A fishy welcome
Our cruise liner docks at Praia in Santiago, one of the islands of the Cape Verde archipelago. That it is the capital is evident from the sky line visible from the pier. The walk from the pier towards the city is lined with fishing boats and fishermen with huge catches in large basins waiting to hook a buyer. The terrain seems arid but is punctuated by patches of green including a sizable patch of sugarcane, an indication of the soil conditions –volcanic with limited arable land and the tropical weather.
Observation
As we walk towards a hub of activity we find that it is a sprawling covered market. The folk do definitely have Afrocentric features. Then there are groups of young men and women standing under the shady trees. Now, they seem to have some caucasian features. At that time it didn't seem unusual. Just another city with a mix of peoples.
Public transport anxiety
Vans are parked along the streets with some drivers calling out for passengers.Some cruisers had been talking about going further inland to Cidade Velha. Why not follow suit? No taxis for us. Preferring to ride with the locals we check with one of the vans and get lucky. We board the collectivo, as the van is called. We are comforted by the fact that a Mexican couple, fellow cruisers, is also in the van. After about 10 mins we move, but stop within a few mins. Fortunately, we are under a tree safe from the scorching heat. Young well dressed people are milling about. Is there a college nearby? Should we panic? How long will the trip take? Will we have time to explore and will we be able to get similar transport back? We have seating space that should ideally fill up before we leave the city. Collectivo. What an appropriate name! We have since heard that you may find yourself waiting for an hour or more for the van to fill up. I don't think we waited that long.
A vista
And then we are off passing through different neighbourhoods, cemeteries, blue churches with red roofs, and all the marks of a port city and a commercial centre. In no time at all we are on a wide laned smoothly paved highway whose curves climb around hills. Patches of green stick out of steep, rugged, rocky slopes. We are actually driving above the coast line that dramatically presents a birds eye view of the settlement below us.
Somewhat comforted
After driving 14 km in 20 mins we park under a tree surrounded by a raised platform with benches on it. Passengers are waiting on the benches with all their wares for the journey back to Praia. Perhaps there is no need to worry about the return journey in a few hours.The driver earns a dollar from each of us for his services.
Peeling off the layers
As we drove into the ‘town’ we passed by ruins. It seems too far away to walk there and negotiating the steep climb to it doesn't seem like a good idea on a hot day.
We are in a small unassuming hamlet with a museum-cum-craft store. Beside it is a grocery store. If there is a grocery store there must be a residential area.
Provocative findings
Sure enough we see a few streets ahead of us. The exploration begins in earnest. It is only a few hundred metres to the furthest edge of the area. We are in the old town. In fact, it is the oldest in Cape Verde. The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary built in the Gothic style is closed for renovations. Built in 1495, It has been marked as a UNESCO World Heritage. It's the oldest colonial church in the world. Walking back towards the town square the modest, clean, cobbled streets packed side to side with limestone houses roofed with thatched, windows adorned with beautifully patterned curtains, exude an irresistible charm. Almost every dwelling is built on raised ground shored up with rocks. Banana trees abound in the little vegetable gardens. Mango, papaya and coconut trees are aplenty. There are goats too. Aptly, the street is called Rue des Bananas, the oldest street in the African region.
It's so rustic that we even meet a young girl doing her clothes-washing in an oval aluminium tub filled with sudsy water. A light skinned tourist felt so sorry for her that she handed her a five dollar note so she could save money to buy the household a washing machine. What are we promoting by this gesture?
Horror of horrors: anguish and justice
As we go about we notice the fort (passed by earlier)built on the escarpment looking down on the hamlet. We go back to the square to wait for a collectivo. And that is when we notice a white marble pillar set in the middle of a three tiered octagonal base. It has a thick iron loop attached to it.
Built in 1950, this is the mast where slaves were tied for exhibition and sale. It is the Pillory monument. Standing there hanging on to the loop we can smile now and perceive the absurdity of it all. This is also the place where criminals and slaves were whipped.
Puzzles partly solved: a legacy
The port lies in the central Atlantic Ocean 500 km from the westernmost point on the African Continent. Portuguese navigators found these islands. The first Portuguese settlers only arrived in the mid 15th century. It explains the huge Catholic churches. One of the Cathedrals has only the walls and windows to remind the residents of their once harsh rulers. They chose the area because a river flowed from the escarpment above into the bay.
But the island's climate and terrain were not conducive to agriculture. The turning point came because of the strategic location in the triangle trade. Slaves captured in Africa were sailed in unspeakable conditions to the island and sold off to plantations in the New World in return for their raw materials. Hence the port flourished as a centre for manufactured goods. This attracted pirates that necessitated Fort Philipe, built on the escarpment.
The opening of the Suez Canal marked the beginning of the fall of the port.
Cabo Verde only attained independence in 1975. It is said to have the best democracy among the African nations.
The country does grow food but most of it, especially cereals, are imported.
The language spoken is creole, a mix of European and indigenous languages.
The overwhelming majority of the population of Cabo Verde is of mixed European and African descent and is often referred to as mestiço.
The social and economic centre
We do have a long wait before a collectivo turns up. A few female students in school uniform join us along the way. They are excited to meet us but are shy. We are back in Praia with time to spare. The market is brimming with fruits and vegetables. Another section is equally colourful with mounds and mounds of clothes. Outside, the basket shop is bustling with buyers. Under the trees are basins filled with?! suckling pigs and baby goats for sale. The bigger goats are tethered to the trees.
This visit to Cabo Verde was a revelation of terrible truths and hope in a place we had never expected to visit.
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