Xenial - Day 9 - On tour

Today we took a break from our frenzy preparations and took a tour of Sao Vicente, the island we are on. Who are we kidding? Our preparations are as laid back as can be!

We picked up Gustaf from his lodgings, and discovered he had adopted a stray dog, who waits for him outside every morning and follows him everywhere. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s actually the dog who adopted Gustaf, not the other way round. (For all our readers out there concerned about rabies and fleas and all the other wonderful things that stray dogs carry around - don’t worry no one has touched the dog or been bitten by it.)

We got onto a small bus and set off on the island’s ring road. The Cape Verde Islands are volcanos and they have so much lava rocks that most of the roads are made of basalt cobble. They make for a very quaint sight, and a rather bumpy ride! But at this point we are so used to constantly rolling around that we prefer some serious motion to the unsettling stillness of land.

Our local guide took us to a beach where turtles lay eggs (although wrong season) and apparently this was a great spot to have us try the local liquor, grog, at 10am. Even the most experienced members of the drinking committee had a hard time taking more than a sip so early in the morning. If the baby turtles come out drunk, you know who to blame…

Next stop was a dune of sand brought all the way here from the Sahara by the trade winds. Kind of what happens in the Alps, minus the snow I guess. Same same but different.

The highlight was a winding drive up a steep basalt cobbled road that took us on top of the highest mountain on the island. From it we had beautiful views of all of Sao Vicente, and some of the rest of the archipelago. The islands have a rugged look, with peaks and valleys shaped by eruptions, winds, and water. The top was surprisingly green for an island that is really dry, as apparently the condensation at night provides enough water for some agriculture up there.

We made our way back to Xenial where we fed the crew all our leftovers, hoping to create some space in the fridge to provision for the next leg. Somehow however any space that we create is magically taken up by beer! I wonder why.

We spent the afternoon chasing down some odd bits of equipment and supplies. Our extensive search for a new French press was met without much success, so we bought a moka instead. As an Italian I actually think it’s an upgrade from the French press! Hopefully this one doesn’t end up overboard. We magically found multiple jars of Dijon mustard, which Janne tells me there is currently a global shortage of and we never thought we would find out here. We also found a small shop that had Coca Cola in cans. It’s surprisingly impossible to find cans here, all the Coke is in bottle, so we bought all their supplies and may go back to see if they get restocked. If you are on another boat and would like to know which shop that is, we accept hefty bribes to reveal our secrets! However our search for orange jam for the Major’s breakfast continues to be unsuccessful, we hope to be able to report better results in the coming days.

Bobo had missed our tour in the morning, so he decided to try and make his favorite cocktail, caipirinhas, with the local grog. I would say the drink got mixed reviews, but with sufficient sugar added, everyone drank theirs. We may repurpose our grog supplies and give them to drink to any fish we may catch!

To top off a day immersed in the local atmosphere, Janne nearly got pickpocketed on our way back from dinner on land! Luckily it takes more than that to fool (or scare) the chef. However it was less funny than when a crazy person stole the Captain’s beer during lunch our first day in Mindelo.

We were sitting outside and I was updating you on our finish line adventures, when a person approached our table and started asking for money. Upon our refusal he leaned on the table and stared trying to engage in conversation, and then with a swift movement grabbed the half empty bottle of beer in front on the Captain and walked away drinking it. Even funnier was the lady who owned the restaurant who came out to chase him away loudly with a broom!

Over and out,

Mavi