Collecting Moments

We used the island of Sal as our gateway to Cabo Verde. The welcome was dusty, windy and extremely dry. So was the goodbye. Of our 30 days in the country, we spent the first two and the last four on this flat desert island. During that time there was hardly a moment of silence, only the wailing and howling that accompanied our every step. And sand, lots of sand, swirling around, flying over and getting into every possible crevice. It reminded us of hamsin in Israel that paints the sun white and the sky yellow. Espargos Our EasyJet flight from Lisbon landed at Amilcar Cabral Airport at about 5:30 pm on March 25th. First of all, we had to sort out the essentials: local cash and mobile data. The former was easily obtained by paying a commission of 285 escudos at the ATM. For the latter, we bought an ALOU 5 GB plan for 30 days for 700 escudos (plus 100 for a SIM card). Given that the airport is only 3 kilometers from Espargos, walking to our accommodation seemed like a viable option...

We arrived in Mindelo on February 27th, a few days before the carnival frenzy would hit the city. Since hitchhiking in Cabo Verde was still a bit of a mystery to us, we decided to take a taxi from the Cesária Évora airport, which cost 1200 escudos. The studio, actually a garage converted into an apartment, that we rented for our entire stay was located in the quiet residential area of Madeiralzinho. The first thing the landlady told us after handing over the keys was, “Be careful, there's a lot of movement now”. “It's carnival time”, she added. Over the next few days we would find out what she meant. The city was chaotic and crowded in anticipation of the festivities. The main streets were lined with ticketed stands for spectators willing to pay between 1000 and 2000 escudos for an evening show. On the opposite side, all kinds of seating - plastic chairs, wooden stools, boxes, benches - sprouted up, reserved and negotiated through street fixers, adding a layer of unofficial co...

On our second day in Porto Novo, we set out to explore the vicinity, eager to get the first glimpse of the island's wild beauty. We followed a marked trail that started on the outskirts of town and eventually led to Pico da Cruz, the third highest peak on Santo Antão. Just past the last houses, an information panel and a well-placed sign showed the way. According to it, the entire route was 13 kilometers long with an elevation gain of more than 1700 meters. That seemed too challenging for our first trek on the island and we opted for a short hike of just 8 kilometers through the arid landscape. The sun beat down relentlessly, the wind blew hard. It was hot, and the trail offered little shade for respite. The surrounding land was riddled with deep green canyons, carved by rivers during the rainy season. We passed small quarries and an old rusty windmill. Our destination was the collapsed cone of the Morrinho da Passagem volcano. Its dark reddish-brown slopes stood out against t...

Mindelo stirred to life when we left our accommodation and walked to the port. Two days earlier, we'd bought a return ferry ticket to Santo Antão for 3,000 escudos. Now, as we boarded the 8am ferry, we felt the anticipation of reaching the westernmost point of Cabo Verde and the furthest from the African continent. The ferry's three decks—two open, one enclosed—offered flexibility; we stayed on top, absorbing the views of São Vicente, Santo Antão, and the sharp Ilhéu dos Pássaros in between. This black volcanic outcrop hosts a lone lighthouse, its white staircase winding up the rock face like a zipper. The crossing proved to be comfortable despite some mild swell that made us a little queasy. Fifty minutes later, we docked in Porto Novo's harbor, greeted by the island's mountainous silhouette. In stark contrast to Mindelo, Porto Novo appeared quiet and safe. It had a village feel compared to the bustling capital of São Vicente . As we walked along the shore to our g...