The Cape Verdes became independent of the Portuguese empire in 1975. At the time illiteracy was about 75% and the islands were desperately poor. Today, life has improved a lot, with illiteracy down to about 15%, but the islands are still poor by European standards.
The only port we had time to visit was Mindelo
We had only a week or so there, some of which was spent on minor repairs.
The islands are quite rocky and dry.
While
strong, the boats are not well equipped for even a short open ocean
crossing, wit a single outboard motor
We
sailed about 15 miles East of Mindelo to anchor beside Santa Luzia, an
uninhabited island. The swell was too rough to go ashore by
dinghy so Neil and Pam swam ashore.We met a few boatloads of fishermen who frequently spend a few days there in a rough camp, while diving for lobsters. We helped one crew drag their heavy wooden boat through the surf. They were very friendly, althoug communication was limited by our lack of skills in Portuguese.
