"Como vai?" Cape Verde by seagoingJLW

Cape Verde Travel Guide: 555 reviews and 1,124 photos

The Cape Verde Island group is a desert surrounded by water. They are actually the peaks of an underwater volcanic mountain range. Praia, the capital, is a natural harbor in the crater of an ancient volcano.

There are many volcanos in the region caused by hot spots in the oceanic crust. the region also has the highest proportion of fissure-vent volcanos.

The major volcanos are:
Fogo- Stratovolcano, 2,829 meters high, Historical
Brava- Stratovolcano, 900 meters high, Holocene
Santo Antao- Stratovolcano, 1,979 meter high, Holocene
San Vicente- Stratovolcano, 697 meter high, Holocene

<font color=red>Miscellaneous Information</font>

The Republic of Cape Verde is an island archpelago that is 600 km west of Dakar, Senegal. It is roughly 63,000 sq km in area with 4,000 sq km in land area.

It consists of five islands and ten islets which are divided into the Windward (Barlavento) and Leeward (Solavento) groups.

Praia, on the island of Santiago, is the capital.

The population was estimated at 423,120 in 1994.

History

Near the island

The Portuguese discovered Cape Verde in 1456 and settled there in 1462. In 1466 the settlers were granted the right to bring in slaves direct from the Guinea coast. By 1555 there were 13,700 slaves in a population of 15,708. They survived an attack by Sir Francis Drake. The population was decimated by drought and famine in the 1770's.

When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Cape Verde islands lost their importance as a coaling and victualing center.

There were four major famines between 1900 and 1947 and over 87,000 died of starvation.

On July 5, 1975 the islands were granted their independence and declared a republic.

Volcanos and mountains dominate the terrain. Aloe is a major part of the plant life. Tropical species such as monkeys, sea turtles, lizards, butterflies and 105 different kinds of birds live here.

There really wasn't much there. We met some Peace Corps workers who were trying to set the natives up for some tourist business.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Green and pretty
Cons:Undeveloped
In a nutshell:Wait a few years

Last visit to Cape Verde: Dec 1996
Intro Updated Mar 22, 2003
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Reviews (3)

The Cape Verde Islands Transportation (1)

The Cape Verde Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean off the African Coast, west of Senegal. more travel advice

Cape Verde Cuisine Restaurants (1)

Local foods to try: Bife de atum (tuna, marinated in vinegar and cooked in spices) Bacalhau (dried cod) Cachupa (maize... more travel advice

The whole island Off The Beaten Path (1)

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Comments (23)

cachaseiro Mar 13, 2004 at 9:32 PM Report Abuse

cape verde is a very interesting place. i really liked it.
globetrott Nov 4, 2003 at 4:57 PM Report Abuse

great infos and lovely pics ! Cap Verde is a great place to go !
nomorewars Feb 1, 2003 at 11:10 AM Report Abuse

Your pictures are appealing to the eye.
matcrazy1 May 29, 2002 at 11:23 AM Report Abuse

Great infos!
MissyWQ May 17, 2002 at 12:03 PM Report Abuse

Okay, where is Senegal?
silvia-m.b Apr 7, 2002 at 3:41 AM Report Abuse

The #1 page about Cape Verde!
pepples46 Mar 3, 2002 at 8:28 PM Report Abuse

muito bem
zweiblumen Jan 16, 2002 at 12:06 PM Report Abuse

Very informative page
rachel_sun Nov 29, 2001 at 9:39 PM Report Abuse

thanx 4 good info
Pelourinho Nov 2, 2001 at 7:22 AM Report Abuse

Interesting history section. Did you catch the music?