{"id":7848,"date":"2025-04-20T14:14:34","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T18:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=7848"},"modified":"2025-04-20T14:15:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T18:15:02","slug":"world-cruise-days-120-121-cape-verde-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=7848","title":{"rendered":"World Cruise – Days 120\/121 Cape Verde Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What a Happy Easter Weekend!<\/strong><\/p>

It\u2019s days 121 and 122<\/strong> of our 138-day cruise<\/strong>, we arrived in the Cape Verde Islands, located off the western coast of Africa. It\u2019s hard to believe our disembarkation in London is just a few weeks away\u2026 crazy how fast it\u2019s gone by!<\/p>

Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands, discovered and settled by the Portuguese in 1462. The islands later became a key hub in the Atlantic slave trade. One island, Fogo, is home to an active volcano that last erupted in 2014. Most of the islands are quite arid with little space for vegetation. The trade winds that sweep through the area\u2014once vital for early explorers like Columbus\u2014make the northern islands especially windy year-round.<\/p>

The western islands are younger and very rocky, while the eastern islands tend to be flatter and have desert-like conditions. Steep cliffs and rugged terrain made the Portuguese fortifications, often built high on the hills, strategically important for defense. Geologists would have a field day here with the diverse rock formations and volcanic landscapes.<\/p>

Following the decline of the slave trade, Cape Verde\u2019s prosperity waned, but its location in the mid-Atlantic still makes it a critical stop for commercial cargo ships traveling east or west.<\/p>

Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and held its first multi-party elections in 1991.<\/p>

Nine of the ten islands are inhabited. Santa Luzia, the only uninhabited island, is a protected nature reserve with a meteorology station and occasional visits from fishermen and scientists.<\/p>

Our Two Stops in Cape Verde<\/h3>

Praia \u2013 Island of Santiago<\/strong><\/h4>

We arrived in Praia at noon and joined Viking\u2019s included island excursion. It began with a coach tour through Praia\u2019s city center, followed by a scenic drive to Fortaleza Real de S\u00e3o Filipe<\/strong>, a 16th-century Portuguese fort still housing several original cannons.<\/p>

From there, we headed down to Cidade Velha<\/strong>, the historic town below, which features a charming square with churches, small shops, and a cultural center. Since it was Good Friday, we had the special experience of seeing a local parish reenacting the Passion of Christ, carrying a cross through the streets\u2014a powerful moment.<\/p>

Before returning to the ship, our guide took us down Praia\u2019s \u201cArt Street,\u201d where the buildings are painted in vibrant and creative designs. So colorful and unique!<\/p>

Mindelo \u2013 Island of S\u00e3o Vicente (St. Vincent)<\/strong><\/h4>

After sailing overnight, we docked in Mindelo<\/strong>, on the northern side of the archipelago. The town was celebrating Holy Saturday, so it was quieter than usual, but we got a glimpse of daily life as locals shopped at the fish and vegetable markets preparing for Easter Sunday.<\/p>

In the morning, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through town, and in the afternoon, we joined a tour exploring the landscapes and seascapes of S\u00e3o Vicente<\/strong>. The drive took us up to a mountain peak\u2014arid and rocky\u2014for a breathtaking 360-degree view of the island. Absolutely fabulous views!<\/p>

We then continued down to the coast, stopping at a small fishing village, a beach, and a rugged stretch of coastline. Along the way, we passed through a small, mostly abandoned development. Due to persistent drought and harsh conditions, many residents have left, leaving their homes behind.<\/p>

Cape Verde surprised us with its raw beauty, resilience, and layers of history. Onward we go… just a few more stops before we wrap up this amazing journey!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\"View
View of Cidale Velha San Jorge's Island from San Filipe Fort<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"View
View from cannons in St. Felipe fort<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Center
Center square of Velha <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Praia
Praia pedestrian street had great trees<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"old
old church bell<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"statue
statue of first governor that founded Praia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"It's
It's reported Christopher Columbus came here to pray before leaving to discover the new world<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"view
view of the coast - no wonder Praia's city center is on the plateau<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Good
Good Friday chruch services in Praia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"the
the Portuguese stone fort St. Filipe built in the 16th century<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Painted
Painted Buildings in Praia's art street<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"historic
historic church in Praia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"more
more painted buildings in Praia's art street<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Praia's
Praia's art street<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"old
old buildings on the hillside in Mindelo, St. Vincent Island, Cape Verde<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"fishing
fishing village in Mindelo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Church
Church in Mindelo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Statue
Statue overlooking the sea - Navigator Alfonso Diego<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"In
In the museum in Mindelo, these crucifix were probably intended to convert slaves to christianity<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"church
church in Mindelo city center<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"view
view from Mindelo's martime museum<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"view
view of the mountain on St. Vincent Island Cape Verdewe were about to drive up to<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Mindelo
Mindelo and our ship at the coast<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"St.
St. Vincent's coast from above<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"St
St Vincent \u2018s coastline<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"St.
St. Vincente island gets sand from the Sahara desert on its shores<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Fishing
Fishing village south of Mindelo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Mindelo
Mindelo Beaches <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"site
site you see in St. Vincent island's coast<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"img_6310\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"The
The coast of Vincent island Cape Verde<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Mindelo
Mindelo painted building <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Mindelo\u2019s
Mindelo\u2019s fish market<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Huts
Huts on the water in Mindelo <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Desert
Desert sands on the beach blown from the Sahara<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"A
A rum toast at the top of the mountain <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Fresh
Fresh fish<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"The
The city view of Mindelo\u2019s port<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"High
High as the clouds<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Ahh,
Ahh, sunset in Cape Verde was beautiful<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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What a Happy Easter Weekend! It\u2019s days 121 and 122 of our 138-day cruise, we arrived in the Cape Verde Islands, located off the western coast of Africa. It\u2019s hard to believe our disembarkation in London is just a few weeks away\u2026 crazy how fast it\u2019s gone by! Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230351823,"featured_media":7846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[200,50518550],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-world-cruise-24-25"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peuwlC-22A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7976,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=7976","url_meta":{"origin":7848,"position":0},"title":"World Cruise – Tenerife, Canary Islands – So Cool!!","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"World cruise traveling is getting very busy here with several port of calls coming up with no break and an overland excursion to prepare for so I have fell behind in posts so I will catch up quickly. After 2 days of sailing from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6418.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6418.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6418.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/img_6418.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6079,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6079","url_meta":{"origin":7848,"position":1},"title":"World Cruise – Days 34\/35 Rarotonga, Cook Islands","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"January 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After leaving Tahiti and enjoying a sea day, we arrived at the Cook Islands, specifically Rarotonga, a beautiful and tranquil island in the middle of the South Pacific.Our excursion for Rarotonga was a glass bottom boat ride that lasted 3 hours and included snorkeling, swimming and a beachside cookout. Thoroughly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?cat=200"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2403-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2403-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2403-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/img_2403-1.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6544,"url":"https:\/\/chasing-sunsets.blog\/?p=6544","url_meta":{"origin":7848,"position":2},"title":"World Cruise – Thursday Island and Darwin Australia","author":"Jim and Gina Sumislaski","date":"February 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Days 56 thru 60 of our 138 day World cruise from Fort Lauderdale to London. \u00a0After leaving Cairns we had a sea day and stopped at the northern tip of Australia in the North Queensland state at a very small Island named Thursday Island. 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