Sao Vicente – my favourite island!

Sal is wonderful, but sometimes you just have to leave it, just for a weekend…..
The lure of Sao Vicente beckoned, I have been there 4 or 5 times already; for carnival, for New Year; and had the sudden and overwhelming desire to be there last weekend…

Awoke deliriously excited on Friday morning, not having had much sleep, and not having booked a flight…..

I was not going to take no for an answer, so packed my bag, collected crazy Ana, my Portuguese chum, and hailed a cab for the airport…. And what a cab. Bob Marley blaring out of the windows, he drove at about 70mph paying no attention to roundabouts, dogs, children or carts…. And of course we all got swept up in the excitement and sung ‘I don’t want to wait in vain’ and ‘Three Little Birds’ at the tops of our voices until we arrived at the airport.

Flights secured, chips downed, money withdrawn, off we went…

After a brief flight and very smooth landing, met up with another Portuguese friend, Joao, in the town square, he knew we were coming and had secured us a lovely little apartment just out of town, where we settled down for a small snooze before the evening’s entertainment..

Out to Casa Café Mindelo to meet up with Joao, and some Senegalese musicians we had met the previous week in Santa Maria, all out to dine in Clube Nautico, a fabulous sea front bar with concrete floor, open ceiling to the stars, a rickety old stage and a wonderful selection of food and drink. And of course, live music, in the traditional style.

Well fed up, went in search of my favourite small bar, Jazzy Bird, just off the Praca Nova, black and white décor, fab jazz music being played, unheard of in Santa Maria…..

Many photographs taken of all of us, posing in ‘sad face’, ‘murderous face’, etc etc….

Time to move on, so we went to a very traditional Cape Verdian bar opposite the beach, slightly out of town. It was full, there was some kind of birthday celebration, so most people were completely inebriated…. Another traditional band playing, a man fast asleep on a chair, and a truly fabulous woman dancing; young, Cape Verdian, proudly sporting a full black downy moustache! Her very own. One of the Senegalese chaps was completely amazed and transfixed….
‘that woman, she is not beautiful, but she is fantastic!’ he whispered to me.

Next stop, a club, where a private party was taking place… We were permitted to enter, but only if the boys removed their hats, and we thought if they did the place would be filled with dreadlocks, so we abstained, the boys going home, and Ana and myself in search of just one more beverage….


Saturday morning came… we had a date with a notorious Cape Verdian composer, who had invited us all around to his house to hang out and make music.

Quick stop in town to buy fresh fish, vegetables and wine, then a coffee stop which resulted in fish bleeding all over the café floor…. That’s no problem here, in fact it’s normal – ‘no stress’

We all were transported in the back of an old pick-up, a bumpy old drive, with the kora, the sax, the guitar, all jumping about in the back of the truck. Safely delivered to our destination, a beautiful old converted farmhouse in a ribeira on the way to Calhau beach.

On arrival, Joao immediately started to concoct an absolute feast of suchi, whilst I laid in the hammock awhile, and then started to play music in the afternoon sun with the guitarist and kora player. Marvellous…

After consuming the feast, and some fine Portuguese wine, we then all retired to the lounge, where Vasco Martins started to create music, with the help of us all.

We sat on the floor, with our instruments and voices, while he drew energy and inspiration from the surroundings, and then started to create….. avant-garde experimental music I would call it, with him suddenly pointing as the person whom he wished to make a noise…. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

At 9pm we all left, back to our apartment for another snooze before the evening’s events.

Again, all meeting in the Casa Café Mindelo before going on to the square to take a turn around and just enjoy the ambience of it all. Once more to Jazzy Bird, where we danced this time, and then on to the Mindel Hotel where we had the pleasure of experiencing one of Cape Verde’s foremost bands, Ferro Gaita, in full swing. Dancing ensued, then just one more turn around the square before returning home for the night…

Sunday morning, our last day….
Lunch at the beach café (only slightly marred by the arrival of the British Navy, so rather more white people than usual on the beach, tattooed and drinking beers…..)
After this we were taken into town to meet Alex Da Silva, a Cape Verdian artist who has been living in Holland, who is opening a very stylish gallery in Mindelo, to feature art, music, café and shop. Truly inspiring.

Back down to the square for one last turn, it was Sunday afternoon, traditional children’s time, so the square was full of happy kids running and playing and eating ice-creams!

And so, back to Sal, energized, refreshed, and ready for Monday morning…