Tarrafal, Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde Islands

We arrived in the Cape Verde Islands on September 24th after a seven day sail from La Gomera, Canary Islands. The crossing was a combination of light winds the first two days, a pleasant moderate wind the third day, and 25 to 30 knot NNE winds with big seas for the remaining of the crossing. The Cape Verde Islands lie 325 miles off West Africa and are part of the mid-Atlantic Ridge of volcanic islands. We were 10 miles off the island of Sal before we were able to see land. Hot, dry winds, known as the hamattan, blowing off the African Continent, dramatically reduce visibility, and coat the boat in a fine red dust.

We were able to make landfall at Palmira, Sal Island just before dark, and anchored with ten other cruising boats, half of them French. After we had anchored, I noticed that one of the boats close by was from Brazil, and I commented to Mark we should attempt to make aquaintance with the Brazilian since we want to stop in Brazil on our way to Argentina.

The next morning, as we were leisurely getting the day started, there was a knock on the boat and there was the Brazilian, Marco, coming by to introduce himself and visit. Some things are meant to be. One of our first questions was if he knew if there was a Brazilian Consulate in the Cape Verdes. "Yes" he said, "in Praia", the capital. We spent the rest of our stay in Palmira socializing with Marco, 38 years old, just finishing his three year circumnavigation. And he really helped us out by calling the Brazilian Consulate and verifying we could get a visit, and what would be involved. (I have since called the Consulate and was not very successful in communicating, so Marco's initial phone call was very helpful.)

The island of Sal is very flat, except for five small volcanic cones, and very dry. Palmeira is the main shipping port on Sal but the village itself is very small. The main city of Espargos is a 5 minute ride in a aluguar, usually a small pickup with two benches in the back, and has markets, cafes and internet. The main tourist attraction of the island is the village of Santa Maria, a beautiful beach located on the south coast, that is rapidly beiing developed into a major tourist resort.

We spent a week anchored in Palmeira then headed south to Murdeira, a very large bay 6 miles south, where we anchored in the northern bight with one other boat owned by a French couple, Barbara and Jean. They had spent the previous week anchored alone in the bay and were glad to have some company. Luckily they spoke just enough English to make it possible to spend some time together. Like Santa Maria, Murdeira is being developed for tourism, though currently it is contained in the southern end of the bay, away from the anchorage. After three nights we headed for the island of Sao Nicolau.

Sao Nicolau is a short overnight sail from Sal with the anchorage at Tarrafal on the west side of the island. We chose to approach the island from the north making the landfall very dramatic. The northwest coast is dominated by Mount Gordo, 1,364 meters, and steep carved gorges come down right to the sea, reminding me of the north coast of Kauai. As we rounded the north coast and headed south towards Tarrafal we were passed by a Dutch sail boat, The Wind Cries, owed by Hans and Rosa. We both anchored at Tarrafal and have been the only two yachts since our arrival Tuesday morning. Through them we met Hainey, a Dutch ex-patriot, who is the unofficial welcoming committee for yachts. He runs a small pension, provides meals and offers tours of the island. Thursday we took his all day tour of the island, a bit expensive for us but money well spent.

The island of Sao Nicolau and the complete opposite of Sal in that it's very mountainous and quite lush in the interior highlands. It was a pleasant relief to get up to where the air was cool and refreshing after the suffocating heat on the coast. All of the roads throughout the island are constructed with individually hand placed four inch square blocks of basalt set in sand, after the fashion of the ancient Roman roads. The labor involved is incalculable. The villages on the northeast coast contain houses constructed in the old fashion out of stones with thatched roofs. What little tourism there is is restricted to penions - there are no hotels or big resorts. Yatchties are some of the few visitors.

We've enjoyed our visits with Hans and Rosa, who, like most Dutch, speak very good English. They are just beginning a circumnagivation, going next to Brazil and on to South Africa. It would be a great reunion if we could meet up with Marco, Hans and Rosa while in Brazil, though their two boats will be a week or two ahead of us.

Getting a visa for Brazil has been a major concern and will require a trip to Praia, not a place you want to spend a lot of time. We've finally decided to sail back to the island of Sal where I will fly to Praia for one day just to get the visas. Hopefully I will have all the necessary papers enabling a quick issuance of the visas. We also need clearance papers for Brazil and they can only be acquired from three ports in the Cape Verdes; Palmeira on Sal, Mindelo on Sao Vincent and Praia on Santiago. Both Praia and Mndelo are not good places for yachts because of the hassel of having to hire someone to watch your dingy on the beach and pickpockets. So we have chosen not to go to those places and make our stay in the Cape Verdes a pleasant one. We'll get our clearance papers on Sal, make a brief stop on the island of Brava and then head for Brazil, probably sometime the week of he 17th.

Stay tuned. Nancy