Cape Verde: Cidade Velha

It's already the middle of October, and the end of this trip report is long overdue. Early Friday morning we boarded the ferry for the return trip to Praia which was rocky but not as torturous as the trip there, partially due to the fact we watched Twilight which seemed even more absurd in Portuguese. After arriving in Praia, we took a taxi the twenty minute journey to Cidade Velha, the old colonial capital of Cape Verde.

We stayed in a rather remote hotel in the valley only accessible by walking an extremely rocky, goat-filled road.



After checking into the hotel, we went to explore the old fort that once protected the town from pirates. We weren't sure how to walk there, but with the help of what seemed like the entirety of the town, we climbed the steps (accompanied by more goats and a few pigs) up the mountain and finally arrived at the fort. The views from here were absolutely amazing!



We returned back down to the town, and after another futile search for ice cream and a brief chat with a Peace Corps volunteer, we ate dinner at a little restaurant literally steps from the ocean and watched the sunset on our last night in Cape Verde.

The next morning, we packed up our belongings, did a little shopping in the town center - the bargaining here was much less productive than in Dakar - and then hiked to see the old colonial era convent which was reconstructed using traditional labor only a few years ago.

It was so pretty and quiet here, and we got to see more of my favorite bird, the kingfisher.

Late in the afternoon, we left to go back to the airport. Unfortunately - if not surprisingly - we quickly learned that our flight was yet again cancelled and we couldn't go out until the next morning. After a few minutes of contemplating the seemingly overwhelming task of finding someplace to stay in the the relatively unfamiliar city of Praia, the airline offered to put us in a hotel back in Cidade Velha. It seemed like absolutely luxury - a hotel room with air conditioning, television, a pool, and free dinner and breakfast. What started as a frustrating delay turned into another mini-vacation before returning to Dakar.