Day 105, Praia – Cape Verde

19 April – Day 105 – Praia, Cape Verde

After our terrible experience in Dakar – we were a little apprehensive about our visit to Praia as it was one of the countries listed in the letter the ship sent us on April 9th. You can read a copy HERE

I didn’t find anything of interest during my pre-cruise research on this port. After reviewing the excursions offered by Holland America, we decided to go on the tour called Cultural Praia.

Here is the description of the $69 tour from the excursion booklet:

Cultural Praia

Welcome to Praia, the most cosmopolitan Cape Verdean city and an authentic cultural storehouse. On this excursion you will get to know the culture and traditions of Cape Verde in general, and of Santiago Island in particular. Praia has absorbed various influences from the other islands due to interisland migration, as well as influences from abroad. Visit the center of the city, the plateau and Ethnographic Museum, founded in 1997.

Don’t miss the vegetable market, whose atmosphere is as colorful as its wares. From there, a short walk takes you to Praça Alexandre Albuquerque — an iconic gathering spot for the people of Santiago. View the Palace of the President and the viewpoint of Statue of Diogo Gomes. Gomes discovered the Cape Verde Islands in 1460. You’ll see one of the oldest buildings in Praia — the Jaime Mota Barracks — dating from 1826. Pass the Prime Minister’s residence and various embassies en route to the breathtaking view from the Cruz de Papa Monument above Quebra Canela Beach. Avenida Cidade de Lisboa, the most happening street in Praia, leads you past the Government Palace and the all-important soccer stadium. Before heading back to the port you will stop to browse at the lively Sucupira Market.

Notes: Tourism infrastructure is limited in Cape Verde; the coach may not have air-conditioning or a PA system. Public markets are closed on Sundays and holidays.

Queen’s Lounge tour meeting place

Getting an early start, at least for us, we met our tour group in the Queen’s Lounge at 8:15 AM. In a few minutes they called for our tour to assemble and head down to the pier where we found our 24 passenger bus.

Port Area

The ship moors in the container port without any tourist infrastructure nearby. The port gate is about a half mile away and this is where some people had to meet private tours that they had arranged earlier. They ended up having to walk the half mile to the gate to meet their tour.

Here is a map of the port area:

After about a 10 minute ride, we reached the first stop and were let out on the sidewalk in a commercial area. Unlike Dakar, we weren’t greeted by throngs of people pestering us or trying to sell souvenirs or tours. There were plenty of people in the area, but they were friendly and continued to go on about their business when we arrived.

Ethnographic Museum

As we walked down the pedestrian promenade towards a Museum we would visit, it was immediately obvious that the city was much nicer than Dakar, and was the nicest city we visited since Cape Town.

Our first stop was the Ethnographic Museum which maintains a vast collection of pieces that tell the everyday life of people in Cape Verde including tools used in agriculture and raising livestock along with pieces of pottery, weaving, and clothing. The museum was mildly interesting, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit.

We left the Museum and continued walking on the promenade towards a municipal market, a quarter mile away. Along the way we discovered several nice cafés, shops and a collection of kiosks selling souvenirs.

Municipal Market

The municipal market was typical of what we have found throughout the cruise only this one was very clean and well organized. Fruits and vegetables were the main products sold, along with some meat and fish. One section had counters that offered prepared foods where people were buying their lunch.

We continued walking about a quarter mile and came across an open public square where a bandstand was getting set up for a musical concert later today. If we were going to be here longer we would definitely come back here to enjoy what looked like it might be a nice concert. Praia was turning out to be a very nice town, and I’m surprised now that it was on the Africa warning letter. Maybe there are other parts that aren’t quite as nice as where we were, but this downtown area is something that you should stroll around when you visit.

The Cathedral

The Cathedral, Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Graca, was our final stop on the walking part of our tour before we got back on the bus. The Cathedral itself was quite ordinary but there were some children visiting at the same time and we were able to engage with them which was interesting.

We were now a couple of blocks away from the ship’s shuttle bus, which I’ve marked on the map in this post.

There is a large park across the street from the church where we found public bathrooms and had a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful weather before we got back on the bus and headed off to the Mercado de Sucupira.

Mercado de Sucupira

On the hill above the main town, the Mercado is much larger than the first one we visited. This market sold mainly dry goods such as clothing and household items and things you might find in a drugstore or Walmart back in the USA. The people were not especially friendly, refusing requests for photographs which was a little surprising for a place where you would think they would want to encourage visitors to browse around and spend time looking at their wares. Consequently, we didn’t spend much time here, and neither did anyone else in our group. We were all back on the bus in about 15 minutes.

Pope John Paul II

Our next stop was an overlook, about 2 miles away, where there was a large statue of Pope John Paul II. The statue was constructed in 2007 by the Praia Chamber of Commerce. The Amsterdam was visible off in the distance and we had a nice view of the town off to our left side.

The Lighthouse

Our final stop was a lighthouse at the end of a Peninsula overlooking the harbor. About half of the tour group, including myself, climbed up the 100 steps to the top of the lighthouse. At the top, there was a small catwalk around the outside of the lighthouse. Stepping outside we had to hang onto our hats because the wind was blowing at least 30 knots. The view from the lighthouse was spectacular, with a great perspective of the city, the harbor and the Amsterdam moored across the harbor.

It took about 20 minutes to get back to the ship, the whole tour was about four hours.

Sail Away Party

The highlight of this afternoon on the Amsterdam was the SailAway party featuring live music by the Station Band along with hors d’oeuvres and complementary beverages. Table 303 assembled at several tables near the forward port corner of the pool. The party was well attended but not overcrowded. Everyone who wanted to find a seat was able to find one somewhere. The festivities concluded after the band stopped playing which prompted about a dozen guests to jump into the pool fully clothed. Here is a video that gives you a good feel for what took place.

 

Maria Lyn

Tonight’s entertainer was a talented vocalist from Wales, Maria Lyn. She has a beautiful, powerful voice and sang hits from Broadway and other pop tunes including:

Tonight from West Side Story
Thank you for the music – Abba
This is my life Shirley Bassie

Don’t miss seeing Maria Lyn if she is performing near you.

Back in the cabin we found our new Silver Medallions that would be officially awarded tomorrow evening.