Mindelho, Illa de Sao, Cape Verde
We arrived and were cleared to go ashore at 7 am. Golf is out of the question and going on a tour is not really reasonable given the all aboard time of 2:30. We have been here before and decided just to walk around town. We went to the gym first and were on our way by 10 am.
We walked around and decided to stop in a grocery store to price coffee and Ponche. We made some notes and then walked to the outdoor market. We passed people selling fish on the street. Flies everywhere. Not too appetizing but they will end up on a plate for someone.
We decided on a place for lunch. We had a few drinks on each had a salad. Nice place with good food.
We finished our lunch and went back to a grocery store that we had gone to on our last trip. We picked up some coffee beans from Fogo Island and also some Ponche and Grogue. We hopped on the shuttle bus and went back to the ship. It was about 1:30 and all aboard was 2:30.
Upon boarding the ship and putting our bag through the scanner the attendant asked if we had any bottles. I said yes and he directed me toward another attendant. I told him it was after shave. He didn’t buy that but I did convince him that the one bottle was just punch. Ponche is punch in Portuguese. He let that one go by and just confiscated the one.
There was a sail away at 2:30 with complimentary wine and cheese. We went up to the Lido pool and grabbed a table. The Captain announced at 2 pm that the fuel was taking longer to load on the ship and he was extending all aboard until 6 pm. What a waste as none of the people who are still in town would learn about the change until they got back and none of the folks aboard were going back out.
Folks consumed massive amounts of wine until 5 pm. The Captain announced that he would need to go full speed across the Atlantic to get to San Juan at the correct time.
We left the port during dinner and were already going top speed while we went to group trivia.
Who was the first person to sail in to New York Harbor? (Hudson) Who lives in a pineapple in the sea? (Sponge Bob) What was originally called the Blue Ribbon Sports (Nike) Where are the Crown Jewels? (Tower of London) What is the body of water that separates New Zealand and Australia? (The Tasmanian Sea) Where was Barbara Streisand born? (Brooklyn, New York) The same team usually wins this game. It is good for some laughs.
We decided to watch movie to end the evening. We boarded the elevator and joined 3 others on our way up to deck 6. We stopped on 5 to pick up another couple. We have seen this couple before. She is almost as wide as the hallway and he would be the same if he turned sideways. Friends of ours have nicknamed this couple “A lot of real estate”. They boarded the elevator and the lights began to flash. “Car Overweight, Car Overweight, Car Overweight”. This was a first for us but the couple just got off as if it has happened before. I took a look at the maximum weight and passengers posted on the elevator. 18 passenger max. 1350kg maximum weight. That is over 2975 lbs. None of the 5 on board were over 200 lbs each in my estimation. Terri and I weigh 300 lbs combined. You do the math.
I’m guessing that everyone on this cruise is taking home a few extra lbs both in their suitcases and themselves. We have a lot of wine to figure out how to get home.…