Africa Starters' Kit, Cabo Verde - Postcards from the Transition

In a strange way Cabo Verde reminds me of Singapore. Singapore is a good place for Americans who think Southeast Asia is outside their comfort zone to begin their exploration. It eases you in. It’s clean, orderly and feels safe. Beginners’ Southeast Asia.

Cabo Verde is kind of the same for Africa. An “Africa Starters’ Kit.” It has enough Europe mixed into the African swirl and color make you feel a little more comfortable than if you started in, say Banjul or even Nairobi. OK, there is no womb of the Marriott or Sheraton, but it is clean, friendly and fun.

Suzi and I decided to have a drink in a sidewalk restaurant in Mindelo on Sao Vincente Island. We watched as a guy with a big smile, a big hat with the pan African colors (red, green and yellow) and graying beard set up his street side shop. He has done this before.

He demarcated his space in the square with palm fronds. Then he reached into a palm tree and pulled out some twine that he had tucked away there. At first Suzi thought it was one of those strings of Christmas tree lights that have a little circle on top and send streams of lights down the tree, surrounding the tree. But it was a home-made version with twine and string, a bit like a spider’s web. He pulled the cords down, straightened them, and stuck the ends into a rock wall to hold them taught.

Then he took sticks with his jewelry, mostly made of seashells and sharks’ teeth and hung them between the strings. Every few minutes he stepped back to look at the balance. This process took him about half an hour. Suzi and wondered why he was starting so late. It was after 1:30 PM, the ship arrived at 8 in the morning and the last shuttle bus from the town center is 4:15. By the time he was set up he would have only about 2 hours selling time to the tourists.

We watched and I took pictures. Sometimes he posed for us. I realized that afterward we would be obligated to go and buy something just to pay for the show. After he had his web constructed, he walked away to came back with a colorful “Vota” sign to attract attention and a tire to sit on.

We paid the bill. When I brought out my wallet a young man in an olive drab Che Guevera t shirt came over and, quite aggressively tried to sell Suzi some jewelry. I am not buying anything from a guy in a Che t shirt, especially one in olive drab. The policeman who was watching over us. (There were a lot of policemen in the area watching over us, but somehow since they were not wearing hats they seemed less obtrusive than a normal police presence) started a conversation with a smile “You should never show a wallet on the street here.” We talked a little, he gave us some tips on where to visit and I asked him if there was much crime. There were a lot of cops. He said no, we should feel safe.

After we paid, we crossed the street to talk to the guy about his wares. He told us he is a fisherman, and he came to the square after he brought in his catch. That’s why he was setting up so late. Suzi bargained, not very hard. We had decided to pay a little for shell necklaces as kind of a cover charge for the show. Suzi got what she wanted. The Che t shirt kid came over and started berating us. “My stuff is better than his.” Could be, but he didn’t put on the show, and there was that shirt.

There are a lot of street vendors out selling everything, fruit, veg, crafts and tourist stuff.

There were also a lot of fishermen, like our craftsman, bringing in their catch in small boats, pulling up on the beach, right to market. Some sources days fishing accounts for about 10% of the of the Cabo Verde GDP, but they also say record keeping is poor. Most of the fishing is small scale in small boats for local consumption. Large scale industrial fishing is mostly in the hands of foreigners and “fish pirates.” There is a growing charter and sport fishing industry. Local catch by the small fishermen is getting smaller, according to the American Mongabay Conservation News Portal that consolidates environmental news.