafes and there is not a multi national chain or fast food outlet to be seen. The streets are kept clean,the people are very friendly and they take a genuine pride in their Islands . Our guide on the tour of Santo Antao ,his name was Maison, epitomised the attitude of the Islanders. It was his first day working in tourism and he wanted to earn enough money to get married. Maison said the Islanders did not dwell on the past, they liked there previous rulers the Portuguese and they always looked forward expecting better times to come. He took great pride in his country, knew its history intimately and had a great sense of humour and was able to trade jokes with Des, a south african maths teacher who was hilarious and was still happy from being at the bar until 6am that morning.

Thank You Cape Verde the crew of Raylah will miss you.

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