Cape Verde
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Travel Tips
There are now several internet cafes which charge 90 CVE in Mindelo.
You can make international phone calls in a few of them, it's a lot much cheaper
than in the Post Office (I paid 2360 CVE for a 5 minutes call to Switzerland)
Valerie Feur, France (Aug 05)
Moving About
If you depart by plane there is now a CVE360 security tax at the airport. We have no clue why that is, because there is no security. The only check they do is to see if your ticket has the same name as in your passport. No x-ray, no bag search, nothing, but still you have to pay. This is only in Praia and not in Sal. And do not pay with your credit card, because they charge CVE350 for the call for authorization!!!
Diana and Erwin van Engelen, Netherlands (Nov 01)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Fogo: the vulcano is wonderful to climb and the path is not difficult to follow. It is long and if you are not well trained and do not use a local guide (which is fully possible) it takes more than 4 hours to get to the top. The final part of the climb is very rapid and is on stones. Be prepared to use both hands and feet! It is not dangerous; there is sand below which is a confortable "shock-absorber" in case of a fall! To find out where the climb should be started, just ask people but be prepared to reject guides if you do not want them. In general people's behaviour is very appropriate, kind and polite; they do not insist. I and my partner slept on the vulcano that night and guides came to look for us because they thought we were lost! A very sensitive and correct behaviour; the day after we became friends.
Anon, Italy (May 03)
Last year I spent two weeks in Cape Verde which is made of several different islands. We noticed that most of the guide books talk about islands with fabulous sandy beaches and amazing clear blue sea which is true but all of these places are often overcrowded. Consequently we moved on to another island called Santo Antao that is only described briefly in books.
You can reach this island by boat. When we arrived at Santo Antao, we were disappointed after seeing dirty banks in the vicinity of the eastern port. However, this feeling quickly disappeared when we took a taxi to reach the opposite side of the island. We travelled throughout the mountains which had deep green vegetation that we had never seen on other islands. While we were climbing on a tiny dirt road, which is the only road that will lead you to the western coast, we were able to observe the different valleys from an extaordinary viewpoint. We hiked between the sharp mountains and it was a pleasure to get lost in such landscapes, with nobody within sight.
When we managed to reach the first village, we asked for a hotel but the Cape Verdeans laughed at us in a friendly way saying there were no tourist facilities in these areas. As it was too late to take a taxi because the roads are dangerous at night due to poor visibility. A man invited us to stay for the night and we took a taxi the day after. It was an amazing journey where we met the most kindly people in the middle of fabulous landscapes. Do not forget to take food and drink there. Sometimes a tent could be useful as well.
Najim Yassine, France (Aug 02)
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