Mindelo, Cape Verde

The last seven days have been spent at sea but at least it has been mostly hot and sunny (sometimes too hot!). We've had mainly calm seas but haven't seen much sea life other than one pod of dolphins.

There is always a variety of entertainment on board so you can generally find something to keep you occupied. We've also had a crew sports day, another Crossing the Line ceremony and the crew talent show. Not all of the insight talks are worth seeing but those by Malcolm Nelson on customs and drug smuggling were both interesting and amusing so the theatre was pretty packed each time.

We've met up with a number of fellow guests on different occasions for drinks including a lovely couple, Mandy & Guil who embarked at Cape Town. Mandy is the cousin of Julie who with husband Tony were our dining companions on a previous sector and we had arranged to get together. Really good company.

Whilst we were in Japan there was a variety of Japanese food on the menu and since leaving Cape Town we have tried local food from there including King Clip, Springbok and Warthog!

On a much sadder note we received news of the death of a good friend. RIP Roland.

Mindelo, St Vincent, Cape Verde

Mindelo is a port city on the island of St Vincent in Cape Verde. The city is home to 93% of the entire island's population. A settlement in Mindelo was founded in 1795 by the Portuguese which is evident in the architecture and colour of their buildings.

There isn't a lot to see here but we really needed to reach terra firma somewhere after seven days at sea. Not all countries on the west coast of Africa would be very appealing and the ship's review of Mindelo was hardly inspiring so a lot of guests just stayed onboard. It is quite picturesque though with one white sand beach and clear blue sea but sadly no facilities.

We took the shuttle bus into the town but arriving on a Sunday meant the majority of shops were closed. We had a walk around and found a bar/restaurant, the Nautilus, that became quite popular with the ship's passengers and crew. Probably because it had free wifi and cheap drinks! It was quite warm in the sun but became breezy and cooler in the afternoon.

We now have two days at sea before our arrival in Tenerife.