Cape Verde | Shall we dance?

While she walked toward the beach, Litz saw the Italian man with his thirty pieces of luggage and his old father leaving the boat, ready to move forever to Mindelo. She had met him during passport controls and had helped him to explain his situation to the crew. He looked like the happiest man in the world and, after looking the landscape around her, Litz could understand why.

It was early afternoon and the sun was shining. The sand was hot and the sea color melted with the sky. Litz headed direclty to the bar, because it was impossible to resist the heat. The beach was empty before the cruise had stopped nearby, so the bar was quickly filled with cruisers. She got a beer, paid with a twenty euros banknote and received a lot of local cash in return. African banknotes were lighter and more colorful, while coins were darker and heavier than euros.

While she was drinking her beer, Litz tried to get wi-fi connection by her mobile phone. She had been out of the world for almost ten days already, because the internet connection on the boat was bad and expensive. She took a quick picture of the sea and sent it to her mum, saying: “Hugs and kisses by Cape Verde”. Then she switched off her phone again. It was great to be free from Internet addiction for a while. She let herself go on her chair, relaxed and finished her iced beer.

– Litz, look! Down there. Some guys are working out. John is there too.

Said Albert, the ginger guy from Canada, one of the most brilliant minds Litz had met on the cruise. His tone was sarcastic and she thought he was making fun of them, being so obsessed with their body shape to train it under the sun. Later on she discovered he was just gay.

Litz took a walk alone along the beach, reflecting upon her state of mind and meditating. She realized how brave she was to be travelling alone in a wonderful island looking like Paradise. All silly everyday worries had disappeared slowly with her travels, making her more aware of her attitude toward life in general. Then she saw two beautiful guys dancing Capoeira, right in front of her group of friends who were sunbathing. She joined the group to get some tan and took a nap.

The sound of bachata woke her up, she turned around and saw the cruise yoga teacher’s massive figure inviting a gorgeous black woman to dance. By her female friends he was called “The God”. The nickname referred to his appearance: he was extremely tall and perfectly fit, with long brown hair touching his shoulders and the right amount of beard every real man should let grow from time to time. His dance partner was the definition of sexy curvy black woman. She had curly hair spreading all around her sweet face and an irresistible smile. Their bachata was playful and Litz jumped on her feet to have the next dance.

Dancing put her on another state of mind, where she could follow and trust. After many years of experience, Litz could easily recognize when a man danced for the pure joy of it, without any second aim. That was the case of “The God” and the reason why she enjoyed very much being led by him.

The afternoon went on smoothly and Litz even got some tan. Cruisers were having fun taking pictures, drinking beer and recording a cool video by a flying drone. Litz was sitting on her corner, because she didn’t feel very comfortable showing off in swimwear, when she realized some local children had arrived, probably attracted by the huge group of tourists. They were about ten years old, all very skinny. She observed them while they walked around. They were not watching people, though. They were watching their bags.

– Could you take me a picture, please?

Asked Litz one of the cruisers.

Litz replied firmly, without loosing sight of the children: – Later.

Lost in fun, her friends had not realized the children were pickpockets. Suddenly, she had an idea. She took her wallet and pulled out some local banknotes. In a matter of seconds all children were around her. She gave them the banknotes and tell them to go away. Her friends realized what was happening, they started to collect their valuables and hide their phones. It was time to go back to the boat, so many people took the opportunity to leave. After about half an hour, Litz was the only one left on the beach, waiting for her friend Serena to come back from swimming.

– Has everybody left already?

She asked Litz.

– Yes, I watched your stuff. Here it is. Let’s go or we will miss the boat.

They collected their things, plus a pair of sunglasses and flip flops someone had left behind. The pink sunglasses were “The God” dance partner’s. About the flip flops…well, Litz never found out their owner. Hopefully no one walked back barefoot.