Fogo

Sao Nicolau

Santo Antao

Sao Vincente

Sal

Mindelo is the capital, and although it may look run down on approach with unfinished buildings stretching up into the barren hillsides, it does have a charm all of its own. Like the other islands I visited, people are gentle and hospitable in their gestures. The capital is a port town with ferry services running to the neighbouring islands. The town with its cobbled streets, European style architecture and cultural heritage is well worth a visit. It is steeped in history, going back to 1462 when it was first discovered. The slave trade was prominent in Cape Verde and by 1582 there were over thirteen thousand slaves. This trade ended approximately 300 years later. In the early 1800's the British had discovered a depot and consulate. It was used as a coal and re fuelling station for ships en route to South America, South Africa and Europe. Coal was brought from Cardiff, where there are now many expatriates residing. In 1875 Mindelo was the base for the submarine cable, allowing Atlantic Telecommunications. During these times there was much poverty amongst the locals but it was the fourth largest coaling station. The coaling trade petered out when ships bunkers became large enough not to require refuelling in Sao Vicente. Later on coal was replaced by oil. Drought has always been a problem on the islands, especially Sao Vincente which receives the least amount of rain. Drought and famine hit hard in 1941. Because of this many thousands of locals uprooted to the West African Island of Sao Tome and Principe to labour on the plantations.

The Belem tower can be seen by the sea front which illustrates the Portuguese influence. It is a copied version of the one in Lisbon, which housed a port governor from the 1920's. A few large colourful wall painted pictures can be seen illustrating hopes and facts of Cape Verde.

One of the main attractions of Sao Vicente is the August music festival held at Baia das Gatas beach in the north east part of the island. This is held annually around the weekend of the full moon. It's a great atmosphere and you can witness people enjoying wonderful summer evenings. Tin huts are set up as make shift bars and there are many barbecues flickering away where there is a variety of simple cooked dishes on offer. Latino rhythms could be heard around the stalls. Tents are strung along the beach (perhaps it's their version of Glastonbury). A long pathway stretched past small volcanic boulders and rocks towards the lagoon. At the end of the path children and youths were taking turns to jump and dive into the sea. The large stage holds host to 5-6 bands/ artists which performed each evening. There were several young artists performing such as Maria de Barros. Her music has upbeat textures of soprano guitar, accordion, harmonica and percussion. It contains rhythms of West African funana mixed it with salsa. She sings about love, romance and the beauty of the islands.

On the last evening of the festival the star singer of the islands, performed her talents for well over an hour. The barefoot grandmother sings in two styles. The coladiera and morna. Coladiera is the more upbeat and optimistic of the two. Morna is slower and contains sorrow for struggles such as drought, sentimentalism and reflects the country's history of emigration, isolation and the slave trade. It also symbolises the blues and expresses the suffering of the natives as well as love. One can hear a blend of Cuban, African and European in her music. Instruments in her band include clarinet, violin, piano, drums, accoustic guitar and cavaquino (Cape Verdean Guitar). I was fortunate enough to meet Cesaria back stage. Aged 65 she is still going strong with her music and has been singing since the age of sixteen. She started to become an international success in the late 80's starting in France where her music really took off.