Mission Ocean - Hiking in the Cape Verdes
by Mission Océan 17 Jan 2018 23:56 UTC
Contigo at anchor in Tarrafal, with the valley behind © Mission Océan
Lush green terraces spilling over with bananas, coffee, papaya and sugar cane, as far as the eye could see. This was far from what we had expected to find as we gazed from the deck of the early morning ferry, onto the barren, dusty landscape of the Eastern side of San Antao.
Getting the ferry had been an adventure in itself. We had made friends with the crew from another catamaran in our anchorage in Mindelo, on the neighbouring islands of Sao Vincente, and agreed that they would pick us up with their tender to make the short hop across the bay to the commercial dock. A late addition to the party delayed our pick up, and saw the poor little Zodiac so overcharged that it sputtered across the murky marina entrance at a snail’s pace. As we drew closer, we saw line-handlers beginning to cast the ferry’s mooring ropes off.
“Disaster!” we thought. “We’ve missed the ferry.”
But Jeremy, a cocky Parisien and the latest addition to Contigo’s crew, yelled up to the ferry’s crew to ask them to wait. And it worked! We bypassed the ferry terminal, scrambled up a slimy ladder that was held together by rust and barnacles, and sprinted across the commercial dock as the kind captain lowered the car deck for us to jump inside. Breathless, barefoot and grubby, we handed over our change and fell on the breakfast on offer in the little bar before settling down as best we could on the hard deck benches to enjoy the misty 45 minute crossing.
On arriving in San Antao, we were immediately accosted by hoards of taxi and minibus drivers, trying to persuade us that their car was better, cheaper, more desirable than the others. I suppose our hiking boots, backpacks and naïve stares gave us away as the (world) tourists that we were. We picked a shiny red pick up truck, driven by a rather surly man called Erick, to navigate the winding cobbled country track to the top of the island – a huge volcano crater. The drive up was dusty and dry, with withered sweetcorn crops sticking up like needles beside the road; Erick explained that the rainy season had been unkind this year, and that water was in short supply in this part of the island.
But as we reached the crater’s edge just 20 minutes’ drive away, it was as if someone had flicked a switch. Suddenly, everything went green, with moss dripping from the rock walls lining one side of the road, and carefully maintained agricultural parcels dividing the extinct volcano’s bowl into neat sections.
This was to be the landscape through which we would trek for the next few hours, as Erick dropped us in the crater to hike back down to the coast. After a short walk up a rocky track, we found ourselves with our heads literally in the clouds, chilly moisture clinging to our hot skin and dusty clothes. Thus began a descent of around 1000m altitude; hard-going on the knees, working some muscles that our cruiser bodies were no longer used to soliciting. We had great fun identifying the different crops as we went, and happened upon a variety of farm animals clinging unexpectedly to the steep slopes.
Our hike was punctuated by two brief stops, one to picnic in the barn of a little farm business run by a German couple, and the other to buy homemade “grogue” (the local drink in Cabo Verde – a strong alcohol made from distilled sugar cane), from a woman and her daughter living in a flamboyantly coloured house on the hillside, with an outhouse full of tiny wriggling pigs.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we lingered too long in the thick shade of the banana trees, and once again had to sprint for the ferry, our thighs complaining from the day of unexpected exertion. We pootled back to Contigo in the tender, and soothed our aching muscles with cocktails of fresh lime and grogue.
This was not our only hike in the Cape Verde islands; at our second anchorage in Tarrafal, San Nicolao, we kayaked to the beach one evening and walked up the dry riverbed of a stunning canyon. The rocks in the settling sun burned a hot orange, and we arrived back into town just in time for an impromptu guitar concert on the square.
We also caught a collectivo to another hiking spot in San Nicolao, this time further inland. Collectivos are little privately-run minibuses that provide cheap transport around all the islands in the archipelago. What these buses lack in comfort (and possibly also in safety), they more than make up for in hilarity, with stops to pick up huge bags of rice, old sinks and even livestock, all of which are then delivered to the middle of nowhere and left by the roadside, presumably to be collected by someone, some day...
Our best collectivo experience by far was on Brava, where we travelled across the island with a bus full of fishwives and their husbands’ copious catch, which they sold through the windows to haggling women in the inland hamlets. They journey could have taken twenty minutes, but stretched into an hour, of which we thoroughly enjoyed every bumpy, noisy, fishy minute.
The Cape Verdes have been full of the best surprises for us, and our hiking experiences in the hills have been no exception. Stunning views, interesting encounters with animals and people, and an excellent way to relax and slow down after the messy swell that pounded Contigo’s hull for six days non-stop on our crossing from the Canaries.
Our time here has not been perfect – the anchor and chain were stolen from our tender in Tarrafal de Santiago, and we changed our plans to avoid the capital, Praia, all together after hearing several accounts of violent robberies on board boats. But if you haven’t worked the Cape Verdes into your cruising itinerary, then we strongly suggest that you think again. If you like big plates of food, stunning varied scenery and people with hearts as big as the ocean that surrounds them, then Cabo Verde is made for you.
Mission Océan is proud to be supported by: Boero, Doyle Sails Palma, Rotary District 1730, Navigair, Octomarine, Battery World Service, Victron Energy, Monaco Marine, Aquatabs, Spade Anchors, Plastimo, Furuno France, Pejout Marine Services, Lyvio, Storm Bird, Aethic, Astrolabe Expeditions, Asociacion Ondine, AGL Marine and Sail-Worldcruising.com
Mission Océan is Laura Beard and Henrique Agostinho. Their three year plus mission is to share their love and respect for the ocean with others, through education and scientific research. Neither is a stranger to the water, so they have combined all their skills and passions in this bold, courageous and inspiring project. Sail-Worldcruising.com is delighted to be with them for the journey of their lifetime. You can also find out more on their Facebook page