Saturday May 24th Mindelo, Cape Verde

Saturday May 24th Mindelo, Cape Verde

Interesting statue in town

 Typical Mindelo street

Local vegetable market

Eels in the fish market

We docked at 8.00 am and wandered into town at a about 9.00. A beautiful sunny day with just enough breeze to stop us roasting. The walk into town was about 15 minutes. It is a very compact town and has a distinctly European flavour, (Portuguese) with small streets and delicious wafts of freshly baked bread. Wandering around enjoying the ambiance of the town we found old churches, markets and cobbled streets. We visited the fish market and saw many varieties of fish and shellfish that we didn't recognize, including big basins of huge muscles from conch shells. In a small park we found free WiFi and spent some time checking emails etc and a quick skype to our friends in UK who were online, but reception was too weak to actually hold a sensible conversation! Exchanged some US dollars at a hotel and used the money to buy some wine for our room. Grocery store had a neat system...put your bags in a locker at the front take your key and go shopping...then get your bag out as you leave the store. We re-boarded the ship and spent the rest of the afternoon sunning and reading and enjoying a cold beer.

These come out of huge conch shells

While we enjoyed our time in Mindelo, it is not a place we would consider going for a longer vacation. It is quite remote and there really are not too many things to see on the island. Having said that it was a pleasant port to visit, and it did feel much safer than the previous West African ports. 

Conch -- waiting to be emptied

YUK!!!

In the fish market

The ship is constantly running out of many things and there is a distinctly mutinous atmosphere brewing as they continue to run out of wines, spinach, bok choy, prunes (oh no!!!! Disaster!!!) and there are no longer any decent beers (other than Guinness) on board! There are no sliced pears and we suspect that All Bran supplies are teetering on the endangered list!! There are many grumbly rumblings among the passengers (not just the result of too many prunes). To top it off... No entertainment in the theatre tonight other than a movie which is also scheduled for the stateroom TV tomorrow! 

PLEASE!! I love fish!!!

Hanging out with a statue downtown

Famous navigator who came here

Great bas relief on wall of nightclub

This is the longest cruise that we have taken and on the smallest ship we have ever sailed on... There are advantages and disadvantages. The entertainment isn't as varied as on the bigger ships and the general population is a little older. However it also has a much more personal feel to it as you get to know the crew and many of the passengers better due to the length of cruise and the size of the ship. (Only 600+ passengers vs 2000+ on the bigger ships) and you get to ports the bigger ships cannot consider. We have been joined at our dinner table by an Australian couple and their daughter. We seem to always have a good laugh and thoroughly enjoy their company. They have cruised more than we have and are currently on a contract working in Shanghai for a few years, so we have lots to talk about and more than a few laughs along the way. Our next port of call after a couple of days at sea will be Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where we spent our honeymoon .... almost 43 years ago... Time flies when you are having fun!

Across the bay

Mindelo bay

Interesting column at port

Back at the port

Mindelo from shipside

Our beautiful ship

Last view of Mindelo

Leaving Mindelo, Cape Verde

Thursday May 22nd, 2014 Dakar, Senegal

Thursday May 22nd, 2014 Dakar, Senegal

Derek and Pappy on the Ferry to Isle De Goree

Street on Isle De Goree

Note the Calabash... ha! we've see the trees!!

Church on Island.. visited by Pope Jean-Paul

After the three sea days we were just about ready for a port day. We had decided that the Princess tour packages are way overpriced and therefore determined to do Dakar "on our own". We walked to  the nearby ferry and were joined by another couple, shortly after, "Pappy" a local and licensed tour guide latched on to us and we all got the ferry to Isle de Goree. This is a small island, 20 minutes ride from the harbour and was the staging post / prison for the slaves before boarding the ships for America. Originally developed by the Portugese, the island was a throw back in time. Apparently 1,500 people live on the island today and it has the preeminent boarding school for Senegal high school girls. In many respects although relatively civilized it is still very primitive, with outstanding architecture. and the horrific House of Slaves where we stood in the doorway that led to the boarding ramps to the boats...the point of no return.

Inside island church

Unusual Shell font

Poignant statue

Slave room.. holds 20 male slaves

Door through which slaves loaded

Door from water *on righthand side"

Back in harbour, the other couple bowed out, but we got Pappy to take us to Lac Rose. A saline lake from which they harvest salt which is exported to Mali. There we got a camel ride and rode from the lake over to the Atlantic Ocean, now they said it wouldn't be bumpy...they lied, but it did create a memorable experience. Getting on and off were quite spectacular events. Then we went over to a restaurant for lunch, sitting by a pool with a Gazelle beer. Had the best chips in years and a wonderful filet of a fish called thiof. (discovered later that it is an endangered species - sorry!) We then raced back in the taxi arriving at 4.30 and walked right into the folkloric drum and dancing show at the ships theatre. It was an  incredible act, our ears were still throbbing an hour later. What an outstanding day of such different experiences and emotion. A great "do it on our own" day and it cost less than the cost of just a morning Princess tour.

Cruel artifacts of slavery

Sand artist

Natural sand used in art

 

This will become a beautiful piece of art

Stand it up and shake! and VOILA

On Ferry back

Isle De Goree Beach

Enroute to Pink Lake

En route .. cattle

On Beach at Pink Lake

Salt harvesters

Remains of salt in boat

Camel rider... FUN!!

HOP ON THEN!!!!

Follow to leader

The Atlantic Ocean

Yes .... we did it!!

Getting off.... Yikes that's difficult!!!

Thiof (choff!) and chips!!

Unusual pool chairs

Meanwhile back on the ship!!

Leaving Dakar, Senegal

May 19-21 3 Sea days

 May 19-21 3 Sea days
Three sea days to just veg and relax. Got in some walking and gym, lots of reading, some laundry, watched the movie Captain Philips and actually did get lots of relaxation. Had Chris, Tracey and Lucy from Tasmania join us at the dinner table as we had met up and had a lot of laughs. They built a shed and live in their RV inside it. Long story. Entertainment one evening was a fantastic pianist from Manchester. Seas were relatively calm and air temperatures around 30, all very nice.
A few beautiful sunset shots, all taken from our balcony:

Champagne party - Lucie loving it!!

And we are loving it too... much!!!