Cape Verde

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to spend a day in Mendalo on San Vincente ?

Mindelo : we were there last month during the WC 2014. The town itself has a fish market, a torre de Belem, some interesting and colourful buildings. However, the thing to do is to negotiate a taxi to go to the countryside, the taxi drivers tend to conglomerate near the stop of the shuttle from the ship. We took an island tour to Monte Verde (highest peak), a beautiful beach and drove through lava fields and volcanic hills. If you want a referral to our driver (not a guide) guide send me an email at worldcruisehal at gmail dot com and I will give you his email address. The guy has a van for 12 persons and his price is typically $15 A PERSON for a 2.5-3 hour tour. A similar tour is offered by the cruise line at $60.

The town itself is a good walk from the pier with no shade. The market and the street vendors were very colorful, but we were somewhat wary about some of the locals. There was some type of festival in the main square with music, local dancers, and native foods. I am not sure if this festival was taking place because a cruise ship was in port. Anyway, I observed some shady characters eyeing the tourists' purses and pockets as they were watching and photographing the dancers. We felt uncomfortable, so we went back to the ship.

I regret that we did not hire a taxi to do a tour of the island, which I am sure was more interesting and scenic.

This island is very small and not well developed.

An island tour is worth doing as it is quite scenic in a hostile sort of way.

If anyone wants advice then mail me on cannockfrodo@gmail.com

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Good advice to take a tour of the island and definitely include a stop at Monte Verde. There is also a lovely beach within easy walking distance of the port (opposite direction of downtown), with a nice restaurant and inexpensive bar.