November 20, 2022: Our Unplanned Visit to Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde
We were not supposed to visit this city but because of the cancellation of the visit to Senegal it became today’s destination. It is the capital of Cape Verde and is located on the southern tip of Santiago Island which is located in the southern part of the Cape Verde chain. The population is about 160,000. The island was discovered in 1460, but Praia dates to about 1615, still quite old by any US standards. A bit of trivia: Praia was the first stop of Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle in 1832.
It was a Sunday so things were pretty quiet in Praia as we walked through the downtown area. It was not a quaint as Mindelo, but since it is the political capital of Cape Verde I was not surprised. There really was not much to see here.
We returned to the bus and proceeded to drive away from the city. The landscape became pretty barren and there seemed to be only one road leading to the northern end of the island. Our immediate goal was to visit the ruins of the Royal Fort Real de Sao Filipi which was built by the Portuguese from 1587-1593. It is located 120 meters above sea level and had a commanding view of the sea. Its purpose was to protect the town of Cidade Velha from roaming pirates like Sir Francis Drake.
After visiting the fort we we drove down to the village of Cidade Velha which was the first settlement in Cape Verde and its original capital. It dates back to 1462. Furthermore it is considered to be the first European colonial settlement in the tropics.
Cidade Velha’s port was a stopping place for two great navigators: Vasco da Gama in 1497, on his way to India, and Christopher Columbus in 1498, while on his third voyage to the Americas. In 1522, it was the stopping place for the later explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain, on his way to circumnavigate the world.
We walked along what some say is the oldest (dating back to the 1400s) street in the tropics created by the Europeans, Rue de Banana, to see the old stone homes, the cobble stone streets and the 15th century church. It was certainly nicer than the walk through downtown Praia.There are reminders of the slave trade that occurred here, including the 1495 built church where slaves were supposedly baptized before being sold as slaves in the town square. The area sure has a lot of history to share. After the walking tour of the area and church we had some free time to spend at a local outdoor restaurant/bar that offered food, drink, and recorded local music. One of the passengers even danced with the waitress.
It was then back to the ship for the rest of the afternoon.
We had dinner reservations at the specialty restaurant, Prime 7, which specializes in steak dishes. We had said we would love to share a table and tonight, we were seated with a lovely couple from NYC, Marvin and Julie. Needless to say the conversation revolved a lot around what life in NYC was like.
The entertainment this evening was a show by the Production Staff singers called Broadway in Concert. I am always impressed by the singers as most seem to be from the UK with strong English accents. However, when they sing you would swear they were from the USA. I asked one of them how they did that and was told they all listen to a lot of US singers and simply pick up the accents from them.
Tomorrow we will have a day at sea, on our way to Gambia.