Exploring Mindelo

Sitting in my room after this amazing day makes me think of how grateful I am to be a part of this school. That I get to explore the world and sail across oceans at only 16 years old. I’m so thankful for all the new friends that I made in just a few hours.

Today started with breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. A little while later me, Erling and a few other of my friends had a 7 km run around in Mindelo. Running is such a nice way to explore new places and cities. But you have to be careful with the homeless dogs. They love to play around and chase you if you run. After that we had a swim in the blue ocean and sun-dried on the beach. Probably the most satisfying way to end a hot run if you ask me.

We ate some pizza for lunch and after that it was time to go to the supermarket. Right now our whole class is bunkering up with chips, chocolate, candy, popcorn, lemonade and lots of other snacks to make the crossing over the Atlantic. I think we are all pretty nervous and anxious about this voyage but once we make it I think we are all going to be so proud and happy with ourselves.

In the afternoon we had a class from another school visiting Gunilla. We got divided into ten groups and showed the students around on our ship. The school is called Jorge Barbosa and is located just two kilometers away from our quay. It’s a school with students from twelve up to nineteen years old. They have subjects like philosophy, maths, English and P.E just like us. We talked a lot about music and sports and we even got to learn some of their language Creol. They where so nice and offered to show us their town personally.

The evening ended with me and my friends just walking around town and admiring the beauty of Mindelo.

It’s amazing how people are so nice and open here in Cape Verde. You could just be walking down the street and random people will start talking to you about where you’re from and if you like their country. Another example is if you ask where a bar or a restaurant is, they will most likely walk with you and show it to you personally. I think we can learn from that and be more open and more welcoming in Sweden too.

Elvira Axelsson Larsholt

Babord