14 April 24, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel Summer escapes
architecture lines the busy port. I wander
the streets at dusk debating where to have
dinner. I double-take as I pass a giant
disembodied head in a courtyard, a pre-
Covid carnival relic. The pandemic took a
heavy toll but aid from the million-strong
Cape Verdean diaspora helped the
islanders to survive. More Cape Verdeans
live away from the islands than on them.
Stories of generations lost to drought,
emigration and the sea are among the
melancholic themes of morna — a form of
music and dance made famous by Cesaria
Evora. Murals and dedications to the
Barefoot Diva, as she was known, appear
round every corner. Edson and I watch
the sunset paint the harbour violet and
decide to eat at the marina where his
friends are playing. I feast on freshly
caught amberjack and a white wine from
Fogo island. Various singers join the band,
who segue seamlessly between spirited
accordion-based funana and reggae.
Edson delivers a devastating morna to the
night sky.
We move on to a small jazz club where
the band play outside on the street. Locals
on their way home from work stop to
listen. Creole chatter and ambient street
sounds somehow enhance the songs — it
feels as though everything here is music.Not sure what sort of holiday you want?
Hop around the Cape Verde isles and you
get the best of all worlds, says Jenni Doggett
H
igh on a blustery mountain
top in Sao Vicente, I’m
sipping tea brewed from
clouds and anise. It is a
typically Cape Verdean
marriage of the practical and the poetic.
Miguel, the Cabana de Cha’s modest
proprietor, ascends some 700m on foot
daily to harvest mist and distil it with
botanicals into fragrant tea and liquor.
I’m midway through a week exploring
three of the ten scattered volcanic islands
that form this archipelago off Africa’s west
coast. I was drawn to the Cape Verdes by
their variety. Utterly undecided on what
kind of holiday I needed — slothful sun
and sand, active adventure or cultural
battery-charging — these intriguing
Atlantic islands seem to offer it all.
I’m not sure if it’s the tea, the altitude or
the perfect weather but I feel invigorated.
The wind is singing and the trees dance
along. Edson Oliveira is my guide to Sao
Vicente. He’s an accomplished musician
and offers his theory that perhaps it is this
natural soundscape that inspired Cape
Verde’s rich musical heritage.
Sao Vicente is generally accepted as the
cultural heart of the Cape Verde islands
and Mindelo, its capital city, vibrates with
life. Weathered Portuguese colonial-eraOF
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