Day 105 Praia, Santiago, Cape Verde

Weather
Low 80's, Partly Sunny

Map

What we did
We had a brief stop today, which meant we only had enough time for the included excursion, a four hour experience called the Panorama Tour of Ilha Santiago. This island is one of ten in the archipelago that were colonized by the Portuguese in the early 1600s. Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, is not particularly picturesque, and along the way we noticed a significant amount of litter and debris. This island is very dry with very little in the way of vegetation or natural water sources. When the Portuguese first arrived, we were told by our guide that there were no inhabitants and so they then went to Africa and brought back slavers.

From the port, we boarded small tour buses and made our way to Cidade Velha, the old city. From there, we continued on foot along Rua de Banana, where efforts are underway to restore buildings in a style that reflects the historic character of the town. We then visited the Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça, a site once visited by notable figures including Vasco da Gama, Charles Darwin and Pope John Paul II. Here, we learned about the harsh realities of the island’s past, where enslaved Africans were brought to be “educated,” a process that involved brutal physical punishment, forced conversion to Catholicism and the systematic erasure of their cultural identity and language. Those who survived were considered more valuable and were sent on to the New World and the Caribbean. In the town square, we saw a small market area that once served as a place for public announcements during colonial times, as well as public punishments such as floggings and hangings.

Our tour then continued to the Royal Fortress of São Filipe before concluding with a walking tour across the plateau in Praia. There, we visited the vegetable market and walked by the presidential palace, a small military base and a look out over the town before heading back to the ship.