We have just returned from a glorious week of sunshine and sand at a lovely resort Hotel Riu Palace) in Cabo Verde (Dark Blue). Cabo Verde is a nation on a volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa. It’s known for its Creole Portuguese-African culture, traditional morna music, and plentiful beautiful white sandy beaches. We (eight of us) relaxed by the pool most days, joined in with many of the fun games that were being offered (darts,shuffleboard, bingo, aquafit in the pool and others. And of course as is true of most all inclusive resorts….we ate too much, drank too much and with this group….laughed way too much. A delightful time. Here are a few shots I took over two days. Most of the time the camera never made it out of the room!
We took a taxi and headed into Santa Maria to enjoy a morning of exploring and wandering.
Miguel and Joana
Simão, Ana, Marion and David
The taxi dropped us off near this quaint little bar
Many children playing on the large pier as their mothers worked cleaning and selling fish.
The lovely white sand beach stretching off in the distance.
A lively activity….involving locals and tourists….they pushed the boat from where it had rested during low tide on the beach, all the way to and in the water.
Camillas in bloom.
I love white bougainvillea and this, combined with the deep fushia was just lovely.
Colour was abundant everywhere
This large cluster of green fruit on the palm tree will turn red like the smaller cluster.
Local people were friendly and attractive. Lots of smiles and olas.
A restaurant patio that looked inviting.
A great discussion of art and an exchange of ideas and conversation.
A local house, I love how the dogs simply fall into a hot sunny spot and melt into the sidewalk.
Marc and David
This looked to be made of driftwood and grtasses.
Iphones are everywhere.
We saw many women walking with large baskets of fruit, produce and other fares.
I thought this idea of using all these colourfully painted doors as a wall on the patio was quite clever.
Joana bought herself a local colourful top.
More wonderful doors, this time a jazz club.
Richness of colour was everywhere.
Marc has a propensity for trying on hats and then looking rather serious!! LOL
No David does not have a flower tucked behind his ear. It was simply growing directly behind his chair.
Miguel took a snap of us…..
We had relaxed on a beach patio and enjoyed a cold beer on a hot day. Here we are heading back to the taxi and our hotel.
You can see the distances from a few places….Portugal is on the bottom. It was a four hour flight from Lisboa.
There was always one activity or another going on around the resort and of course it was up to you if you participated or not. We were enjoying a quiet time by the pool when we heard drums beating off in the distance, a calling card for all of us. Didn’t take us long to find it and join the parade of people.
Drumming, chanting, singing and laughter all along the promenade and down to the beach.
Of course Marc loves to be right in the midst of it all.
Revelers on the beach, hands clapping, hips swaying and lots of energy and fun.
Watching the revelry.
Lie guards on the beach.
Many wind surfers taking advantage of the wind.
A lovely walk in the hot sand.
A selfie….I think our first one this trip~
Simão, Ana and Marion enjoying the music and dancing.
Joana and Miguel.
Marion, David and Ana.
Simão, Ana and Marc…..it’s too bad they don’t look happy huh?
Simão, Ana and myself. What grand memories we’ve made on this trip.
Simão didn’t hesitate but ran into the sea.
Joana also dove right in.
As did Miguel and last but not least……
Ana. Sadly David, Marion, Marc and myself remained beach bums. I did walk in as far as my knees but that was it for me.
A wonderful grand adventure for all eight of us. It truly was a delight and pleasure to spend this much time together, no distractions just friendship, camaraderie, laughter and all in such a pampered environment. A long travel home as we left the hotel on the shuttle bus last evening at 22h30…….our flight for Lisboa left at 1h30 and then a few hours in Lisboa before our Faro flight. I expect it will be an early night to bed for all of us!
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Marc and Randys Travel Adventures 
It looks like a fun time away ☀️🐠🌴
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It was a great time away, a vacation of sorts, even though technically we don’t take vacations now that we are retired……it’s really simply living the good life!
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Looks like you had a lovely vacation from your vacation! ☺ Welcome back.
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Thanks Ken. Hope to see you guys in a couple of days. Our friend, Diane, arrives tomorrow morning in Faro. Once she is here we will be settling back into our routine of sorts………
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Those doors . . .I absolutely love how they’ve painted all the bright colours onto the various panels and turned those doors into something completely different!! How fabulous and what a grand idea. AND Randy . . .if I can be so bold . . . . I notice that finally you are losing your baby face!!! That selfie of you and Marco is an utter delight . . .and I see a true ‘adult’ Randy face for the first time. hehehe . . .watch it, buddy. Can wrinkles be far behind????? Glad you had such a fab time.
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LMAO…have you been in the sauce or is it frostbite?? I put a bit of gel in my hair and I get all kinds of comments from folks. I love it. I think you would love Cabo Verde….music is everywhere.
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Moi aussi Gwen…absolutely loved the colours of the doors, and wow! Colour is everywhere! You guys didn’t pick up any cds?? I bet the music was as vibrant as the colours!
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The music was wonderful, and we got to hear lots of it in and around the resort. As for colour…….it truly was gorgeous everywhere you looked. So many beautiful plants and flowering trees scattered throughout the tiny village of Santa Maria.
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