I always love visiting the Cape Verde, the first stop outside of Europe with a distictively different culture and way of life. We arrived on the 8th of January, the evening before my father’s birthday, and we celebrated on the 9th by inviting everyone for a local dinner ashore. They sure know how to cook here! We all agreed it was delicious. The day after that a local guide showed us the whole island and taught us about their way of life. Which in so many ways is not easy at all. The teens swam in the salt mine baths, which they really enjoyed, and they also learned about buoyancy created by the salt water. Fish on this island is the only local source of food, because the land is too dry to grow anything or raise any livestock. Rain is extremely limited, and even water is very scarce. There are local desalinator plants which help facilitate clean drinking ater for the island. Fresh produce is also very limited, and even things like eggs are scarce. The economy is dependent on tourism for survival.

Laura