Seeing God's Bread Crumbs
A trip to two Cape Verdean Islands
Edmar's taxi and the island of Fogo
The Portuguese ruled the Cape Verdean islands for hundreds of years, and 'used' them mainly for the slave trade. Nowadays, most people on the islands are still Christian. Local lore says that when God was satisfied with Creation, he brushed his hands together, and the crumbs that fell from his fingers dropped into the sea and formed Cape Verde.
Our itinerary for this trip: Amsterdam - Praia - Cidade Velha - São Filipe - Praia - Assomada - Tarrafal - Praia - Amsterdam.
On our hike through the valley near Cidade Velha, we came across lots of banana & baobab trees and somtimes, we spotted a small washing place, used to take a 'banho' and wash clothes.
Tourism on Cape Verde is still upcoming and is the biggest on the island of Sal, where there are lots of big beach resorts and hotels. On Santiago and Fogo, there are almost no foreigners (except for us of course). We also saw no big fishing ships, only these small boats that go to sea at night, and build a fire on board to attract and catch fish.
On the islands of Cape Verde, you will eat a *lot* of fish
The biggest source of income for Cape Verde is the export of bananas. Charles Darwin anchored at Praia when he started his famous world trip on the Beagle in 1832, and reported that he "feasted" upon oranges and also "tasted a Banana: but not like it, being maukish and sweet with little flavour". Ha! #��
A rugged Mercedes
The Cape Verdean archipelago reminds me a bit of Cuba: a former colonial and tropical place, influenced by both Europe, Africa and South America.. But there are lots of differences as well. Though Cape Verde isn't a very rich country, they seem to have a stable government and except for Sal, the islands aren't as touristic as some Cuban places are.
A Cape Verdean woman looks into my lens in Praia, the archipelago's capital
Some houses in Cape Verde are pretty (run down)
Though it's hard to tell from what we've seen in such a limited time, it looks like the country's income is being invested in the country itself, something I didn't really see in Cuba. I hope that in the future, after such a long time of abuse by other countries, Cape Verde will be able to exploit its riches for itself.
Our taxi driver Edma showed us this impressive Baobab tree
Islands lost
in the midst of the sea
forgotten
in an angle of the World
- where the waves
cradle
abuse
embrace...
- by Cape Verdean poet Jorge Barbosa
Saskia reads a book on Fogo
Hoi! My name is Joost Bastmeijer, and I’m a Dutch freelance travel writer and photojournalist currently traveling through Africa. Check out my photos on Instagram at instagram.com/joostbastmeijer, or visit my website to see some more of my work: joostbastmeijer.com!
Praia's lighthouse