Hi guys! Just a small update. Today we took a group field trip to a place called Cidade Velha. The first outpost established on any of the Cape Verde Islands, it served as a fort and slave trading post for the Portuguese. Themost striking thing about the place (besides the view of the ocean) is the Pillory, which is a huge white marble column (topped by a cross of course) to which were tied tens of thousands of African slaves. After disembarking from the slave ships from Sengal, they were paraded and tied to the pillory, where they were inspected by potential buyers. It also served as the public whipping post for slaves who escaped and were recaptured or were otherwise resistant. It’s a powerful place, and at first I was surprised that it wasn’t the first thing tore down when they finally ousted the Portuguese in the 1970’s. (That’s not a mistake, it really was only in the 70’s that Cape Verde gained it’s independence from Portugal). In addition, there are still the remains of a convent and church, the slave quarters and the fort itself, as well as the town which group up around the fort. Really interesting history here, and one that actually parallels that of the United States. Eventually the slaves revolted and ran up the ribiera (valley) in the picture to the Forna (hinterland) where they hid and finally settled in the surrounding mountains here on Santiago, or fled to the other islands and put up a pretty much constant rebellion against the Portuguese.

We also got to visit a farm there where they harvest sugarcane and distill it into the famous Grogu of Cape Verde. They gave us all a sample at the end, and all I can say is that its lightning in a bottle…or coconut shell as it happened. Its like drinking fire, and goes straight to your head and gut. I can’t imagine how anyone drinks more than a thimbleful. It was no-shit Africa hot today, and a ton of people are burned, but I was smart and brought a huge hat.

Followed that up with a little Tabanka lesson. It’s one of several Cape Verdian traditional dances, but it the most fun you can have on two legs. The kids here learn it before they can walk and mostly it involves shaking your ass, but in a way that no white person can even begin to imagine. The locals, or Host County Nationals (HCNs we call them) tie this traditional piece of cloth (panditerra) right around the meat of their butts, and proceed to bootyquake in ways that would make porn star blush, all without moving any other part of their body….they even balance things on their head while they’re doing it. It’s amazing and TOTALLY HOT (although they explained the dance’s origins to us and it’s really nothing to do with erotica). We all had to try it at some point and I can tell you right now that I am going to be one booty-shaking bastard by the time I come home. In Cape Verde, if you don’t dance, you don’t exist. EVERYTHING here revolves around music, singing and dancing. As you might imagine, I’m feeling right at home already. Anyway, there’s your little Cape Verdian culture lesson for the day.

I’ve been doing a great job making friends and getting to know my village here already. I’m about a 10 minute walk from the closest volunteer (a nice gal from South Jersey) and I walk to her house each morning to pick her up, then we walk another 10 minutes to the school where we go to learn Creolu. Along the way we pass, among other things, goats, pigs, chickens, cows and ladies (NEVER men) balancing enormous objects on their heads, on their way to the market or the water well. It’s very surreal. The man in charge of my sector of Peace Corps (Youth and Community Development Mobilization) has inferred that if I keep it up, I’ll get my choice of islands to serve on. Right now I’m leaning towards the lush mountains, streams and fruit trees of Santo Antao, or the volcano island of Fogo where they grow coffee and make wine. I know I’ve said it before already, but the people here are ridiculously friendly. You actually have to pay a compliment to ANYONE you see passing by. It takes FOREVER to get anywhere.

I hope everyone is doing great and haven’t forgotten about me already...I miss you!

All My Love