Ready to leave home?

Can't say being constrained at home most days for many weeks is bothering me a lot.

I love being at home.

 However, I now find myself thinking more about what to plan for travel once we

 can actually pack up and go somewhere a little further than Costco! 

The cars sit in the driveway with full tanks and nowhere to roam.

The suitcases collect dust in the attic.

Here, inland, we are being blessed with gentle rain this morning as

 Tropical Storm Arthur, now just 50 miles off the North Carolina coast, 

is passing the Outer Banks with winds reaching 73 mph.  

Many hurricanes are forecast for this year's season, we wait and hope

 they aren't devastating.

People have enough to contend with already!

The garden needs a good deep water following the hot weekend, 

and rain is so much better than dragging the hoses around.

This week will see plenty of rain thanks to Arthur!

Speaking of gardens, how about this neighborhood gem.

When we walked Saturday we loved finding this U PICK - Everyone Welcome 

sign on a curbside raised bed. The gnome was cute keeping watch.

 Beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash etc. are coming along for picking soon, 

meanwhile I snipped a little bunch of curly parsley and pineapple sage.  

Pretty Serena & Lily summertime seaside offerings. 

Hopefully we will get to a coastal location sometime this summer.

Have you made any travel plans yet?

 My visit to the beautiful Cape Verde Islands last year - where most of the US east coast 

 hurricanes come from!  

Cape Verde Dancers -

October 17, 2019
CAPE VERDE ISLANDS:  Tarrafal, Sao Nicolau Island
Arrive:  7:00 AM
Sunrise: 6:30 AM
Temp. 86F

By 8:30 am we were 'all aboard" the fleet of small buses for the panoramic tour

 of the island of Sao Nicolau, situated to the north of the Archipelago.

 The very active volcanic past of the island is majestically visible around

 Monte Gordo, the highest peak. The valleys are generally narrow and deep 

except for the Vale de Faja which is wide and fertile enough for agriculture

 to flourish - mostly sugar cane.

Dancing is an integral part of all events in Sao Nicolau, from waltz and square dance with instructions in French, to the typical Portuguese dances. What for me was the highlight of the Cape Verde Islands visit, occurred here in a village in Faja.

The beautiful recorded music for the dances was in itself perfect and, sitting on steps in the small church courtyard, when the dancers appeared, I was amazed. These dancers, dressed simply, were quite exquisite in their calm and gentle movements, facial expressions - and barefoot on cobbles you will notice - with the caller (man in red shirt) giving short, quiet instructions.

I didn't want them to ever stop and was sad when the lovely performance ended!

Cape Verde’s central location brings together musical currents from West Africa, Europe and Latin America. On each island, visitors encounter not only a unique natural environment but unique musical traditions. In the music of the leeward islands of Cape Verde, the significant West African influence can be found in genres such as batuque and tabanka (Santiago), bandera (Fogo) and lundu/lundum (Boa Vista). The windward islands have strong European influences such as the mazurka, waltz and contredance (Santo Antão, São Nicolau). Moreover there are strong connections between the leeward and windward genres; for example, the cola sanjon (Santo Antão) is related to the batuque, which has also been called the soul of the Cape Verdean people.

The living conditions on Cape Verde forced the islanders to be pragmatic. Survival requires creativity, perseverance and a zest for life, and one of the musical styles that expresses this zest for life is the coladeira. This style, which arose on São Vicente, is popular all over Cape Verde, while another style danced all over Cape Verde is the funana, which originated on the island Santiago. At the time of Portuguese rule, this distinctly African-tinted style was forbidden, because its lyrics, accompanied by diatonic accordion and ferrinho (an iron rod played with a knife) challenged social inequalities. The morna, a melancholy musical style the lyrics of which are poems of departure, love and saudade (longing for home), is considered by all Cape Verdeans to be their national music.

Mazurka

In Cape Verde, the Mazurka is revered as an important cultural phenomenon played with acoustic bands led by a violinist and accompanied by guitarists. The Mazurka, popular on the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau, came originally from the Mazovia area around Warsaw, Poland. The inhabitants of this region were known as Mazurs, and their dances, which probably date back to the 16th century, were called mazurkas. At the beginning of the 19th century, the mazurka took England by storm, being adopted from the German nobility and the French elite. From there, this dance in three-four time made its way into the musical traditions of many parts of the world. The mazurka is still played and danced at weddings and other celebrations, both on Cape Verde and at Cape Verdean festivities in places like Rotterdam. On Santo Antão and São Nicolau, the mazurka is often alternated with the contredance. The contredance is inspired in English country dancing and was introduced to the French court around 1685. In France, it became the most popular dance of the 18th century. The mazurka and the contredance were probably brought to Cabo Verde by seafarers, as were genres such as the polka, waltz and galop which were popular in the ballrooms of the 19th century.

A day and place to remember always for me.

Cape Verde Islands -

October 15-16-17-18, 2019

Cape Verde Islands (Republic of Cabo Verde)

Cabo Verde, or Cape Verde, is an island nation on an archipelago of volcanic origin

 in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwestern coast of Africa, about 600 km west of Senegal. 
Cape Verde shares maritime borders with Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, 

Mauritania, and Senegal.

The intriguing Cape Verde archipelago is an amazingly varied group of islands.

They have been used as a staging post by mariners throughout the ages. 
Visiting and exploring with in-depth discovery of volcanic landscapes, 
colonial towns and villages, and beautiful beaches, is really only possible
 by small ship.  

During our visit in October, we discovered the culture, flora, fauna, and lifestyle of 

the islands. Some parts are arid and flat with awesome shorelines, salt pans, 
beaches and dunes, contrasting with lush, tropical, mountainous islands. 

It is a little world of its own, each island having a distinct culture and atmosphere. 
On some islands the infrastructure is minimal and tourists are a rarity. . . . . it was
 definitely a unique opportunity to visit this part of the world.

Lunch at the Black Mamba restaurant was fun - thankfully no snakes seen!

In the distance, our ship docked at Palmeira on the island of Sal - other islands 

in the distance.

I'm now working on my last post from the islands to share with you. . . . . . .a visit

 to the island of Sao Nicolau. 

Music and dance was shared, scenery was spectacular, and the history of this

 special place held our interest as stories were told.