Cidade Velha (Santiago - Cabo Verde)

Bei einer Inselrundfahrt auf Santiago haben wir unter anderem die ehemalige Hauptstadt Cabo Verdes Cidade Velha besichtigt. In der frühen Neuzeit ankerten hier große Seefahrer wie z.B. Christoph Kolumbus, Vasco da Gama und Sir Francis Drake. Leider diente Cidade Velha viele Jahre vor allen Dingen als Umschlagplatz für den Sklavenhandel von Afrika nach Nord- und Südamerika. Heute ist es ein beschauliches Städtchen, das in den letzten Jahren zu großen Teilen restauriert wurde. Die Kirche Se Catedral wird derzeit restauriert.
Touring through the island of Santiago we visited the former capital of Cabo Verde Cidade Velha. In the early modern era anchored here great navigators like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Sir Francis Drake. Unfortunately Cidade Velha was for many years a transit point for the slave trade from Africa to North and South America. Today it is a peaceful town, which has been restored in recent years to a large extent. The church Se Catedral is currently being restored.

King Fisher (Cabo Verde - King Fisher Resort)

Wie im letzten Jahr verbrachten wir auch diese Weihnachtsferien auf Santiago in Tarrafal. Santiago ist die Hauptinsel der Kapverdischen Inseln mit der Hauptstadt Praia. Der Wappenvogel der Hotelanlage ist ein Eisvogel, genannt King Fisher, der dort auch ziemlich zahlreich zu sehen ist und sich auch uns ab und an zeigte. Leider ist er nur sehr schwer zu fotografieren, aber trozdem gibt es einen Schnappschuss.
Like last year, we spent this Christmas holidays in Santiago Tarrafal. Santiago is the main island of the Cape Verde islands with its capital Praia. The national bird of the hotel complex is a kingfisher,  which is also to be seen there quite numerous.. Unfortunately it is very difficult to photograph, but there is snapshot.

Fish - as far as the sea reaches (Cabo Verde)

During our dives in Cabo Verde, we not only had unique encounters with wonderful fishes, but also experienced a particularly richness in  fish. It was noted that a lot of different fish and large schools of fish were present. Below we have selected a few photos.

The animals of Cabo Verde

During our stay in Cape Verde we have encountered many animals. A few of you we were able to hold on photos. Very cute and colorful it the following bird called Kingfisher.

 The cows looked much more emaciated than in Europe.

 In low bushes, there were countless spiders with their artistically woven nets.

 Typical for Africa: locusts.

 On the beach we came across these monkeys.

The menus on Cape Verde

When you come back from vacation you will usually be asked how the weather and the food. Since we are in Cabo Verde had sunshine all the time this issue is straight forward. But the food can not be described in one sentence, maybe not even describe because you should taste it. Perhaps these images give an impression of excellent food in the restaurants of Tarrafal on Santiago in Cape Verde. To try is definitely Cachupa (stew), the national dish of Cape Verde. While we ate it, but unfortunately not captured on an image.
At Christmas we were in the restaurant "Sol e Luna":

Frequently we also visited the Pizzeria "La Marea", not really kapverdianic but pizza there are everywhere, right?

 This tuna with vegetables we ate at the restaurant "Charrasquiera Mangue Baxu" Tarrafal:

Also on our last night in Espargos (Sal) in "Bar Violao" there were fish:

 Mainly the fish tasted anywhere really excellent and was straight from the sea, which we do not know as Central Europeans.

"Big, beautiful and magic fishes" (Santiago - Cabo Verde)

In our diving holiday we were very lucky and saw some very large fish. Normally, we pay more attention to the little things in the sea, but these fish were not to see it. With very strong current, we first saw the jacks, which looked at us and determined 50 - 100 cm tall timber.

 A short time later then appeared on the same dive, the moonfish. Starr admiring this unique creature we enjoyed looking at him and watching. One wonders why he came straight to us. A fish from the depths of the ocean has visited us, seen perhaps felt uninteresting and has disappeared. A truly magical moment, which was given us fortunate children here.

The next day we were again very lucky when diving. At the end of the dive we saw these ray with a 1m diameter. A few feet away was another smaller ray, but of us employed in view of the size of this specimen less. His disappearance in the vastness of the sea looks really out majestically. What a beautiful fish ....

 

Pedra de Lume (Sal - Cabo Verde)

Pedra de Lume means fiery rock and is the salt in a crater of an extinct volcano on the island of Sal. Already in the 19th Century the salt was proftably mined. In the twenties of the last century, even a cable car was built to carry away the salt. Then 25 tons of salt per hour were promoted. End of the 20th Century the production of salt was then set up to minimal house production. Today you can visit as a tourist the salt water to bathe or cover themselves entirely from salt.

Praia da Ribeira da Prata (Santiago- Cabo Verde)

On our holidays here on Cabo Verde we went to a very beautiful beach in Ribeira da Prata. The black sand is very fine and there was really nobody on this beach. For sorrow on this day the wind was very strong so it was not really a pleasure to stay on the beach. The sand has been going everywhere, but it is a very nice place to stay on days with less wind. Walking down the street the view to the beach is very spectacular.

Trip to „Poilon“ (Assomada, Santiago , Cabo Verde)

On our non-diving day we decided to go to the center, to the mountains of Santiago. We left Tarrafal by “Aluguer” (Taxi for a lot of people). We took a Minibus with seats for 14 people. Finally 19 people and big box of fishes took place in the “Aluguer”. So the one hour trip to Assomada was really an adventure. In Assomada we walked to the 500 years old tree called “Poilon”.in origin  this “Kapoktree “ is from South America. His fruits were used for pillows and they are still used for producing life jackets . The tree was really impressing with his roots and about 25m height.  We never saw a tree which is comparable to this one.