Cape Verde! Where is it?

"Have you thought of going to Cape Verde?" the travel agent asked. I suspect more in desperation than hope, having had us reject a number of other destinations.

Now I would confidently pick the geography questions in the pub quiz, but I would have been letting the team down if asked where Cape Verde is!

"No. Where is it?"

"I am not sure either; I will have to look it up." So the rep didn't know either!

We found it eventually; a small group of islands approximately 500 km off the west coast of Africa, level with Senegal and Mauritania.

A quick look at the brochure and we were soon paying for two weeks in the Cape Verdean island of Sal. The hotel and surroundings looked marvellous.

Some research into The Republic Of Cape Verde reveals that it is a horseshoe shaped set of sub-tropical islands in the Atlantic; "West of Africa and East of Brazil" as the local catchphrase has it. The islands were discovered in the mid fifteenth century by the Portuguese. Being situated in the trade-wind zone they soon became an important stop in the days of sail. Indeed a famous visitor to them was Charles Darwin, whose arrival there on 16th January 1832, is recorded in "The Voyage Of The Beagle".

Sal is only 30km long and 12km wide, so the trip from the airport, just outside Espargos, the main town in the middle of the island, to the hotel near Santa Maria, on the south coast, was only a short ride.

Soon after arrival at the hotel we were having a much needed cold beer at the beach bar. A quick look at the beautiful blue sea lapping onto the warm sand tells you why this is fast becoming such a popular destination for a holiday in the sun or even to own a tropical get-away.

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The Cape Verdeans are friendly people. The hotel was as good as the brochure suggested. We had a great two weeks there and I wont be letting the quiz team down on that question when it comes up!

Roger Crews
PropertyMagnate.com - International Property Portal - prestige developments and investment opportunities from around the world.

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