I’ve always been somewhat allergic to the package holiday and as a consequence have, in the past, stayed away from destinations that are more favoured as such. However, in recent years a couple of places have really surprised me and in a very pleasant way. One of those places is Cape Verde. A tiny horseshoe of ten islands some 500km from the Senegal coast of West Africa, this little archipelago turned out to be one excellent choice for a vacation.
Once I got over the skin crawling idea of being cramped on a charter flight for six hours, I found the journey was not so bad after all and began to look forward to my two weeks of island hopping. Having checked out some very handy information and stunning images on www.mydestination.com/capeverde my notion of finding a very lush group of green islands, as the Portuguese name ‘Verde’ suggests, had evaporated and instead I was eager to see some rugged coastline, spectacular volcanoes and white sandy beaches. Yep, that’s right I did say volcanoes and white sand belong on the same islands. It’s true that volcanic usually implies black or at least muddy coloured sand, but Cape Verde’s beaches are some of the most idyllic you will find anywhere in the world.
One of the most picture-perfect is Santa Monica on the Island of Boa Vista, shimmering in the clear blue sky and gently lapped by the sapphire ocean; the sand here is dazzling limestone white and stretches as far as the eyes can see. There’s plenty else to do here too. Cycle or quad bike around the island or try your hand at a seemingly endless list of water sports, including fishing. Though after a wicked fun, but rather hopeless attempt at kite surfing, I decided to stick to snorkelling and exploring the natural wonders. A night time excursion to the nesting area of the beautiful loggerhead turtles and an invigorating hike up the volcano on the island of Fogo were far more my style and also considerably cheaper occupations. Standing at the top of the cone shaped mount and looking out over the spectacular rugged landscape all efforts of the three hour climb were forgotten.
The blend of two cultures is always intriguing and Cape Verde is one of the most enchanting I’ve ever come across. Portuguese, African, Caribbean and even Brazilian mingle together into a vivid rainbow of history, arts, architecture and people. Santiago is the most African of the islands and home to the historic fort of Cidade Velha, now a UNESCO world heritage site where discovering the traumatic and fascinating history of slavery and European colonisation is something not to be missed.
Blended cultures also mean fusion of cuisine. Food and drink in Cape Verde is an exciting and healthy mix of all the above influences and with a strong fishing tradition, seafood is not surprisingly top of the menu. For the veggies, you will have no trouble at all finding an excellent variety of vegetable dishes. Whilst I tried the lovely national dish of Cachupa, a slow cooked stew of beans and corn with fish, the more carnivorous of you might want to sub the oceanic ingredient for chicken or beef.
Whatever you choose to experience, Cape Verde is a fantastic and exciting destination.
Author Bio: Liah S Thorley
Liah S Thorley is a travel writer and novelist from the UK. She has travelled extensively and particularly enjoys history and the arts.
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. All pics and text are provided by the author. Additional Photo Credits: Pics of the Mountains, Coast and Above the Clouds by Andreas Urban
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