With a 30-day visa, it is difficult to visit all ten Cape Verde islands (well if you travel slowly). So, we have choosen the five Barlavento islands (it means windward islands). Given the prevailing winds rather NE, and coming from the Canaries, the most natural thing is to sail from East to West: Sal, Boa Vista, São Nicolau, Sao Vincente and Santo Antao.
Each island has its personality, from the dunes of Sal and Boa Vista and the spectacular mountain landscapes of Sao Nicolao or Santo Antao. Local population is really nice and friendly: we loved it.
Sal
Sal, low and sandy is perhaps the least interesting but the first to make the check-in. We stayed mainly around the village of Palmeira : a very nice first contact because the village is mainly a place wich welcome boaters. There is no other tourists.
Boa Vista,
Boa Vista, larger, is the next island on our way : a small piece of Sahara with its giant dunes and palm trees. Marine dunes on its shores but also Saharan dunes, in its center, a rare phenomenon as sand is carried by the wind from the Sahara (at less than 700 km). To visit it, you have to follow unmarked tracks and drive in the sand dunes. Absolutely exotic
Sao Nicolau
Sao Nicolau, with its beautiful mountains, is very preserved. It is the island we preferred.
There are some amazing natural sites and hikes in the natural spaces and the Monte Gordo national park is sublime. We mingled a lot with the population by taking the aluguers, the collective local transport, and eating with them.
What you do here is just chat with the fishermen in the early morning, catch the aluguers, go shopping in infamous sheds where bananas, papayas and guavas are piled up. In the evening, you have to stop to taste shellfish skewers and live to the leisurely rhythm of the locals.
Santo Antao
Santo Antao is the most famous : a paradise for trekkers. We did a magnificent hike in the Ribeira do Paul. Very beautiful but not so different from Sao Nicolao, which stays our favorite.
