At 2460 feet, Monte Verde is the highest mountain on the island of São Vicente, just a few kilometers east of Mindelo. It has the sharp western face you see here and a much more gradual sloping eastern side.
Of course, being the tallest mountain, it was imperative that we climb it!! A year ago we took a taxi to the top, and this is what it looked like: very cloudy and we didn’t get much of a view. We waited for the perfect day to walk and enjoy the views and ambience of the mountain.
Saturday, October 20, dawned and we decided it was THE DAY! We didn’t have any commitments. It had cooled down. It was cloudy, but the mountain was mostly clear, and the visibility was as good as it gets.
We were able to catch a bus going to Salamansa just around the corner from our house. (The road to Monte Verde takes off from the road to Salamansa.)
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| Here is the bus, letting off students from Salamansa to attend the secondary school close to us. It actually was the same bus and driver that took us from Salamansa to Baia das Gatas and back to Mindelo in July. He brings students every day, Monday through Saturday, and drops them off around 7:15 to 7:25 a.m. |
And by 7:40 a.m. we were dropped off at the Monte Verde road and started walking. The one and only way to the top is the cobblestone road so it wasn’t a difficult hike. So, come! And enjoy with us a wonderful caminhada!
Here we are at the beginning of the hike. I haven’t changed my hair style. It is a windy day. And we like wind. It is cool!
We have climbed up a bit. Mindelo is just below us. You can see the São Vicente/Santo Antão ferry just beginning its hour long trip to Porto Novo. Because of the clarity, Santo Antão almost seemed like an extension of São Vicente.
The other side of the island. The road is just about to wind around to the west side of the mountain and we won’t see this side for awhile.
Getting higher.
Looking to the south. The break in the mountains leads to the airport, about a 15 minute drive from Mindelo. Mt. Cara (Face Mountain) is that saw tooth ridge line above the bay.
With the rainy season concluding, this is the time of “Spring” flowers. Monte Verde is living up to the verde (green) part!
It is steep and high! The road below is going on to Salamansa.
Our first view of Baia das Gatas. We have nearly finished crossing the front of the mountain as we have been climbing.
Another view of Santo Antão! That little white spot on the water is the ferry approaching Porto Novo and the end of its journey.
A look back down the road to Mindelo.
Surprisingly, Monte Verde is an important agricultural area! Here is a corn field! And the farmer is the tiny spec way DOWN at the end! Being Saturday, nearly every field was being tended by someone. Some alone, some pairs, and some in groups. But all working.
I would not do well working this farm. Somehow it looks just a bit too steep for my liking.
Many of the corn plants were interplanted with squash and bean plants. The squash plants were just beginning to bloom.
Heavenly Father’s garden!
As we came around the mountain to the other side, the most glorious and amazing sight greeted us. The sun was reflecting off the ocean, silhouetting the 3 uninhabited islands on the east of the island. It was awesome. We could hardly stop looking!
Zooming in on the islands, you can see 5 islands here. Of course, we are standing on São Vicente, which makes up the foreground. The next island, the largest of the uninhabited ones, is Santa Luzia. There is the rock islet of Branco and there is a flat islet, Razo, that stretches out horizontally . Then, if you look VERY closely, you can see the Island of São Nicolau rising up from the ocean behind Santa Luzia. I didn’t realize how close São Nicolau was to São Vicente!
To help see the relationships of the islands, here is the snapshot of the Google Map view.
The eastern slope and top of Monte Verde is open and expansive, just right for farming!!
There were several abandoned and decaying houses all over the mountain. The farmers now live in the communities below and travel to their farms, at least on Saturday! They walk, ride hiaces or in the back of pick-up trucks, drive their own car or ride a motorcycle according to what we observed.
Every ‘highest’ mountain has it satellite garden.
Mindelo, from the top!
We were a little disappointed to find the clouds had beat us to the top!! So, we didn’t get our 360º view of the island. What we did get, being in a cloud, was rain!! It was enough to dampen our clothes, but not our spirits! And it made it cool as we descended the mountain.
An important part of climbing a mountain is to get to the top!! And Dennis made it!!
Walking along the top edge, we could just barely see Mindelo under the clouds.
The same view, but you can see the lush green of Spring – and not the distant view.
A Self Portrait!
We explored an abandoned building that looked like it was a former restaurant. it had an incredible view of the islands. We found a ledge to set up the camera!
Past some more vegetable rock gardens.
A closer up view of Baia das Gatas. We can see the large ‘swimming pool’ that we enjoyed with Elizabeth in July. You can see in the larger bay 2 sail boats coming back to harbor. They are the last of 5 that we saw return. The fishermen have come home.
The road in the open through the lush greenery.
The road cut through the mountain. It was quite the wind tunnel!
Past a ‘sand’ hill. It was fascinating to look at the swirls of different sands, all smoothed by the wind. It was very soft rock. You could rub the sand off with your fingers.
And we are back where we started!! And as blessings would have it, a hiace was just coming down the road. He stopped to pick us up and we rode back to town.
