Not every port of call knocks your socks off, but without exception there is always a take-away worth remembering. Here’s what I’ll remember from our visit to Cape Verde.
This is Cape Verde’s flag, and it is rich with symbolism. The blue represents the sky above and the Atlantic Ocean that surrounds the island. The red and white stripes symbolize the road toward building the nation, white stands for peace while red represents the effort and determination of the people. The ten yellow stars, arranged in a circle, are symbolic of the unity among the ten islands that make up the archipelago. (Our guide, however, said that since one of the islands is uninhabited, the tenth star represents the Verdeans who live abroad. There is a large population of Cape Verdeans, estimates as high as 265,000, who live in the US, mostly in the New England states. Owing to hardships at home and seeking greater opportunities, Verdeans initially found work on whaling ships and were prized for their hard work and reliability. Our guide told us that the “Verdean Dream” is to emigrate to America, make lots of money, and return and build a house in the islands.)
The “Verde” part was a surprise, as I was expecting to see some green. Truth is, we are still in Africa with its desert climate and very low rainfall. Our excursion took us to the summit of Pico de Antonia where, at an elevation of over 4000-feet, clouds provide some shade and rainfall. I will remember the terracing that has been established to hold soil and moisture. Every stone placed by hand, the terraces give evidence to the ingenuity and persistence of generations of local farmers.
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