Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) – a travel blog:

I always recommend to travelers to do their research, particularly when visiting a new destination. I always do so myself but even so, it doesn’t always work out. I had heard of Cape Verde at various times over the years and I had a vague notion of it as being a holiday destination. That said, the main thing that attracted me to it was the (very) cheap airfare offered by a combination of Ryanair and Easyjet. What appears to have happened since Trump’s war against Iran and the consequences for oil supplies and prices is that there have been numerous stories in the media forecasting shortages of aviation fuel and cancelled flights. This has spawned a fear in (some of) the travelling public of being stranded in far flung locations and has subsequently led to a drop in reservations. Consequently, some airlines have reduced prices significantly which was why I ended up here.

The Salt Flats at Sal's only mountain range - Cape Verde.

Cape Verde is the sort of place that would suffer from things like international recessions and oil price hikes. While it does have lots of four and five-star all-inclusive resorts which presumably would have needed to be booked in advance, it also has a large number of flights operated by airlines like Easyjet and TUI, which can be booked on a casual basis for a week, a weekend or just an off-the-cuff special occasion. It is six and a half hours flying time from Manchester so when you add the Dublin bit, we are talking a round trip of over eight hours. Because of flight schedules, this becomes fourteen hours on the return journey. There are numerous hotels and guest houses in addition to the resorts, which can be booked on a nightly basis. Given the distance though, it appears to be one of the first places to suffer when people are booking holidays and there’s a scare. On both of my flights - from Manchester and return, I had a whole row of seats to myself and the aircraft was less than half full. Flight crew told me that if things don’t improve soon, they can see the service being discontinued.

But I have digressed. I started by talking about research. Mine told me that Cape Verde is an independent country situated in the North Atlantic Ocean and consists of ten separate islands, which are quite a distance apart. I flew to the third largest island, Sal, simply because that was where Easyjet fly to, and my plan was to spend a couple of days there and then see some of the other islands. Alas, it was not possible. Google told me that it was possible to travel between the islands by ferry or by air but the reality is very different. Unfortunately, the islands are hundreds of kilometers apart and ferries are sporadic and go when they please. I enquired about them numerous times but I was given answers such as:

1.     I wouldn’t bother if I were you.

2.     No one knows the ferries’ schedule.

3.     The ferries go when they please – we think there’s one on Thursday but we have no information on when it’s comes back.

4.     Why do you need to see the other islands – they are all the same as Sal and there’s not much to see really.

5.     It’s possible to get a flight from Sal to the largest island, Santiago, but there is no direct return. You would have to fly back to Lisbon and get another flight from there to Sal and the cost would be prohibitive.

I should have known really but I had always managed to overcome minor travel inconveniences in the past so I persisted. In the end, I had to spend the full week on Sal. Now, it’s a very pleasant place, the people are friendly, the temperature is constantly in the mid-twenties and the sun shines every day. So, what’s not to like, you say. Well nothing and if you are a person who likes what my daughter calls a ‘fly-and-flop’ holiday with lots of sunshine, golden beaches and beautiful seas, then maybe Sal is for you. Unfortunately I found it a trifle boring as if you exclude lying in the sun and swimming, there was very little else to do. I think I did almost everything that was available including the island tour, a boat trip, visits to the shark beach and the blue eye, local tourist attractions; I even hired a bicycle and toured the island that way on one day. I’ve forgotten, the one thing I didn’t do was kite surfing – great if that’s your thing, but not for me. Just to be clear, there are no mountains (there’s a few hills), no lakes, no rivers, nothing but desert stretching all the way to the horizon.

Lion Mountain - Sal.

Despite this, Sal is very popular. They have a beautiful modern airport and numerous flights every day, mainly from Europe. It seems that there are any amount of people out there who just love a sun holiday and good luck to them. Cape Verde’s biggest competitor is probably the Canary Islands, over 1,500 kms to the north and you’d wonder why people fly the extra distance. It’s certainly not for the value as Cape Verde is a little more expensive. That may be due to the fact that almost everything is imported. The place is effectively a desert although a guide told me they do have some agriculture in the winter season. It apparently rains about five times a year, but not for very long. I have to say I saw no evidence of agriculture or even the possibility of it; neither did I see one domestic animal, apart from cats and dogs of course. It just goes to show that it must have been tough to eke out an existence or make a life here in the past. Apparently Cape Verde wasn’t inhabited at all until the Portugese arrived in the 15^th Century, so there is no historical ethnic population. The people are a mixture of African, Portugese and Creole.   

But to return to the cost theme, I believe a beer or a glass of wine in the Canaries is around three euro; here, it is about a fiver on average but you can pay more. There are numerous restaurants which offer good value and the cuisine is generally tasty. There’s a big emphasis on fish and seafood and any I had was delicious. I had swordfish and blue marlin and fish I had not tasted before such as amberjack, wahoo, mahi-mahi (red seabream) and grouper. There was also an abundance of lobster, shrimps, octopus and kalamari. An average main course cost in the region of twenty euro. One thing to be aware of: Everything you eat in Cape Verde, seemingly in every restaurant or café is prepared fresh. Unfortunately that nearly always necessitates a long delay between when you order and when the meal is delivered. Still, if you are out for the evening and you get a good bottle of wine, the wait is hardly noticeable and you are assured that every meal has been individually prepared from scratch.  

I would estimate that in the capital of Sal, Santa Maria, there are over a hundred restaurants and there are many more in some of the outlying towns. The quality in these was also excellent. Now obviously I didn’t try the fare in any of the all-inclusive resorts but I was assured it was also top class. People told me that you can get an all-inclusive package at a five-star resort, including pools, spas, salons, restaurants etc for the price of a three-star resort elsewhere. The sun is guaranteed so if that’s your thing, go for it.

Something else I noticed was the massive amount of building that is being undertaken everywhere, mainly apartments. Many Europeans are purchasing properties here so they can spend several sun holidays every year or perhaps to retire to in the future. I met several people, all British, who have already bought. Prices are not hugely expensive but they’re not cheap either. The lowest priced apartment I saw for sale was a one-bed for E100K. A typical two-bed would cost you 175-200 but you can spend up to a million if you want a bit more comfort. I guess people come to a place, like it and then want to live there or own a holiday home there. Personally, I have seen numerous other places with similar climates that I would choose before Sal but that’s just me; the Greek Islands tend to come to mind. The other caveat that I would urge people to consider is the potential cost of flights in the future. Six and a half hours is a long journey and fuel costs will surely push up fares.   

In the meantime, I hope the people of Sal and the other islands of Cape Verde make the most of it. They are a very friendly lot and I was offered help frequently. The main languages spoken are Creole and Portugese but enough people speak English to allow you to communicate. By the way, one of the things my research told me is that Cape Verde tops the index in Africa for education, healthcare and political freedom. They gained their independence from Portugal in 1975 and it appears that they have used it wisely so I wish them well.

To conclude, if you want a holiday with guaranteed sunshine every day, beautiful endless golden beaches and a chilled lifestyle, and you just want to laze around and soak up the sun, then you’ll love Cape Verde.