Cabo Verde    DIARY  4

         From Diary 3, I now explore the most eastern part of Sao Nicolau.
Day 7. The plan is to get to Mount Bissau, although the top is probably out of reach. The usual tour all around the island in a giant Z, and then further east, than I have been before. The mist, named "dry haze" still covers the island, and prevent any flights in-between them.

Right after the airport, the road turns into copplestone, and they do them real good here. Then I find the road I thought I could follow for some time towards Mount Bissau. But it have not been used for years. At one place, it is washed away, another place, an acacia cowers it from stone-wall to stone-wall.

I start walking, but the road vanish completely, when it reach a canyon. It is just a five meter vertical drop, into the riverbed. I try to follow the dry river, but it turns into a ravine with huge boulders and acacias. I try the sides, but here are not even a donkeys trail to be found.

The higher I get, the closer the acacias stand, and their thorny branches have to be respected. I can glimpse the peak, way up in the dry haze, and figure I can spend the day on something else.
On the way back, I do spot more human activity, although it dates many years back. Terraces on the mountains slopes, ruins and a cow cemetery.

I head further out east on this giant peninsular. It is at the northern coast at first, although up on the mountain side. I stop a few times, when a beach can be reach, but here are not much to be found. And the plants in the area are real scares and familiar. But the endemic Cynanchum daltonii covers entire hill sides here, and the few other species in the area also grow huge.

I think this would be a great tour, on a clear day. Deep and huge gorges meets the sea - I think. The dry haze kind of covers it, along with most of the coastline on the other side of the road. It feels so remote, as I see no cars, nor pedestrians, but the road is a real smooth copplestone road, well maintained too.

Then I reach the little village of Juncalinho. It is fare from the most poor village I have seen, although rich, it isn't. I park at the central square as the only one, and do some loops. It is hard to tell how people are making a living, and here are no fishing gear - nor a harbour.

I find the rather good road, leading the 500 meters out to the "famous" Juncalinho blue salt ponds, which are rock-pools. I walk, but don't see anything interesting on the way. A guy sits at a new concrete building, and seems like he is not bored somehow. He points to a concrete viewing platform, and I head another way.

Here are several natural ponds, formed when the lava med the sea. The strange is that they are filled with crystal clear, but bluish water. It will be exchanged on windy days for sure, but it does look odd by now.

I follow the coastline in-between the ponds, on the black lava and on the lava wall. I guess the viewing platform is made to avoid this, but as I'm here alone, and nimble as a mountain goad, I don't care. I get some descent photos, and head up through a ravine, on the other side of the area. I wave goodbye to the caretaker, so he can go back to relaxing.

Back to have another loop around Juncalinho, then I head further east on what is now a gravel road, most of the time. It cross over the peninsular, and in a huge bend around a six hut settlement, which might be named Djalunga?

Again, I am amassed over the work that have gone into making terraces on so huge areas, in the barren mountain slopes. At present, here are only a few plant species, one is new: An Asteraceae, which might be invasive after all. Never the less, it is dominating this valley.

The road turns into a nice looking copplestone road again, and then I meet the fishing village of Carriçal and their beach: Praia de Baia Gombeza. Here are a few rather big houses and a lot of shaggy looking shags.

As everywhere else I have been in the country, every one is dressed so nice. Plenty of colours and new cloth. I am without any doubt the worse dressed around. Even those cleaning fish on the pier are nicely clean. I meet some with the large fish, while the smaller are cleaned on the pier.

The deep bay forms Praia de Baia Gombeza, where a few colourful dinghies are found on the beach. Behind, a nice acacia forest provides shadow for the fishermen, sorting out their fishing gear.

I do some loops in the village, and once more, I fail to get a photo of the pipe-smoking elder women. Actually, the lady having a manual laundry next to my apartment building smoke a pipe. The young men are playing table football, the rest are just hanging out, it seems.

I head back to the northern coast, and turn further east. It is just a pair of wheel-tracks, and they have not been maintained for years. I doubt anyone is living out here anymore, but I have to see it.
Some hills, made of harder lava rocks in the gravel landscape are covered in lichen.

Then I reach some small boulder hills, covered in Euphorbia tuckeyana, which I haven't seen for some days. Here, they are real open bushes, and pretty much the only plants, along with the yellow flowering Asteraceae. It seem like the area can get green with annuals, given it receive rain.

I see no trails of domesticated animals at all, but a single huge lava boulder is the meeting place for all the guinea fouls in the area, it seems. The landscape turns quite dull, as the mist prevents me from haven a look into the deep gorge I roughly follows. The road vanishes, and I turn around, about a kilometre from the eastern point.

On the way back, the car turns into Ribeira Brava, and I figure, I might as well get a cup of coffee, while I'm here. I have only seen one inflorescent on the dragontrees, and it was in an early stage. I swing by the place where I thought I saw it, but fail to re-find it. At home, I figure I might have found it a bit into Mt Gordo National Park.

Then I'm back home, and just misses the ferry office by minutes, as they closes an hour earlier than anticipated. I would like to hear,if they got the ferry going, and even buy a €50 ticket for Santiago, just as insurance, should the flight remain grounded in the country. I might be able to cancel apartment and car by now, but what if the flight fly? Well, it is only €500 and changes... By the way; the 13 hours ferry is €50 while the one hour flight is €70.

I walk a tour down the harbour and along the beach on the other side of the point. Here are several sea slugs or nudibranches in the tidal pools. Home to cook and work, figuring what to see tomorrow, which was set off as a spare day. Then I watch Friday's WRC from Monaco. Day 7 HIGHLIGHTS.

Day 8. During my sleepless night, I finally figure the "mist", called "dry haze" are the remains of an African sandstorm. And it will accumulate in the aircraft's engines. However, that still don't help me, getting away from this island. I check online, if I can count on getting room and car back on Santiago, if I cancel them now. I can't. Best Fly's homepage only reveals which flights were cancelled yesterday: Not really helpful. A tour pass the harbour at least confirm: The ferry is alive again. I actually see it, on my way up north. Surely Plan B, but a alternative to be stocked here.

Well, last day with a car, and I head back to the village track, I didn't make; Fragata, located in the most beautiful part of the island: The north. I head straight to Praia Branca, and park the car, as far as It can go up the mounain.

The dry haze is not present today, just as predicted by yr.no, who also expect it to be back tomorrow. I head up the western side of the mountain, and the first hour, is in the shadows. Newer the less, it is a fantastic view that meets me. Here start to be quite fertile, although with familiar plants along with crops and invasive plants.

The road soon turns into a copplestone path: The Fragata Trail, and it have its real steep parts. In some parts of the trail, the weed meets in the middle. I pass a single older woman, working one of the tiny fields, along with her dog and donkey. It is mainly tiny beans from bushes (called linser in Danish), corn and beans that are grown here. I see two stray cotton plants, and it might be a crop from the past.

Wherever  I look on the mountainsides, ancient terraces can be seen, but apparently, only the better ones are grown these days. Here are many birds and skinks along with some locus. I try to capture it all, but the motives are just too large around here.

I reach the pass, and the views turns even more impressive. I try to make a video, and the best way to describe the scenery in a few words will be: "An awesome Inca trail". I did consider turning around here, but what I can see in front - and below - me, give me the energy to continue.

The decent is real steep, and some parts of the trails sealing of copplestone are gone. It is really fertile on this side of the mountain, despite it is a gorge. But the humid wind most likely come from the button, and not the side.

I start to glimpse the village of Fragata, scatted on a small mountain in the gorge. More farmers have huts here, none real fancy.  A bit odd, the most dominant plant in the entire area is two huge African Baobab trees.

Donkeys, goats and cows are keep in small enclosures, while the hens and dogs roams around by them selves. I pass the school, quiet this Sunday, and meet a few active farmers on their way to their fields or back.

Here are small humble houses spread over a huge area. I do the central part, and try to figure, if I go back the way I came, or continue by the trail to Ribeira da Prata? It is about the same length, and I figure, I can catch a minibus back to my car.

After "the Inca trail", this part is a bit more average - but only after the Inca trail. I have not thought of it before, but after passing a village and then the entire Ribeira da Prata, I figure they have a "car-free Sunday". When A car finally turns up, it is a taxi, and he get a good Sunday, driving med to my car. Well, some of the way, as I drown it into the mountains.

It is not that late, and I have another site in mind: The early inflorescent of a dragontree, the only one I have seen. It is within Mt Gordo National Park, and yesterday, I got confirmed: It is not the first trees. They actually had a big party at the centre yesterday.

There is none at the entrance centre, and I just walk up pass the small farms. I actually find the right three, but the inflorescent have not evolved. I make a bunch of photos, and head back. A short stop at a huge gorge, one  at a canyon and one at a beach.

I gas the car, and empty it for my things. That way, the nice man can clean it and rent it out in the morning, should someone be lucky to get here by flight. I was not going to use it for anything else, than the drive to the airport, and he promised to give a ride - should there be a flight, that is.

The evening spend working, packing and a bit of laundry, just because I have the time. Day 8 HIGHLIGHTS.
                      It is time for Diary 5 and Santiago.