Tag Archives: Ribeira Funda

Covoada

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covoada

You have to make quite an effort to get to this village in Sao Nicolau. We entered Covoada from the Canyon to the right, starting at Ribeira Funda by the sea. It took a couple of hours of steep climbing to reach our goal.

See previous post for more about Covoada: https://hakanronnblad.com/2014/08/06/the-highway-to-covoada/

Sao Nicolau/Cape Verde June 11.

The old man and the sea

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cabov3 cuetin

After an hours walk from Estancia Bras along the sea on that old and winding donkey trail we arrived to Ribeira Funda. The deserted stone houses, a little bit resembling Machu Picchu in Peru, are situated on the steep hillside on the other side of the ribeira.

A couple of decades ago there where 200 people living here but from 1983 and forward the population began to diminish fast, kind of a reflection of Cape Verde as a nation of emigrants.

But the place is not completely empty yet. We hear a dog barking and some chicken running around. From one of the houses an old man comes out with a curious expression on his face.

It´s Kerine, (Quirino) the last living person in the village .

Kerine seems to appreciate the visit so we stay for a while and talk. Sometimes his only company during a week or more is the dog and the roaring waves from the sea. He tells us that he walks once a week or so to Estancia Bras to get some supply or sometimes just to take a drink.

Kerine was born 1944 in Ribeira Funda and he says that he will stay here as long as he can stand on his feet.

June 11. Ribeira Funda, The island of Sao Nicolau.  Kape Verde

Story about Quirino in Cape Verde TV :  http://videos.sapo.cv/NEdbCzO5CwmL850aqiBZ