Porto Praia; a much nicer day

No stupid problems with itinerary, no silly stops and disputes, just one, four hour trip which was very well led by a knowledgeable and pleasant man with a very patient and skilled driver.

Our trip took us across the island to the northern side and the original capital of the island.

We went into the market and saw so much activity. This lady allowed me to photograph her but I had to give her something. It's a very poor country, hey, one euro means little to me but is the price of her stall for the day.

Everything seen here is grown by them on land they inherit from the family. This year (as with the last few years) there's been little rain so they've relied on the boreholes. The north gets more water because of the mists off the craggy mountains so they grow for the island.

Even so, the islands import 90% of their food.

China is slowly buying up the island. Soft power, which they learned from us, has built roads, schools and set up businesses. They are the wealthy and politically powerful here. How this marries with the island's new found democracy I dont know but the EU and UK missed a trick of great influence here.

How's this for using plastic waste? Am going to try this when I get back.

We visited the church there, dedicated to Fatima. For a town so poor, they lavished much love on their church.

We also visited a place they called their botanical gardens. 

Sadly the government had missed a marketing trick and let it fall into disrepair. The bones of a beautiful set of terraces still existed but the care and love needed to maintain them was sadly lacking.

Yes, a lovely day but a destination I would not come back to. I've seen it and I'm happy with the snapshot look, so now we sail two days back to the Canary islands and Gran Canaria.