Into the caldera

April 17 

We spent the day on Fogo (meaning “fire”), another of the islands in the southern cluster of Cape Verde.  We arrived on the island via Zodiacs.  A set of buses was waiting for us at a fishing dock.  Before we disembarked, we did a bit of birding from the upper deck of the ship. Along with a few species of sea birds, we saw a small pod of striped dolphins.

Fogo is essentially one big volcano.  Pieces have slid into the ocean, one causing a massive tidal wave. The volcano has erupted numerous times throughout recorded history. The tallest peak (Pico de Fogo) at about 10,000 ft looms above an older caldera wall. Inside that large caldera (which also describes the extent of the National Park) are a series of more recent volcanic cones and villages that have been destroyed and rebuilt. 

Our local guide came from those upper villages. The eruption of 1951 destroyed his mother’s home before he was born. The government built a new village outside the caldera, but many people chose to move to another village inside the caldera that was undamaged by the eruption.  Part of the reason is that while the south of Fogo is very dry with just two months of possible rain, the northern part of the island receives rain from the trade winds and the inside of the caldera is protected from the wind. For over one hundred years, wine grapes have been grown within the caldera and along its outer sides, particularly in the area of Portela, a village within the caldera. Our guide grew up in Portela, which was spared in the 1995 eruption. 

However, in 2014 Portela and another neighboring village were completely destroyed. The volcano both erupted (rocks and slow moving lava) and exploded (liquid fast moving lava) which split into three different paths.  Earthquakes and rising soil temperatures at higher elevations presaged the eruption and the 1200 residents fled to the other side of the caldera wall. 

After waiting in vain for the government to help them rebuild, he and 100 other young men returned to the village. They hand-built a basalt road, and then convinced another 500 men to join them in rebuilding the town. Ten years later the town is still a construction site but has two churches, a primary school, restaurants and 300 accommodation beds. Many of the new buildings are made using volcanic materials. 

The village wine cooperative, which was destroyed in the 2014 eruption, has been rebuilt. It was fascinating to see the grape vines marching up the black sand slopes of the caldera with no trellises or other signs of orderliness as in continental vineyards. There are also fruit trees, vegetable gardens and even coffee plantations in the forests to the north. We sampled the (very good) local wine  and had lunch at a terrific restaurant inside the caldera just outside the village of Portela. 

We were struck by the matter-of-fact persistence and cheerfulness of the people we met today. Our guide said that his grandfather witnessed 5 eruptions so he’d like to see several more before he dies. Along with his job as a guide, he climbs to the upper peak to monitor the condition of the volcano.  He loves referring to himself as a volcanologist. 

Although it was a bit disturbing and quite overwhelming to see the scope of the lava fields (both newer and older), it was also a perfect day up in the caldera… mid-70s, light breeze, blue skies. When we returned to the harbor, we really appreciated that we had spent the day on the heights, not in the 97 F of the south coast! 

Pictures: hillside vineyard, example of destruction, example of rebuilding