Thoughts on Women’s Work and Four Ports of Call

Since I’ve last posted we have had port stops in Namibia, Cape Verde, Madeira, and Gibraltar. We have gone from far southern Africa up to the Mediterranean. My “common” cold really took it out of me, and then I shared a bit of it with Gary, so I took almost a full week to lay low to recuperate and try not to spread it further on the ship. Luckily we had a nice long stretch of sea days and as active as I am in general, I can also do little to nothing with relative ease. It provided time to think about the living conditions we saw, mostly at a distance, in Africa. So far in no place we have stopped has the disparity between the haves and have nots been so clear as the stops in Africa. 

Beside really making an effort to learn as much as possible about the culture and history of the places we visit, I try to support local people as directly as possible. I’ve been thinking in particular how to support women because in general they have lower incomes, less capital and less access to credit. They also frequently have the need or desire to make money without having the ability to work for others for a steady income because of a variety of factors including lack of childcare or transportation. So what kinds of work might many of these women pursue?

One type of work that is in demand and which can have some flexibility is care giving. That can be caring for other children in addition to your own, or possibly home health or domestic duties such as cleaning or cooking for others.  Many women throughout the world especially in rural areas, grow and/or prepare food for others as well as their own consumption. Women are sometimes are able to produce income from artistic talents, the making and selling of crafts, or producing music. Some are fortunate enough to be able to use their knowledge and intellectual abilities to provide income. For many, not within my range of viewing, there is the possibility of sex work. Whether it is voluntary or not, this is generally not a long term solution for income, but is it among the oldest of professions.

Two of the evening headlining performances by very talented women who are able to live off their musical abilities. Bet they never saw this as a possibility when spending years of practice.

We were only in Namibia for less than a full day, and our options for exploration were limited, not to mention I was already less than completely healthy, but dawning a mask I took a short ride on a shuttle to see a bit of the port near Walvis Bay. Even from the short distance I did get inland it was clear that the area, and in all likelihood the majority of the area, is extremely arid, lots and lots of sand, very little greenery. I took the most time to do some shopping from the mostly women vendors, who were displaying their handmade crafts on material laid flat on the sand, at the edge of the sea, as close to the dock as they could possibly get. I’m sorry I forgot to take a picture of this very colorful collection of women, each calling out to try to get the attention of the few passengers who found them. But I have included several of the items I did purchase in the photo of some of the crafts I purchased. I don’t bargain, I pay what they ask, even if I know they would likely come down a bit, but relatively speaking, I know how much it can mean to them, and in the long run, how little difference it will make to me. It was very hard to only pick a few when it was obvious how needy they all were. I could tell how many hours of work went into their crafts, and how little opportunity they have to present it. It is safe to say that no one got rich that day. 

Some of the crafts I purchased in Namibia, Cape Verde, and Gibraltar 

All taken through a bus window which accounts for the odd reddish tint.

Gary and I had an improvised stop at Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands in November, 2021 on our first somewhat challenging cruise during the Covid pandemic. At that time our ship was the first to stop in 17 months, and everyone was still very fearful of a ship of tourists, although we had all had our initial set of three vaccinations, and were being tested daily on the ship. They let us stop, but we could only see the island by being driven in a designated small bus, and could not stop at any local businesses, which mostly seemed closed at any rate. So having had the scenic tour, which was not terribly scenic anyway, we decided to skip the tour and walk into town to get a taste of local color. Unfortunately the walk from where the ship was docked to town was a bit further than we realized, and the area right outside the port was a bit sketchy, so Gary chose to return to the ship, and I continued on to town in the company of some of the other passengers.

I was hoping to find an ATM to withdraw so Euros since we were heading into the area where that would be a better accepted currency than dollars. I had not thought ahead to get at least some from our bank before we left home. I had no success as the ATM only dealt in the local currency to those islands. I was also looking for a pharmacy to try to find some more cough medicine. That was interesting, time consuming and unsuccessful, especially after waiting in line and then not being able to speak a language anyone in the pharmacy could understand. USA citizens in general, are frequently brought up short when traveling out of our country and we realize that not everyone speaks the only language we know how to speak. I acknowledge this is my liability, not a criticism of other cultures, but it can definitely be limiting. Somewhat discouraged as I was wandering down some of the small local streets on my way back to ship, it was clear that this is an area that has lots of economic struggles. I have several pictures of street vendors with small amounts of local produce for sale. Apparently they eat a lot of onions, potatoes, tomatoes and bananas. I happened to glance into a rather dark open doorway when I heard the distinctive sound of a sewing machine. There I found Lucy, the proprietor of the small boutique. Not only did she speak some English, but she had a nice display of items that she herself had made, as well as the handiwork of several other local artists. And, she took charge cards which was indeed fortuitous, as I didn’t have any currency she could accept. Several of the crafts I purchased in her shop are in the photo of crafts I purchased in Africa. She took great care in adding each item on a calculator so I could see each charge, and she made sure I understood how much I would be charged in dollars. It was a satisfying exchange. 

Old abandoned fort still, barely, standing watch over the bay.

On many streets in the town. Obviously not catering to the small yachting community 

I was happy with my purchases in both Namibia and Cape Verde, and felt like I had been a responsible visitor during my limited time visiting in their countries. I did read that because of the limited resources in both those countries, remittances from expats working in other countries are a primary source of income, which hopefully means my small direct purchases had at least a small positive impact.

Although only two sea days away the distance between Cape Verde and Madeira were as stark as night and day. Madeira presents as a thriving, attractive island, closely aligned with Portugal and the Eurozone. We were there on a beautiful Sunday and there were lots of people, very multigenerational, out and about. It was clean, charming, and felt completely safe. Churchill spent holidays there and it had a bit of a British feel. It was a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. No obvious signs of poverty.

Lots of large banana farms 

Everywhere, clothing is hung out to dry using free solar opportunities.The cablecars up the mountain which we have taken on a previous visit.

Gibraltar was our next stop on our way into the Mediterranean Sea, where we will be spending the next several weeks. This was our first actual stop on the rock, although we have seen it at close distance sailing past several times on previous cruises. We had a day tour with a fabulous local resident of over 30 years, Karen, who is British by birth. She was passionate, and quite animated, about the extremely interesting history, about which I knew very little. With a permanent population of only 38,000, it is the size of New York City’s Central Park, but almost 60% of it consists of the rock itself. It is a British Overseas Territory with all the benefits of being connected to Britain for educational and medical purposes. It has no agriculture or industry. The rock itself has over 34 miles of tunnels which were first carved out during the three year, seven month, siege of 1704, and then expanded dramatically during WWII to completely house, feed and care for 17,500 servicemen. Until 1982 the military was the major employer, now it is a huge IT hub, safe inside the mountain. They also are the 3rd largest ship refueling center in Europe and 7th largest in the world. They are physically connected to Spain with 60% of the workforce coming from Spain daily. They are also well known for the unique colony of Macaques monkeys that live in a large protected area on the outer surface of the mountain. It was a truly fascinating location. Unique, historical significant, and charming. 

My rocks of Gibraltar.

Ancient aqueducts built by the Arabians over a thousand years ago. Our ship in the harbor.

Thanks for following along on our epic journey.