mar. 23, 2015 Live from the road

Cidade Velha - Assomada

Reported by Devashishu Torpy, Sukham da Rocha 50.0 km

Runners from the Cabo Verde Ultramarathon Team join us for the run inland and uphill.

Cabo Verde translates as 'Green Cape'. At one time these islands were verdant, but now the climate is very dry and trees and flowers are few and far between.

Two very good friends lead the runners. The Mayor of Sao Domingos, Franklin Tavares, carries the torch and Jorge Pina holds aloft the Cabo Verde flag.

The First School of Sao Domingos.

Our dear friend Fernando Pinto entertains the children.

The schoolchildren run with us out of the town to the next school.

This is the SOS Village Sao Domingos - a school and home for orphans.

We ran all around the village.

Reaching for the skies.

Runners from the next school are waiting for us on the road.

In Cabo Verde the national language is Portuguese. Many of the people speak Creole.

Franklin Tavares is becoming very comfortable with the torch.

A greeting party awaits us at the entrance to the school.

Identical twins.

The teachers and staff are very keen to hold the torch.

Welcome to Joao Teves School.

Picos School.

Up, up, up the hill.

Nathaniel Jesus (in the blue and red) is a member of the National Ultramarathon team. There is a famous 150K race on the island of Boa Vista which is mostly on sand.

Victor Baessa is the Mayor of Sao Lourenco dos Orgaos.

Children in Sao Lourenco sing a very beautiful song - the national anthem of the African child.

Escuola do Mercado.

A welcome to Picos School.

The Deputy Mayor of Picos.

We catch sight of our final destination for the day - the city of Assomada in the region of St Catarina.

The Mayor of Santa Catarina, Francisco Fernandes Tavares, greets us outside City Hall. Santa Catarina is the second largest city on the island of Santiago, and the third largest in all of Cabo Verde. The Mayor informed us that half the population of Assomada are children, making this visit extremely significant, as they are the leaders of tomorrow.

The youth basketball team.

The Karate specialists.

The SOS Village in Assomada. These SOS Villages were founded by an international organisation to house and care for children who are orphaned.

The Director of the SOS Village and the Mayor.

The coach for the children's basketball team.

The karate team lead us back to the town square.

Torch carried by
Apaguha Vesely (Czech Republic), Carlos Machado (Brazil), Daniel Bento (Portugal), Devashishu Torpy (Great Britain), Dipavajan Renner (Austria), Dulce Manso (Portugal), Jorge Pina (Portugal), Mena Seguy (France), Nivedak Corradini (Italy), Pushkar Müllauer (Switzerland), Rachel Pina (Portugal), Samalya Schäfer (Germany), Sharika Xavier (Cape Verde), Sukham da Rocha (Portugal).  
Photographers
Apaguha Vesely, Carlos Machado
The torch has travelled 50.0 km from Cidade Velha to Assomada.

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