On the last day before the official Carnival begins, we take a stroll through the northeastern part of the city center. We start at Praça da Igreja, the church square in front of the Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Luz.
This is also where the Paços do Concelho, the city hall or seat of the city council, is located. We take a look inside the entrance hall. Historical photos of Mindelo and its working people hang on the walls.
The church square offers shade under palm trees and is framed by colorful facades.
On the way to the restaurant Le Metalo, where we plan to have dinner, we pass the market hall again.
There, we meet Suzanna Alves, whom our tour guide Marion Touray happened to meet in Norte Baia 2 during our island tour. Marion prefers to buy her vegetables from her. We pick up some papaya jam to take home.
On Rua Unidade Africana, we pass the Zero Point Art Gallery, which is unfortunately closed at this time. At the end of the street, we have a good view of the lookout point, where a lone man is enjoying the view over Mindelo and the bay.
Time and again, we are also fascinated by the colorfully designed streets.
We pass by the Centro Nacional de Artesanato e Design (CNAD) again and are captivated by the open windows.
At the restaurant Le Metalo, we take a look around and make a reservation.
In the evening, we meet Dzenh Afronauta here, a well-known musician with his own YouTube channel.
The food at the restaurant is excellent, and the atmosphere is very inviting.
Afterward, we head to R. Libertad d’Africa, where participants in the final rehearsal before Carnival are already gathering.
This year, the main groups are Cruzeiros do Norte and Flores do Mindelo. The groups perform dances that symbolically depict the working lives of the island’s first generations. Time and again, the participants point to their left arm where the watch is. This ties in with a local saying about tourists: “You have the watch, we have the time.”
It’s a fantastic preview of the official parades in the coming days.
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