Amazing Spring break

Ok, so the plan at hand is to do blogs in parts, so I don't end up posting one really ridiculously long blog about my spring break. I'll list the dates and talk about what I did. Suffice to say, it was incredible. (Side note, I traveled with five friends, Jessie, Amy, Yasmeen, Laura and Gwen, a really great bunch of girls).

Friday March 2nd

>We took a car rapide to the airport and proceeded to sit in the airport for quite some time. Here in Africa things work on a different sort of time schedule, so your plane just sort of goes whenever.

>Soon enough we were on our tiny plane, flying over to Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, located on the island of Santiago. When we landed we were all very excited to breathe some very fresh air and get into a taxi that was actually a nice car, with seatbelts and fully functioning in every regard. We got to our hotel on the Plato, which is the portion of Praia that is located on the top of a hill. Not the nicest hotel ever, but very cheap, which was what we were hoping for. In no time at all we were passed out.

Saturday March 3rd

>We spent the day wandering around Praia, getting to know the wonderful place that we had come to visit. It was quite a treat to be in such a nice and relatively quiet town with so little pollution! It really reminded me of Caribbean islands, and definetly did not feel like Africa to me. In all truth it was nice to have a break of that nature, to get away from the insanity of Dakar and have a real vacation.

>Food was immediately on the agenda and we found an adorable and incredibly pastry shop where we gorged ourselves as much as possible (and visited every day we were in Praia). The wandering led us down to the water, where we sat on the pier and watched as Cape Verdians ran by and jumped into the water as we sat and chatted.

>For dinner that evening we decided to try out a local restaurant that had been recommended for live music. And indeed, it was good live music and some good food too! We knew we wouldn't be going out to eat on a regular basis, so we made sure to treat ourselves, and it was well worth it. Another nice break from the life in Dakar where meals have a tendency to get a little bit repetitive.

>The rest of the evening was spent in our hotel, having a halarious and raucous time hanging out, most likely to the chagrin of the others staying in the hotel- we're college students, what can we say?!!?

Sunday March 4th

>Today was the first day we chose to go on an adventure. And in our books that meant going to the beach! It's spring break after all, and we were planning on some good quality beach time. Our good friend the Lonely Planet Guide to West Africa (which was sometimes reliable, sometimes not at all) recommended the beach of Sao Fransicso to visit. We loaded up on goodies from the grocery store next to our hotel and found a cab willing to squeeze us girls in. The road to the beach was windy and crazy and all over the place, and a lot like a roller coaster ride (this would be the first of many rides like this), but at least we were inside of a good functioning car.

>Soon enough we were at the beach, wandering over to a nice and quiet spot, with the only other people on the beach participating in some sort of a family reunion (more on them later). It wasn't too hot out and the water was a lovely temperature, just as it should have been. The only downside was the crazy wind, which lead to lots of and lots of sand in our food. We ate it anyway- you buy it you eat it!

>After a few hours of hanging out on the beach we began to notice that the other people were leaving. Since it was such a remote beach we were not quite sure how we were going to be getting home (Lonely Planet said something about a bus, but by this time we had figured that this was a lie). I voted that we follow the other people to try and figure out how they were planning on leaving and where exactly they were venturing to.

>In no time at all we had (free) seats in the back of their truck. And note that I said in the back of their truck, not in their truck. It did have a cover over the top of it, but we did have to hold on for dear life. This being Cape Verde they only spoke Portuguese and Creole, with the occasional spattering of Spanish and English. It wasn't a problem though because our travel companions whipped out a little book, we found the page in English, and as we read we realized . . . they were Jehovah's Witnesses! Priceless, to say the least. They were all very friendly and happy to help us, and even treated us to some hymns in Portuguese. We made it home safe and sound, and went immediately to our hotel. It was a Sunday, which meant nothing going on.

>The rest of the evening was spent picknicking on our hotel floor, enjoying some wine, and waiting for the arrival of our 6th companion, Jessie, who flew in Sunday night. At last the group was whole!


More soon, and trust me, it only gets better!!!