Colorful is what I will remember about this place. Bright hues on their buildings, their boats, and their colorful dresses. Mindelo is on the Island of Sao Vincente, just 15 miles across, and is part of the Cape Verde archipelago off the western coast of Africa. Cape Verde serves as one of Africa’s smallest countries at just 1,500 square miles, across 10 islands. It was discovered and settled by Portugal in 1460 and received its independence in 1975 as a parliamentary government. There are 500,000 Cape Verdeans and most of them speak their native language of Kriolu, as well as Portuguese.

Today we didn’t have an excursion or tour planned, and instead opted to just walk into town and explore. Most of the buildings date to the late 1800s and are painted brilliant shades of color. We made our way to the local craft market, past wonderful murals and painted tiles. Once there, we bargained for a few treasures and snapped a few photos.

We found a catholic church just letting out of its mass and chatted with some fellow passengers that had attended the service. They really enjoyed the music but didn’t understand much of the Portuguese mass. We found a quaint café and enjoyed sandwiches of fresh tuna (Sharon) and chicken (Marshall) while we people watched.

The beach close to town looked beautiful and there was a small smattering of hotels available for tourists. While most American’s have not heard of Cape Verde, it is a popular destination for Europeans due to its warm tropical climate, wonderful music and delicious cuisine. We learned that Mindelo gets only 5 – 6 cruise ships per year, however, just like Walvis Bay, they are expecting more this year due to the Red Sea troubles. In fact, they are building a cruise terminal to better receive ships and passengers. For sure, the shop keepers and craft persons were happy to see us today.

Cape Verde is also known for hurricanes. In fact, 80% of all major hurricanes over the last century that have hit the U.S. and Caribbean actually developed near the Cape Verde archipelago. Typically, they occur in August or September and are particularly active during El Nino years.

We enjoyed a beautiful sail-away, under blue skies and brisk winds.

Next stop in three days: Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Canary Islands