Concluding Cape Verde
We’re so pleased that we’ve taken the option to walk to the taxi rank rather than arrange a pick up. Carrying our backpacks makes it obvious we’re leaving town, and as we make our way down Avenida Pescadora the walk becomes a succession of farewells which almost makes us feel like we’re leaving behind a lifetime’s friendships.
“I take this”, says one of the crew who is always pushing out or hauling in the fishing boats, as he takes the garbage bag off our hands and carries it to the street bin. Next there’s the guy at the craft shop on the corner, then Mustafa the artist, and the girl from the coffee shop, all bidding us goodbye with beaming smiles, fist pumps or waves, and shouts along the lines of “see you next time”. It’s a rewarding sensation when you’ve settled in so well that leaving a place goes this way.
The big guy who sits by the taxi rank – we never did work out whether he’s part of the team or just sits and chats with drivers – spots us ambling along and despatches one of the blue-and-yellow taxis to come and meet us and save us walking the last fifty yards or so.
And so with a flight to, and a one hour connection in, Lisbon, our first Cape Verde adventure is over meaning that we have now completed all of our travel adventures for 2023. It may well be our “first” rather than “only” Cape Verde trip too, given that we only visited three of the ten main islands and those three were so very different from each other: a bone dry desert with spectacular dunes and unbelievable beaches; a fertile island of fruit trees and lush green mountains; and a small, lava-strewn island dominated by a giant active volcano.
So based on those three islands, here are some pieces of guidance and advice for those considering a visit.
MONEY. The currency is Cape Verdean escudos but nearly everywhere accepts euros. But beware… the flat, never changing rate used by shops and restaurants is 100 escudos to 1 euro, which is NOT favourable. Cards are widely accepted in restaurants, but most places add a 3% surcharge for using “international” cards, which includes Visa, so generally speaking and depending on who you bank with, drawing escudos from ATMs and paying restaurants in cash is probably your best option. ATMs are readily available in all towns of any size.
FOOD. Fresh fish and seafood dominates and is almost always amazingly good. Most are accompanied by chips (fries) AND rice, so they do pack the carbs a bit – if you ask for vegetables (they always say “legumes”) they will more often than not be flavoured with cumin, which is fine by us. Eating out is not expensive by any means – two very decent fresh fish dinners plus a couple of carafes of house red will usually total less than £10 per head, unless of course you choose the upmarket places which will cost around three times that sum. Don’t be afraid to spurn these and eat where the locals eat – the quality of fresh fish is very high even where it’s cheap.
DRINK – Wine is mostly either local from the volcanic slopes of Fogo or imported from Portugal. The local wine is not expensive. Bottled wine from Fogo (usually called Cha) is decent quality; house red bought by the carafe is more pot luck in terms of quality, which means that occasionally you can get really lucky with a great red at knock down prices. Beer is also either local (Strela) or Portuguese (Super Bock), both standard lagers, and Caipirinha is on every menu with a plethora of variations.
BOA VISTA – We loved the village of Sal Rei, still an unassuming fishing village full of interest and very modest. BUT…how long it’ll stay that way is debatable. New buildings are springing up in town and creeping ever closer to the fishermen’s quarter, and Sal Rei is becoming increasingly popular with Italian and German visitors. It may well change character quickly.
RESORT COMPLEXES – We stayed away from these, of course, and saw little evidence, but all-inclusive places do exist, and the threat of more fills the islanders with dread as the local economy gets little or no financial benefit. On Boa Vista we saw one giant operational complex, one even bigger still under construction, and one half finished site where building had been halted when the developers went bust. There seemed to be a lot of Tui flights in and out though so there must be more complexes somewhere, though at this stage we believe there’s a greater concentration on the island of Sal.
FACILITIES – Power outages are reportedly common, although we only experienced one single one ourselves, so just be mindful if choosing meat over fresh fish – meat stored in freezers which are subject to power outages is not necessarily a good option. However we should say that the very small amount of meat we ate, probably two meals each, was excellent. As ever, don’t expect top quality plumbing and don’t expect a powerful hot shower every time. Talking of water, Boa Vista has none, there is no natural water source and the island relies on desalination and imports. The locals are well versed in saving and not wasting water, so try and do likewise; we leant the shocking fact that holidaymakers on Boa Vista use on average TWENTY TIMES the volume of water that a local does.
PEOPLE & ATMOSPHERE
There are times when you could be forgiven for thinking you’re in the Caribbean, there is so often that familiar slower pace of life and laissez faire outlook – you will often hear the phrase “no stress” or the word “sodade”. It’s hard not to love the way of life on these islands. Santiago is very African, the city of Praia particularly, yet every now and again on any island you may come across European influences: here an Italian coffee joint, there a group of German expats swigging beer and having fun. Cape Verdeans are extremely friendly and demonstratively welcoming, always ready with a smile and an amicable exchange, never pushy when trying to sell. They also have a natural poise: young men with the bodies of professional athletes and slender girls and ladies with the most elegant of walks are common sights. Conversations between islanders can be loud and very animated, including late at night and early morning – Cape Verdeans are a gregarious race.
SMILE
Smile at a local and even the most preoccupied, straight face will light up with a beautiful smile in return. Shout a “bueno dia” and you will get a rewarding response. You will see the most delightful of smiles on the prettiest of faces, hardly any of whom have the airs and graces of those who know they are beautiful: Cape Verdeans tend to be modest, humble people even when they have the looks of a movie star.
WEATHER
With such a constant climate where little changes from month to month or from day to day, and with only slight changes in average daily temperatures all year, you can’t really go wrong – except on those occasional days when the wind blows more strongly and the Sahara sandstorms turn the clear views into blurred outlines. Then again, that’s the same wind which tempers the heat of the sun and stops any day from becoming too hot. Oh, and at this time of year, the Atlantic is uncharacteristically warm – not the South China Sea exactly but extremely pleasant for swimming.
WRAP UP
The joys of this trip have been the people, the food, the weather….and the fact that each island is so geographically diverse. It’s tempting to say that we’ll be back to see some of the others at some time in the future: we heard many good things about some of the northern islands. We’ll see.
28 Comments
Toonsarah
I’ve loved reading about all your Cape Verde adventures. Yes, from what we saw when we had to spend one night there either end of our trip because of flight times, Sal is home to a lot of major resort complexes. We also had poor weather there on our last day (rain in February) which slightly soured our memories of our brief visit. But I really liked Santiago and you’ve whetted my appetite for a visit to Fogo in particular, so I may try to persuade Chris to return one day! You’ve also reminded me how much I liked Fogo’s volcanic wines 😀
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Sarah, well if nothing else I think the islands are diverse enough to give Cape Verde a second go.
Alison
You should be an ambassador for Cape Verde Phil, it’s been a wonderful trip that I’ve loved reading about. How nice that the locals farewelled you on your walk down the road.
You’re back in time for the festivities 🌲🥂
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Ali. Yes, will be seeing all three of my granddaughters together, the first time that’s happened at Christmas. Really looking forward to it.
restlessjo
I did wonder if it would be a family Christmas for you or something more exotic. Thanks for all the info on the Verdes. I’ll certainly keep it in mind. All the best to you both. Have a great Christmas!
Phil & Michaela
You too Jo
Gilda Baxter
I really enjoyed this wrapping up post with lots of great information. We are yet to visit these islands and your experience has made me put it on my travel wish list.
Have a fantastic Christmas with your family 😀
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Gilda – you have a great Christmas too 🧑🎄
Marie
Well you’ve certainly sold the idea to me Phil – I think we’d love it there… Safe home – sounds like you’ve a lovely Christmas ahead of you
Phil & Michaela
I think we have, yes. You have a great one, too, Marie x
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
Thank you for this very informative wrap-up post. We’re thinking of visiting, so your first-hand information is very helpful. Cheers.
Phil & Michaela
Excellent, thank you. If that visit becomes reality, please do feel free to ask for any more info or guidance. We love to help!
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
Thank you very much!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Nice wrap up. Thanks!
Lookoom
Positive review: Cape Verde is certainly a good option for escaping the European winter.
Travels Through My Lens
I have thoroughly enjoyed following along on your Cape Verde travels. It seems like a wonderful place to spend some downtime.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, yes – slow paced but plenty of interest…
grandmisadventures
What a lovely send off to be surrounded by new friends and the sincere hope of seeing you back again soon. This is a really great list of things to know since now all of us have put Cape Verde on our list from following along 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Ha, well we’re here for advice as and when that becomes reality. Advice number 1: don’t catch the ferry!!
grandmisadventures
hard pass on that experience!
Manuel F Centeio
Thank you very much for your expression of love that you spread and received from ‘Nos 10 granzinho di terra’
AKA Atlantic PARADISE
May God bless and please come back soon
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Manuel….and happy new year!
peter Richmond
Great story Phil, Michaela.
We’re planning a Verde visit end Jan/beginning Feb. Like you, not interested in all incl concrete palaces but struggling to get info about alternatives. Hoping for small town/village amenities, and sea in easy walking from simple but not too basic accomm. on an island that has a bit more than just beaches and sun. Also bit concerned about warnings of unsafe bathing in some areas because of currents and strong winds Could do with your advice on island/ town/ accomm choices and why you chose to fly via Lisbon . Our UK airport of choice is Bham. But Bristol, E Mids also ok.
Did you consider visiting Mindelo, Sao Vicente ? And do you know anything about it ? Just how desert is Boa Vista, and how busy is Praia and Santiago ?
Look forward to hearing from you and Happy New Year
Peter and Charmian Richmond
Phil & Michaela
Hi guys, yes we’re happy to help. Not sure how many other posts of ours you visited but there are several articles about different places on the islands which will probably answer some of your questions and guide you in to the right places. Also, we normally travel long term but Cape Verde was a short (for us) 3 week visit, which is the only reason that we restricted ourselves to three islands and didn’t visit the northern half. Going via Lisbon was our only option – the only direct flights we could find were Tui and they were all sold out as we only booked a couple of weeks before we went. We heard that Mindelo is very lively and a good place to visit; but from our own experience Boa Vista is stunningly beautiful desert (worth reading our posts on this island, and see photos!), Praia is, at the end of the day, a city – and feels like one. African in vibe but a city nonetheless. Don’t worry about unsafe waters – it was easy to find gorgeous beaches with safe water. We swam lots! To meet your requirements of where to stay, can definitely recommend Sal Rei (but go for the fishermen’s quarter and avoid the big hotels) on Boa Vista, and Tarrafal on Santiago. Please do seek out our posts on these for more info. And please feel free to ask anything else you want to know, by email if you prefer. Enjoy paradise when you get there!
rkrontheroad
Thanks for the introduction to this unusual place, with each island so different. Love the photo of the smiling locals!
Phil & Michaela
They do find smiling very easy. “No stress”, as they keep saying…
Phil & Michaela
Smiling comes easily to them. “No stress”, as they like to keep saying…
Annie Berger
Phil and Michaela,
Really enjoyed the wrap-up on your visit to some of the Cape Verde islands as they were never on our radar. Great to have those very useful hints if and when we go.