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Officially Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, is named the Republic of Cabo Verde. But everyone calls it Cape Verde. It is a small country; an archipelago with a population of about 500,000. First colonized by Portugal, it won its independence in July of 1975. 

All did not go well at first. After securing independence from Portugal, Cape Verde became a one-party state, dominated by Marxists. However in 1990 the one-party state was abolished and a multiparty democracy took its place. Since then, Cape Verde has had a stable functioning democracy and its economy has improved markedly. 

There is a large diaspora of Cape Verde natives, many of whom live in the US and Portugal. Both the US and Portugal maintain strong ties to Cape Verde. The people who moved to the US did so way back when to work in the whaling industry. They had developed the necessary skills to succeed in that industry. And Portugal has welcomed Cape Verde natives. 

Interestingly enough, even though it is a West African nation and a member of the African Union, the people of Cape Verde (if our guides are to be believed) consider themselves to be more like Europeans that Africans. They may have a point. The islands of Cape Verde seemed to be a lot more developed and much cleaner than the countries of the mainland. 

We visited 2 cities on 2 different islands in Cape Verde: Praia, on the island of Santiago, and Mindelo on the island of São Vincente. Praia, with its beaches is the largest city and capital of Cape Verde. Mindelo is a cultural hub, known for its architecture and traditional music. 

On our visit to Praia we went to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the fort of St Phillip (Forte Real de São Filipe). The fort was originally built in order to thwart pirate attacks. 

We also got to see a rooster up close and personal and we peered down at one of the cities beaches. 

When we went to Mindelo, we drove up to the summit of one of their mountains, where it was extremely windy and chilly. The guides kept insisting that we shouldn’t stand too close to the edge of the road because of the high winds. A little less than comforting.

Not to mention that the roads were nothing to write home about. 

As we drove along, hoping the bus didn’t get too close to the edge and go over, we saw some isolated houses built alongside the mountains.

All it takes is looking at those (few) houses and the coastline below to realize how far away you are. 

Anyway, we are off for the Canaries (Europe!) and will report in soon. 

JFB

We have been on the Atlantic Ocean for the last few days slowly making our way to Europe via Cape Verde and the Canary Islands. The Canaries are off the coast of Africa and while they are not on the European mainland, administratively and politically they are part of Spain, and therefore Europe. 

Now, after going to Carnaval we made several more stops in Brazil. Specifically, we visited the islands of Ilhéus, Salvador and Recife. As we were leaving the “new world” for the old, our first stop was in Ilhéus, which means “beautiful island”. And it certainly is beautiful. For instance, there were scores of colorful houses.

A chocolate store named “dengo” snared us; we bought some chocolate bars and other goodies. A photo of a sales lady from the store is below. 

Another building featuring large green wooden doors of varying heights also caught our attention.  

The next stop a day or two later, was Salvador. Not to be confused with El Salvador. Among other things, we stopped off at an ice cream store. The store was across the street from a bay full of boats where some of the locals were hanging out. Note the cell phones.

Finally we went to an island named Recife. When we got there they were busy dismantling a stage that they had erected for a celebration of –wait for it–Carnaval.

After we saw that we headed off for a tour of the Jewish section of town and a tour of a synagogue. It must be a major tourist area because it was loaded with visitors and buses that had “Tourismo” written all over them. There were also quite a number of Military Police as it turns out. 

Anyway we have finished up with South America and now we are on our way to the coast of North Africa and then on to Europe. We’ll post from there soon. 

JFB

We have just been in the port in Santos, Brazil, and it reminds me that the ports we encounter are interesting in different ways.  

Some ports are designed and used exclusively for passengers on cruise ships.   The newest have ramps that connect to the cruise ships like jetways connect to planes, and the terminals are sparkling, with lots of tourism information, shops and dining places within – you barely have to leave the cruise ship to experience some of the local culture.  If you look online for images of the Barcelona cruise ship passenger terminal you will see that it looks like a beautiful new shopping mall.  

Other ports are primarily commercial shipping ports – big, noisy, gritty, and organized around mountains of containers that carry goods round the world.  When a cruise ship docks there, the bright lights and noise of the port can be enjoyed all night by the passengers – not so great for sleep.   As a cruise ship passenger, you are bundled off the ship and shuttled by bus around the edges of the port to a safe gateway into the host city.  

Attached is a short video from the port in Valparaiso, Chile.  There were huge numbers of trucks lined up to catch container after container being mechanically unloaded from enormous cargo ships.  I took just about a minute or two for each container to be taken from the cargo ship and deposited onto the waiting truck.  

https://youtu.be/e4CYcrZSeMA

And then there are ports like Santos, Brazil, which hosts both commercial cargo ships and cruise ships carrying passengers, without very clear separate areas for each. These mixed-use ports are fascinating to observe because you are close to the action of the cargo movement, but you are carefully shuttled by bus through the port so that you don’t get hurt by a big truck or container – no walking around is permitted.  The passenger shuttle buses weave around the forklifts, the trucks, and the other vehicles – sometimes for miles- getting passengers to the safety of the port exit.  You can see the workers and the details that go into the action. Again, a quick online search of Santos, Brazil shipping port will give you aerial shots and others that capture some of the scope of this incredible port.

Santos is the largest port in Latin America when it comes to cargo – it serves as the export gateway for massive amounts of dry goods and liquid goods from Brazil.   

Soy beans are the biggest export by far (to China) but sugar, coffee, corn and citric juices are also big business here.  Oranges were formerly one of the big exports, but local business owners discovered that they could process the oranges into juice (a value-add) and it was more profitable.  This change in the nature of the product flowing through the port generated growth in the surrounding area, so now the city of Santos has more industry (and profit) than before.  Most of the orange juice goes to Belgium but that doesn’t mean Belgians drink it all – from its entry there it is distributed throughout Europe.  

While docked in Santos we have visited the city, and the large city of São Paulo (about 80 km/ 50 miles away).  More about our excursions in Brazil later.  

MA 

Mary Anne McDonald

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We have just spent a couple of days in Uruguay, that small country tucked in between Argentina and Brazil.  The history is complex, as with so many South American countries. For example, there were both Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, and while Uruguay has a relatively small population of indigenous people (mostly Charrúa descendants) the vast majority were killed in the 19^th century.  But the modern result is different in some respects than other countries – Uruguay today is home to many immigrants from all over the place, and is fiercely protective of individual rights.  The economy is strong (by South American standards) and the fútbol team is impressive.    

Blessed with mild weather, good rain and rolling hills of grass, Uruguay grows lots of cattle and sheep, to say nothing of wine.  Cattle outnumber people by at least 3 to 1, and a lot of cattle are exported live, while others are slaughtered in-country and then exported.   Big business. 

We visited the Pizzorno winery (which for some reason has a 1951 Plymouth parked outside), and participated in a cooking class. We made (empanadas  those little pastries filled with virtually anything) and alfojadas (butter cookies stuffed with dulce de leche).   Very delicious, especially the red wine from Tannat grapes.   

We also spent some time exploring the city of Montevideo, which has a charming old town center, and several synagogues.  There is a small but dedicated Jewish population in Uruguay, reflecting various sects of Jews who emigrated from many parts of the world.  

A very simple, symbolic wall has been constructed along the River Plate in Montevideo – the wall represents the Jewish people, with a break in the wall to commemorate the holocaust, 12  steps alongside to symbolize the 12 tribes, a ramp that expresses hope, large rocks that are symbols of difficulty to be overcome, and other symbols of faith.  

Uruguay (along with Argentina) has a reputation for great steaks, so we went to a restaurant named El Palanque  for —what else—steaks and had a very nice time. Uruguay also seems to be a popular vacation spot for Argentines as well as others, and we can see why. 

Tomorrow we go to Buenos Aires for a few days.  Looking forward to more interesting history and a beautiful city! 

Joe and MA