November 12, 2024

Day 2 in the Cape Verde Islands - Sao Vicente Island - Port of Mindelo

I strolled into port with Karen and Cyndi to check out the city of Mindelo. It was an easy walk along the Marina into the market area. We first saw all the local fisherman bringing in their catches and the vendors carving up the fillets and setting out all their fruits and vegetables. Then we started looking and bargaining for a dress for me and souvenir magnets for the 3 of us. I got the dress price down from 25 Euros/piece, to 2 for 20 Euros. I kept one and another friend of the ship, took the other, 10 euro was a good deal! It was very hot and windy and we planned to go to the local beach after seeing a couple more sights. Other residents were leaving the beach already because it was so windy, and the sand blowing was brutal. So, we negotiated for a cab to take us to a few sights, then back to port.

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Unlike Santiago island, the houses and business are completely finished on all façades and they are painted beautiful colors. I borrowed these images below from fellow resident Basia's blog, as her photos captured the beauty way better than mine. Love it!!

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HIGH SPEED TRAIN TRAVEL IN CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
We did all our travel for this trip in China via high speed railway. We started in Hong Kong and traveled to Guilin in just over 3 hours. Then our longest leg, of 7 hours for Guilin to Zhangjiajie . Next was Zhangjiajie to Chongqing at 3.5 hours and finally Chongqing to Xi'An was around 5.5 hours. Some of the train stations were massive like Chongqing below and Xi'An. Signage was pretty good, with some English, so we could navigate well.

LONGJI RICE TERRACES - 65 km from GUILIN, CHINA

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
LONGJI RICE TERRACES were just a short drive from the Red Yao Village . We had originally planned to view the terraces from a cable car ride, but it was raining and too windy for that operation. The alternative was to take a shuttle bus about 1/2 way up the mountain and walk pathways along the terraces. I think we actually lucked out with this change, because the views were spectacular! The mist and rain added another element and since we were inside the terraces, we could really appreciate how they were painstakingly engineered!

New Baby Congratulations!

By Pat Patrick • September 12, 2026
The gang with our guide Jack , who we had for the 2 days of excursions from Guilin . Jack was very informative and a super nice guy. He was an expectant father while with us and told us how his family was preparing for the arrival of their new child. They have a 6 year old boy now who Jack says can destroy a room in the house in minutes. He was hoping for a daughter! His wife delivered their 2nd son, the week after we toured with Jack. Best of Luck and Congratulations!