Week 49 - Boa Vista, Cape Verde
We just got back from 2 weeks of glorious tropical sunshine in Boa Vista, Cape Verde. Travelling is more difficult than it used to be and a little more stress-inducing, but in this case, utterly worth it!
The beaches, the weather, the hotel, the food, the people, the hospitality – all perfect.
Boa Vista is one of 10 volcanic islands which make up Cape Verde. Situated in the Central Atlantic, Cape Verde lies around 600-800km off the west coast of Senegal, Africa.
The islands were uninhabited until the 15th century when Cape Verde became a Portuguese colony, achieving their independence in 1975.
Boa Vista is one of the smaller, flatter and drier islands with only a small and somewhat impoverished population.
At present it is very quiet and relatively unspoilt, but change is due. There are plans to expand tourism in a big way, capitalising on the endless golden beaches.
Much needed change for the Cape Verdeans, but if you are planning to go, my advice would be to go soon, before change happens.
Week 50 - More Boa Vista, Cape Verde
I have so many images from our recent holiday that I just had to make another Cape Verde panel this week.
The Catholic chapel of Our Lady of Fatima was built in 1923 by a Jewish man for his Catholic wife. The chapel fell into disrepair and was eventually abandoned until in 2015 it was renovated and given to the Catholic church.
The MS Cabo Santa Maria was a Spanish cargo ship carrying luxury goods for Franco. It ran aground off the coast of Boa Vista in 1968. No crew were harmed but the cargo took more than a year to be unloaded by the people of Cape Verde. Now there is very little of the ship left to see and eventually the sea will swallow up the rest of the rusty carcass.
Curral Velho was an old fishing village, now deserted and in ruins. It’s remoteness along the southern coast of Boa Vista, the lack of fresh drinking water especially in the dry season and the regular pirate attacks encouraged the inhabitants to move north to the larger towns.
Cape Verde has the 3rd largest population of nesting loggerhead turtles in the world, mostly nesting on Boa Vista. From July to October they come ashore at night to lay their eggs. A guard lives in this little hut for these months and keeps watch over the beach and the turtles.
Week 51 - Brookwood Cemetery
Our grandchildren are visiting for Christmas and with the current situation it is difficult to find things, other than TV’s and screens, to keep them entertained and to get them outdoors. There are only so many country walks you can take.
They went with my husband to the grave of my in-laws this week where they laid a Christmas wreath and got to talking about the military cemetery at Brookwood and decided they would like to see it.
So we spent a couple of hours walking around the cemetery and I was surprised how engaged they were. What struck them most was how young these men and women had been when they were killed and that so many of them were remembered by name only as they had been lost at sea.
Fortunately the impact won’t be lasting but it might give Christmas a bit of perspective.
Week 52 - A Family Christmas
After the disappointments of Christmas 2020 we were all holding our breath hoping that our plans for a family Christmas would not have to be cancelled again.
So Christmas 2021 really delivered. All four grandchildren, our son, his partner, their two dogs and our daughter all came to stay.
There was a big tree in the hall loaded with decorations collected over 40 years.
There were Christmas jumpers and shirts, favourite presents that just couldn’t be put down, bucks fizz whilst cooking, the best cutlery on the table with crackers delivering paper hats and terrible jokes.
And games, lots and lots of games, some of them very silly!! And a very noisy Jenga contest.
The Queen’s Speech.
Too much to eat and a lot to drink. A walk in the park, and a nap on the settee.
PERFECT!!
