Cabo Verde, island by island
The first European town in the tropics, a lived-in volcano, the country’s smallest island, its cultural capital, mountain trails and white-sand beaches: Cabo Verde told island by island, from the sources.
Each Cape Verdean island has its own character: history on Santiago, the volcano on Fogo, music on São Vicente, mountains on Santo Antão, beaches on Sal and Boa Vista. This story links them by the ferries and flights the sources describe.
Ferry and domestic flight schedules change: this notebook gives a crossing time only where a source states one. Every stage links to its activity sheet, where each fact cites its source.
Santiago, Cidade Velha and Tarrafal
Founded in 1462, Cidade Velha is the country’s oldest settlement and the first European colonial settlement in the tropics; from Praia, 10 km away, “aluguer” minibuses leave from Sucupira market. In the north of the island, Tarrafal bay lies below Monte Graciosa, about 2 hours’ drive from the airport.
Fogo, the lived-in volcano
Flights and a ferry link Praia with São Filipe. Pico do Fogo rises to 2,829 m; it last erupted in 2014, and the village of Chã das Caldeiras lies inside the caldera, where the hikes begin.
Brava, the smallest
The ferry from São Filipe reaches Brava, 62.5 km², the country’s smallest inhabited island and its greenest. North American whalers once called for supplies at its ports of Fajã de Água and Furna.
São Vicente and Santo Antão
Mindelo, founded in 1793, is the country’s cultural capital, known for its carnival; some venues have live morna from Thursday to Sunday. From its port, the ferry reaches Porto Novo on Santo Antão in about an hour, twice a day.
Santo Antão is volcanic and very mountainous: its highest point, Tope de Coroa, reaches 1,979 m, and in the north some lodgings are only metres from the trails.
São Nicolau
The port of Tarrafal de São Nicolau has ferry links with Mindelo and Praia. The island rises to Monte Gordo, 1,312 m.
Sal and Boa Vista, the beach islands
Sal has over 350 days of sunshine a year; Santa Maria is about 20 minutes’ drive from the airport, and the Pedra de Lume salt ponds lie in the crater of an extinct volcano. Boa Vista, with direct flights from Europe, has large beaches and the dunes of the Viana desert.
Sources · 16
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