From Wikitravel

Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde) is a country in West Africa. It comprises a group of islands of the Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal.

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 Climate 4.2 Holidays 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 5.2 By boat 6 Get around 7 Talk 8 Buy 8.1 Costs 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact

Regions

Cities

• Praia – the country’s capital
• Mindelo – a port city and probably the country’s liveliest
• Cidade Velha (Ribeira Grande) – A World Heritage Site

Other destinations

• The Island of Fogo volcano - The country's highest point (2,829 m)

Understand

Cape Verde (pop. 480.000) is located 500 km from the west coast of Africa. The once uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; they subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and re-supply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Independence was achieved in 1975.

Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.

Climate

Cape Verde’s climate is temperate, with a warm, dry summer. Precipitation is meager and very erratic.

Holidays

The national holiday is the 5th of July, Independence Day.

Get in

By plane

International flights land at the island of Sal, 110 miles (170 km) northeast of the capital.

There are regular flights from Amsterdam, Boston (weekly), Fortaleza (Brazil) (weekly), Lisbon (daily), Madrid, Milan, Munich and Oporto operated by TACV.

Cape Verde is also serviced by Air Senegal (from Dakar), SAA (from South Africa) and TAP airlines.

By boat

There are only infrequent, expensive connections to the mainland.

Get around

TACV Cabo Verde airlines has regular flights between the majority of the islands. If you can afford to wait until you arrive, domestic tickets are cheaper if purchased in Cape Verde.

There are ferry services between the islands. Depending on the distance between the islands you are going from and to, flying can be significantly shorter but also significantly more expensive.

Nice, new taxis are available in the major cities and are metered. Aluguers, which are usually either open back pickup trucks with bench seats or 15 passenger Toyota vans, tend to travel between more rural destinations, particularly on Santa Antao.

Talk

The official language is Portuguese. Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) is widely spoken. Because of Cape Verde's proximity to Francophone Africa, French is the number one foreign language but is still not widely spoken.

Buy

Costs

Eat

• Lagostada – a lobster dish

• Cachupa - delicious bean dish, often served for breakfast

• Tosta mista - common toasted ham and cheese sandwich

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Crime rates are relatively low. The emergency number is 132.

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

The telephone system is effective and improving. There is mobile phone coverage. The country also has one internet service provider.

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