Cabo Verde trekking y buceo, un país espectacular - Page 4 of 9 - El rincón de Galle

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Day 4: Monte Velha and its coffee plantations - Flight to illha São Vicente (14/01/2020)

Monte Velha Trek

Monte Velha is a peak in the northeastern part of the island of Fogo in Cape Verde. Its elevation is 1,482 m. It is a sub-peak of the Pico do Fogo volcano, located in the extreme northeast of the crater rim. It is located within the municipality of Mosteiros, 4 km southwest of the city center.

Due to the fact that we have been able to advance the flights, we made a change in the original planning. We got up early and put on our boots again, today we have to walk the entire esplanade of the volcano's caldera, leaving the volcano behind us and going down to sea level. Although in the previous description we speak that it is a subpeak, from our position from Chas de Caldeiras we only have to walk on flat terrain for the first kilometers and then descend continuously to the sea.

On the way down we pass through various plantations of different fruit plantations, but the coffee plantations stand out before all of them.

Below you have the track of our route through Monte Velha

Food in São Filipe and purchase of SIM card

At the end of the trek our van picks us up. We have to catch the flight from the town of São Filipe to the island of São Vicente. So they take us to the same restaurant as the first day to have a beer, eat the sandwich that Cecilio had prepared.

Due to the rush of the first day, he had not been able to buy the islands' SIM card in order to have an Internet connection. As he had already asked the guide where to buy them, he left without commenting for a moment and returned with a worker from one of the companies. The SIM card has a cost of 100 cve (a little less than one euro) and the recharge 1000 cve with free calls between local mobile numbers and a data rate of 5 gbs.

On our arrival the first day to Praia, at the same airport there are several stops offering SIMS, but due to the hours that I arrive I decided to go directly to the hotel.

With the comfort that supposes us, they have come while we have a beer and that we have to catch a new flight in just a little while I hired it without thinking. Here are the different rates that were in force on my trip:

Cuadro precios tarifas de red movil en Cabo Verde — These are the rates extracted on February 2, 2020: http://www.cvmovel.cv/pakotao-0

I just put the SIM card with my xiaomi, it works perfect! Pako, however, does seem to have more problems. The following days Pako tells me that he cannot navigate normally, but he does have Whatsapps.

We go to the airport to catch the next flight that takes us to Santo Antão

Flight to São Vicente and brief visit to Mindelo:

At around 7:00 p.m. we arrive in São Vicente landing at Cesária Évora airport, we get into the van that was already waiting for us and it takes us directly to the Basic Hotel: https://goo.gl/maps/PJfBqEhFtfLzFwbaA

We left suitcases and decided to go for a walk around Mindelo to enjoy the afternoon.

General information of Mindelo:

Information Mindelo

Mindelo is an important port city that is located in Cape Verde, specifically in the northern part of the Atlantic island of São Vicente. It is the second largest city, in terms of area, after the Cape Verdean capital, Praia. In this urban environment, the vast majority of São Vicente population, since the rest of the small towns of the island hardly stand out for their number of inhabitants, although they have some of the best natural spaces from Cape Verde. Furthermore, Mindelo is considered as the cultural capital of the country, gracias a sus celebraciones y festividades durante todo el año.

Por las calles de Mindelo podremos apreciar el gran amor y estima de sus habitante a Cesária Évora, cantante caboverdiana nacida en esta misma población conocida con el sobrenombre de «la reina de la morna». También era conocida como «la diva de los pies descalzos», debido a su costumbre de presentarse descalza sobre los escenarios, en solidaridad con los sin techo y las mujeres y niños pobres de su país.

Como curiosidad en cuanto a la composición de su terreno, Mindelo tiene crescent shape, bounded in its interior by the main hills of the city and surrounding, in turn, already on the coast, the Porto Grande Bay. The port of Mindelo, which maintains the same name as its main coastal setting, Porto Grande.

My first impression of Mindelo

Mindelo I'm lovin 'it! is the hometown of Cesária Évora and an essential place to visit on my tour of Cape Verde. Its brightly colored colonial buildings and cobbled streets make it a timeless place with a maddening charm.

We simply stroll and stroll enjoying its streets, its people and all its movement, as you can see that Mindelo it's the Cape Verde Riviera, we continue walking aimlessly and appreciating all its streets until dinner time.

The following facade catches our attention: