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 
