We arrived at Praia on Santiago Island, Cape Verde, at 07:20 and with the help of a tug we squeezed into our berth on Dock 1. We have a good view of the bay and blue buildings which may be clues of a colonial past.
The town is Cape Verde’s capital and largest city with sprawling suburbs and favellas on the hillsides. The centre stands on one of a group of plateaux and has an attractive old quarter surrounding the Praça Alexandre Albuquérque and the Citadel overlooking the harbour.
What one of our team thought were colonial buildings turned out to be a power station!!
Upon our return to the cabin we were greeted with an interesting letter. “We will be entering an area known as High Risk Area (HRA) for Piracy” and that we would be in permanent contact with an International Task Force designed to protect merchant vessels from pirate attacks. The Captain asked for our cooperation – “during hours of darkness only essential deck lights will be on” (and that we should) turn off cabin lights when not required and keep curtains of cabin windows and balconies closed.
