| Duration |
1 h |
| Track |
3-4 |
| Orientation |
2 |
List of Tracks
and Classification
|
Pope's
Cross is
the second name of a sugar-loaf shaped hill in the north of the city since
there was built a procession path and a steel cross errected on top of the Pedra
Rolada. The panorama over the city, the harbour and
Monte Cara in the background is one of the best.
The ascent is harder than expected because the winding road spotted
from a distance, when coming closer transforms into a a very small and bad
footpath.
The summit is a place to reflect on the structure of settlement. The
historical city centre is limited to two square kilometeres close to the
Porto Grande. So all the rest are recently grown modern suburbs.
The smaller and the poorer the houses, the higher they are built on the
slopes. This is not only due to the prices of plots but also to the
culturally determined preference of families from rural Santo Antao
and Sao Nicolau
to settle high on tops and ridges of the mountains.
Difficult to detect in a single visit is the velocity of growth.
Population figures in Santo Antão are stagnant since the 1970s. In Sao Nicolau
they are declining since the famines of the 1940s and almost all natural
population growth of those islands is exported in a process of accelerated
urbanization to Mindelo.
When looking south-westward, two yellowish square buildings can be
spotted. Down in the valley the Maternal and Child Health Services PMI/PF
and, higher up, close to Monte Bela Vista the church and annexes
of St. Francis of Assisi. When they were built in the 1970s, there
were almost no other buildings in between but a few rural houses and
gardens.
Starting point
is the Market of Ribeirinha [RIBE01]. At the next ì
crossing at the edge of the sports field [RIBE02] turn to the
ascending paved road ê of Vila Nova da Ribeirinha.
At a bifurcation in the upper part don't try to reach the cross, visible
on top of the hill, in a direct ascent. Follow the ridge î
where there are some newer small houses to the south uphills.
From here you see the winding path ì to the
top.
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