The answer is not here.
I was lucky. HS needed a new part machined for the engine and
so there were a few days in which I was free to explore the island of Sao
Vicente. I got up early. I took the local buses everywhere. (They each have a
sign on them ‘15 passengers’. In the west we would interpret this to mean 15
passengers maximum. Here it means the bus doesn't leave without at least 15
passengers, sometimes twice that, children always sit on someone’s lap and
small women frequently sit on the laps of men, and then as the bus goes along
it stops to pick up extra people, pigs, tubs of fish, etc..) The primary
language spoken here is Creole so I negotiated my way about the island using a
post card which I would show to the drivers getting them to point out where
they were going. When they dropped me off I would walk everywhere, along the
beaches, round the towns, sometimes, if I had seen everything there was to see
and there was no evidence of another bus I would start to walk along the
deserted cobblestone roads to my next destination. The island is barren.
Nothing grows here. Our guide book says 90% of food is imported. I believe
this. The sad looking bananas sold by women on every street corner are not
local. The one riverbed is as dry as the surrounding hills.
I do not know, anymore, what I am looking for. I have
forgotten the purpose of my quest. All I know is that the answer is not here in
Sao Vicente.
I have talked to various locals who speak a common language,
to a variety of very polite hawkers from mainland Africa, to other yatchies. I
have browsed the markets, eaten and enjoyed local foods. I have joined in
dances with school kids in the street and old ladies in town squares bringing
grins to their faces and joy to my heart. I have tried to keep a photographic
record of my visit (though I am not happy with the results of this).
Tomorrow we are going to put the engine back
together and assuming it works we will go grocery shopping, complete the
formalities required to check out of the country, and then leave for
the next island. We are unlikely to have internet there and then we will be at sea for several weeks on the way to Brazil.
Hugs to all my friends... I am looking forward to seeing you in the new year!
