Our friends at SOS Tartarugas on Sal, Cape Verde, have sent us news of their work on the island so far this year :

Turtle Sightings

25 days after the first turtle came ashore on Sal this year, they have counted 239 tracks (106 in 2008), 72 nests (37) and have tagged 53 turtles (only 101 were tagged in the whole of 2008).

Dramatic rescue at sea

SOS received reports this week of a turtle in difficulty at sea on the Costa Fragata. After battling strong current and huge surf, two turtles were found completely entangled in a fishing net and struggling to move. The turtles, one male and one female, were eventually brought back to shore and cut free. The male was released while the exhausted female spent the night in a swimming pool recovering before her successful release the next morning.

For information about turtle watching holidays on Sal or Boavista, please click here or call us on 017687  75684.

Last month, we sent Ursula Kenny from the Observer to the islands of Fogo, Santiago and Sal and she had a wonderful time. We tailored her holiday carefully (as we do with all our clients) so were delighted when she referred to us a ’small and skilled company’ in the article. Here are the first few paragraphs, for the rest just click on the link at the bottom :

Why Cheap Sunshine is just part of the story

It’s fair to say that the island of Sal on Cape Verde receives a mixed press.

Fishing boats on the beach in Tarrafal, Santiago

Certainly the Bradt guide doesn’t mince words. “The arrival … on an international flight is a deliciously depressing descent … relentlessly brown and featureless … Disembarking … you will gaze at the rocky plains in puzzlement, trying to remember why you decided to come.”

Still, it is where trips to the Cape Verde archipelago – 10 islands 400 or so miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa – tend to begin and end for us Brits.

Sal is one of only two Cape Verde islands you can fly to direct from London, and most visitors come on package tours, lured by the promise of winter sun rather than pleasing scenery. I can confirm that it is indeed a bleak and uninspiring landscape that greets visitors after the five-and-a-half hour flight from Gatwick; dusty plains as far as the eye can see, dotted with skeletons of unfinished buildings – the result of half-finished projects started by foreign investors who ran out of money.

On the trip from the airport to the coastal resort of Santa Maria our attention is particularly drawn to a massive development called Cotton Bay, where a 36-hole golf course as well as a shopping centre, spa and casino are planned. There is local concern about development across Cape Verde apparently. Lack of fresh water is an issue on all the islands. Nearly all the water on Sal, (Portuguese for salt) for example, comes from desalination plants.

View the full article on the Guardian Observer website

White sands, shipwrecks and date palms

A real desert island, Boavista is wonderful for exploring by 4 wheel drive visiting the deserted beaches, loggerhead turtle project or trying your hand at kite surfing. It is also one of the best islands in Cape Verde for family holidays as Ian Coates discovered….

Click here for more details on Boavista holidays

My Boavista family experience

“With my 1 and 3 year old children in tow, we headed to Boavista in February for 4 days.

Ian Coates on Boavista, Cape Verde

 We stayed at the Parque das Dunas which, while a fairly camp-like layout, provided us with a fantastic location on Chaves beach and a wonderful swimming pool which had a shallow part ideal for the children. We hired a jeep to explore the island which meant we could bump along the tracks (there aren’t many tarmac roads) to remote white sand beaches, sand dunes in the interior, the turtle hatchery and through quiet friendly villages. One of the highlights was sitting in an Italian beach bar watching the kite surfers and windsurfers perform their amazing acrobatics. The children loved the play area in Sal Rei and got to join in with the local children there, it also had a great little ice cream parlour. All in all, this is a great island for families but it’s definitely worth getting a jeep to explore on your own.”

Ian Coates

With almost 50 canyoning routes bolted and with waterfalls ranging from 3-200m, Santo Antao in Cape Verde must be one of the most exciting undiscovered canyoning destinations in the world. Click here for more information on canyoning holidays and holidays on Santo Antao.

“Eduardo and his girlfriend Leia were my guides for my canyoning day which was on the northeast coast of Santo Antao, by far the best island for canyoning in Cape Verde. Eduardo had all the necessary equipment with him (wet packs to put all bags and dry clothes in, airtight containers for phones, cameras, wallets etc, climbing ropes and harnesses and lunch).

We set up the side of the canyon, stowing the lunch bag in a handy bush to begin with!  The walk to the starting point took about 45mins and wasn’t too difficult, quite steep in places but there was no hurry and we stopped a couple of times for Eduardo to tell us things about what he does and about the island.

At the start we stopped and put our harnesses and helmets on.  Eduardo went through how to attach ourselves to the rope several times until we got the hang of it.  Then we were off!

Almost immediately we reached the first section where ropes were required.  There are loops concreted into the rocky canyon sides for attaching the ropes to. The first rappel was very short but good to get to grips with how it works.  Leia went first each time so that she could then hold the rope secure for us to come down.  Then Eduardo would come down and detach the rope to take to the next section. 

There were about 8 descents all together, some short and some quite long.  There were also rocky slides to negotiate which were great fun – Eduardo first, then bags, then us! 

At the end of the route we walked to a pool, had a much needed swim and changed into dryer clothes. Then it was back up to the bush to collect our lunch and make our way back to Ponta do Sol…

All in all an excellent, exciting day and a great introduction to canyoning. ”

Jake

This Afro/Brazilian art form is a style of acrobatic non combat fighting performed to music and narrative. Whilst staying on Sao Vicente I was lucky enough to visit a local Capoeira school in Mindelo. The class is funded through donations from a local agency which pays for the rental of the room and uniforms for the children. I arrived a few minutes before the session began and the children ranging from about 6 to 18 poured through the doors full of excitement and chatter. The master then called them to gather round and the mood changed, all became quiet and you could tell the children were listening intently to his every word. One or two children played the musical instruments while another child called out the narrative for the dance and the performance began. It started slowly at first and then became faster as the tempo picked up. The martial art style moves are quick and slick, an impressive sight which will stay with me forever, as I found the performance very emotional and had to fight back the tears. I was so taken with the relationship between the master and the children and their mutual respect for one another. It is a huge part of Cape Verdean culture and groups perform in the main square Amilcar Cabral on Sunday evenings. So if you stay in Mindelo join the locals, buy an ice-cream and enjoy the spectacle!

See our holidays on Sao Vicente