Boa Vista Experience

[jak]

Day one:

Well the plane was very full, only a handful of empty seats, Boa Vista is definitely booming! The approach to the airport revealed the still unusual sight of green everywhere. The recent rain has had a dramitic effect on the landscape.



Driving up to Sal Rei revealed another amazing sight, large pools of water among the sand dunes in fact water everywhere!! Sal Rei town still seems to be the same but there are other things that are different. I ask my aluguer driver why there are no workmen at Creola Sands, he replies that there is no money. I venture off to Boas Compras to buy some essentials and there are no other European faces to be seen.

What has not changed is the beauty of this place. I spend some time sitting on Praia Cabral watching many of the local youths surfing the large atlantic rollers against the back drop of the setting sun, it is a magical sight.



Anyway I am posting this from the ICBV on the way into Sal Rei to catch up with Dada and to try out a couple of the local bars and maybe even a restaurant. I have many to choose from.

Regards,

John

[andre]

The keyboards seem to have improved!
I presume Sergio is still @ Boas Compras?
They say taxi drivers all over the world are a source of great knowledge!
Are you saying that white faces have moved on due to the economic decline? I am sure they will be replaced by others in time! The bakery, still up and running?

Send my regards to Dada!

Andre

[PAUL]

Hi John,
Glad you had a good journey.Very envious of you sitting on the beach watching that sunset!
Bad news about Creola.Is there much building activity elsewhere, particularly on VC2?
Give our best regards to Dada, also.
Regards,
_________________
PAUL

[jak]

Hi Guys,

I get up at 8am and the sun is shining into the lounge of the apartment where i am staying, sadly it will not last. I have to sit in and wait for a gas bottle to be delivered so that I can cook.

I try and work out what is different and then I realise there is no sound of work from any of the developments nearby. VC2 also lies silent, I walk over to Boas Compras and I meet someone on the way who tells me they are waiting for materials.

When I return to VC1 I am met by a resident who tells me that he has just had a call from the Riu where it is now raining heavily, it will not be long before the rain arrives in Sal Rei.





Soon the skys open and there is thunder and ligthening, usually there are short sharp showers, but this time the rain is continuous. I decide after about 1 hour to venture out, what a sight. The cobbled roads and paths are now rivers. Water cascades from every roof top and balcony. Some of the local girls dressed in their bikinis take the opportunity to take an impromptu shower. Everywhere there are people brushing water out of door ways. The town square in Sal Rei is desserted with people hiding in doorways. The town and its buildings were never built to take such an onslaught from mother nature. After about 2 hours the rain stops.


I dread to think what the guests at the Riu will be writing on trip advisor!!

John

[andre]

John,
Had the TV channels not told you of the impending bad weather?

Gutters/downpipes/drains with good runoff ie good gradient are an idea. Large stormwater drains properly sited are a godsend in cases like this. Cape Verde is in the tropics, sadly it has had a lengthy period of drought. The gradients/runoff are just not there!

How is Dada?

Andre

[jak]

Andre,

Dada is well, I took him and his young lady to dinner at Naida last night.

I have just managed to upload some of the pictures I have taken. I will add these to the postings I have made.

John

[andre]

It is strange. I have been to Boa Vista 7 times, never seen rain, I have said I would like to see it rain on Boa Vista. I love African thunderstorms, a good solid storm and it is all over, everything then smells clean and fresh. Thunder and lightning being a standard feature.

However I think you have been in one big storm John. I hate seeing destruction caused by the elements. It angers me to see destruction amplified by ineffective planning. Any idea on how many millimetres fell in 2 hours John? I recall in Africa having a rain-guage, you would collect water in this callibrated conical vessel, each day after rainfall recording the amount of rain, recording monthly and yearly stats for your garden. In the UK there is just so much, it never stops raining, you would never know to which day to record the rainfall! Saying that though, Johannesburg has a higher annual rainfall than London. It probably only rains 80 days a year, and only about 30 minutes each time. I once experienced 120 mm odd in a little over 1 hour, rivers were flooded, trees came down.

Thanks for the good photos.

Andre

[Bert]

Extraordinary pictures John. Firstly, an amazing sight to see the island tinged with green. Each time I've been ito Boa Vista t's been baking hot, arid, dry as a bone. Having gone 7 years before 2008 without a drop of rain, the sheer volume of water in your photos is something I never thought I'd see on the desert island of Boa Vista.

If there's any good to come out of the destruction and chaos the recent floods have caused, it's that when the big developers and hotel chains eventually arrive on the island, they will realise they can't take the island's arid climate for granted and will have to install proper drainage systems. And at a time when the government are addressing the future development of Sal Rei, new housing, the port, roads etc, they too will have to use proper gutters, run-off areas and stormwater drains.

The other question is; are we witnessing a subtle change in Cape Verde's fickle climate and a return to slightly wetter (or rather less arid) conditions? For the last two years, all the islands seem to have had a much more intense rainy season than previous years. Cape Verde's first visitors didn't call the place "The Green Cape" for nothing!

[peterhr]

Would storm drains just become blocked with wind delivered sand? (I don't know) - perhaps gullies are the answer.

[jak]

Hello from Boa Vista: Day 2/3

After the rain I return to my apartment, I am soaked to the skin and my mobile phone is knackered. After a change of clothes and when the rain has stopped I venture out along Praia Cabral and take some pictures of Creola Sands (I have posted these on the relevant thread).

In the evening I stroll down through Sal Rei to Temanche to meet Dada and Pedro. We head off to the Sabura d´Bubista cafe and have a beer and some local cooking. A large group of men arrive at the bar, they are policemen who have recently arrived from Santiago. Dada tells me that the local people are very pleased to see the policemen.

Pedro needs to run an errand in the car, Dada and I head off to a bar run by a friend of his, Ka Djihna. The Friday night mood is very merry! see if you can spot me in the photo, and yes I have told Dada he needs to shave his armpits.





Saturday morning I wake and shower then go for a walk along Praia Cabral taking pictures of thr developments (I have put these on the relevant sections). Some one has decorated the graves in the Jewish Cemetery with stones.





The stage where the recent Praia da Cruz festival (follow link below) has taken place lies silent.
http://boavistaexperience.phpbbweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=587



Dada calls around about 09:30, I have given him a tuner for his guitar and I need to show him how it works. Dada takes me to his cousins house where he keeps his pride and joy (see below), He tells me that his mother is not happy about him riding the bike, it is dangerous. Mothers are the same the world over.



We head off into town and meet Pedro at the Enacol garage. I tell Dada that I must go to see the Boa Vista Social Club now that it is open.





When we arrive Jose is very busy as usual, I tell him that I have been waiting 2years to have a beer at BVSC, he apologies. He says that trade is very quiet. he explains that he has had a meeting with one of the general managers at the Riu and he has been told that it is policy at the Riu to try and stop people leaving the resort. We agree that this is a very sad state of affairs. At least the sun is now shining, this is more like the real Boa Vista.



We leave BVSC and head back to Sal Rei. Estoril beach is also flooded with water.



I get dropped off back at my apartment and take a siesta

[andre]

Is Jose serving cervejas now?

Forget Dada's underarm growth, give him some professional advice, the piercing under his lower lip, the backing internally in his mouth is doing him no favours, the constant friction traumatizes the gum around the lower incisors causing gum recession, with further progression major gum problems are caused, which in worst case scenario in later years could progress to tooth loss. Many a young 19 year old warned and not taking up the advise, 4-5 years later when they come to their senses and remove the damn thing, either because they are growing up, or want to improve employment prospects, or because of the sensitivity caused by the gum recession, end up with the consequences: receded gums, sensitivity, compromised gum + bone health, an ugly situation, not even considering the scar left on the face from the piercing! Dada has been warned!

John, as regards the rains, Boa Vista seems to have come off lightly. Look at this:

http://boavistaexperience.phpbbweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=221

[jak]

Day 3/4

Saturday evening I head down to Temanche, the town square is busy with everyone getting ready for Saturday night. It is dark but the children are still jumping off the pier.

I meet Dada and we head off to Grill Luar which has just reopened. I am hoping to hear some local Morna music but when we arrive we are told that the band will not be playing for another hour. We walk back to Maresais but it is fully booked for the night. So next we go to Tambrera this is a bright colourful restaurant with good food.



Dada says that there is a band at Casa Velha, but as we leave Tambrera we hear music from the main square. We walk back to Esplanada Municipal da Silva where there is a band playing traditional Morna music.



Dada disappears off to speak to friends, I stand to listen to the music. A local man is sitting with his family he beckons me over and points to an empty chair at his table, I have a front row seat! The band play until midnight, I find Dada and tell him I am walking back to the apartment, Dada tells me that there are many faces he does not recognise in town and he shouts to a friend drivng an aluguer, I get a free ride back.

I wake early on Sunday morning and decide to walk up to the top of Rochinha. It is not yet 7am and already there are people on the beach at Praia Cabral, they have a tent and are camping on the beach. As I walk along Praia Cabral I can see a strange mist covering the island. I guess it is caused by all the water evaporating in the heat.



I walk past Sabi Sands, the only resident is the security guard sheltering in the empty shell of an apartment. It is very humid as I walk up the hill and I am sweating with the effort, but the views from the top are breath taking. It appears that the whole island is flooded, it is difficult in places to make out the boundary between sea and land. The Barracas is an island in this lake of rain water, god knows what the conditions are like for those people living there.



I walk around the top of the hill and look down on Praia David. It is rumoured that this will be the site of the new harbour.



I take a picture of Praia Cabral, it will be interesting to compare this with the picture I took almost 2 years ago that is on the website.



Suddenly I realise that I am not alone, I have been joined by a goat which is also enjoying the view.



As I walk down the hill I am passed by a local man and his dog, we greet each other. I guess he is looking for his goat? I look over at the cemetery and the path that lies beyond which leads to the ship wreck on Boa Esperanca. I am tempted to walk there but I have no water with me and it would be foolish to attempt it.



As I walk back to Praia Cabral I take one final picture of the Buidings of Sal Rei reflected in the new lake.




Regards,

John

[MaioCV]

Some brilliant photo's...



Is the cafe still in the orange building, ground floor door right? Used to be run by Italian identical twins.
_________________
Mark.

Online Magazine Maio, Cape Verde

[jak]

Mark,

the place you are refering to is now Il Capriccio restaurant. It is next door to the Internet Cafe Boa Vista where I have been making all my postings from.

Il Capriccio specialises in pasta dishes and it is very popular with the local Italian community.

Regards,

John

[jak]

Day 4/5

I have been to Sunday Mass, Boa Vista now has its own priest, previously it is the nuns who have been conducting the services. The Church is full and the priest asks where all the visitors are from. There are 4 Italians, 2 French, 2 Scottish and one Englishman (me). The priest gives his sermon in Portuguese and Italian but he apologies that he cannot speak English.



I leave the church and I hear someone whistling to attract my attention, it is Dada. I ask him if he enjoyed last night, he tells me that after I went he stayed in town talking to friends and drinking grogue until 5:30am.

I am wearing my Sunday best clothes for church so we walk back to the apartment so that I can get changed. We arrive and Temanche and are joined by Dada`s girlfriend, she does not look too pleased with Dada. I try to tell her that it was not me that made Dada stay out all last night. After a quick snack I tell Dada that I am heading back to Praia Cabral.

As we walk by Avienda das Pescadores some one calls to Dada. It is one of his friends who has just opened a bar in the old kiosk in the main street.



We stop and have a beer whilst the local lads are playing football on Praia Diante and the local women are selling fish by the fishing boats.





I get to Praia Cabral and decide to do what I have never done before on Boa Vista. I get changed again, take a towel and go for a swim in the Atlantic. The water is beautiful, it is warm and refreshing. The beach has many people mainly locals enjoying Sunday afternoon. Whole families have come here, the boys staying in the tent have lit a barbeque, it smells good. I stay on the beach enjoying the Morbeza until the sun goes down, then I go home for an early night.

Monday morning I wake and decide to listen to some music, I play Pink Floyd "Dark side of the moon". The words of the opening track seem strangely relevant "all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be". I wonder what the people staying in the all inclusive resorts on Chaves Beach have touched and seen of Boa Vista? sadly from what I have seen the answer is nothing. The sun has not even shone for them, why do they bother to come here, what is the purpose of travelling to a foreign land when you have no intention of experiencing it?

Anyway I have lots to do in Sal Rei today so I must be off.

Regards,

John