As I came out of the market, continued walking towards the far end of the main square where the statue of Diogo Gomes (one of the discoverers of the Southern islands) proudly stands looking down to the sea, which is exactly what I did - enjoying the views over Gamboa beach and Achada de Santo Antonio further away.
I stood there for quite some time remembering when back in 2001 I used to stroll along Gamboa beach on the way to Prainha collecting the multi coloured precious looking shells brought in by the tide ... many of which I have kept all these years.
Praia with its poorly fortified beaches was an easy target for pirates in the past. Overland march attacks to sack the capital happened twice, the first disastrous situation having been brought about by Francis Drake in 1585 and the second one by the Jacques Cassart later in 1712. The fort which has survived till this day was built by the population after that first attack.
It no longer serves the purpose it was built for but irrespective of its "decaying" state it still is "imposing"...
As I walked back to the main square realised there was a local Arts and Crafts exhibition at the Palace of the Republic and though I only bought two little souvenirs managed to have a look at what the young artisans are doing these days.
The old Catholic Cathedral used to be my "horizon" everytime I opened the window of the Residencial Sol Atlantico room I rented for some time back in the "old days" ... and once more the whole atmosphere made me "travel back" in time.
As the guides suggest I sat at Sofia outside Café under a parasol "watching life go by", not before having been inside to photograph Nelson Lobo's paintings which regularly cover its walls. I don't particularly appreciate Modern Art, but there is something special about his paintings that always attracts my attention.
Soon after having left the Café I went back to the Pension to change the sandals I was wearing and put on some tenis shoes to head down to Sucupira, whose view I could see from above, with Fazenda and Achadinha in the distance.
Little cottage in Av. Amilcar Cabral
(to be continued)
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