"NO STRESS" Top 5 Page for this destination Ilha do Sal by DAO

Ilha do Sal Travel Guide: 52 reviews and 108 photos

WHY SAL?

Sal is essentially a desert island with no trees, few resources or people. It has mostly just huge tracts of sand in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator which guarantees hot weather year round. In other words – a property developers dream. In fact the developers are literally changing the landscape of the island at an incredible rate and should be able to completely destroy the natural beauty of this island by the year 2015.

So why did this become a tourist destination in the first place? Because it is somewhat midway between Portugal and Brazil as well as midway between Cape Town and London, it’s a great place to have a place to refuel and land planes. Also there aren’t many places in the Atlantic to stop if a plane needs to land suddenly. Remember, it has essentially no inhabitants and it’s flat. So the airport was built, strangely by Italy, while Cape Verde was still a Portuguese Colony. During Apartheid South African Airways used it because many African countries would not allow them landing or overflights.

Today the town of Santa Maria in the south has all the tourist hotels, but plans have been approved to destroy natural areas in the north for new mega-hotels.

THE FLIP-SIDE OF SAL

Click on the photo for a better look. For some reason the best photo I could get of my Virtual Tourist flip-flops on the sand was one that was upside down. Some of my tips explore the flip-side of life here, as do many of my tips on other pages. Well, someone needs to report the weird and wonderful things that go one here. Hope you enjoy my page as I work on it.

FLYING THE FLAG FOR VT

I took with me, and used, every known VT product except my VT boxer shorts. From pens, to luggage tags, flip-flops, VT business cards, beach bag, flag and T-shirt. All worked just fine.

Pros and Cons

Pros:ALWAYS HOT
Cons:BEING OVERDEVELOPED BEFORE YOUR EYES
In a nutshell:AFRICA FOR EUROPEANS WHO DON'T DO AFRICA

Last visit to Ilha do Sal: Oct 2008
Intro Updated Oct 12, 2008
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Reviews (4)

FAST INTERNET - WIRELESS IF YOU NEED IT ! - Ilha do Sal

FAST INTERNET - WIRELESS IF YOU NEED IT... Things to Do (3)

IPNET is a cracking new internet place in Sal that offers fast speeds and modern equipment. One of the owners, Patrizia,... more travel advice

THE MOST FILTHY DRIVER ON THE ISLAND - Ilha do Sal

THE MOST FILTHY DRIVER ON THE ISLAND Favorites (1)

FOR ADULTS ONLY! This is a picture of the driver who took me to the airport. He is very friendly and polite. He helped... more travel advice

ATM'S Things to Do (3)

Sal has ATM cash machines. In fact they seem to be plagued with them. Despite what the guidebooks say, there are ATM’s... more travel advice

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE Things to Do (3)

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean there are bottles floating with a message inside. The message is from me and asks the... more travel advice

Travelogues (1)

Written Aug 21, 2011

8 photos

COOL FOR CATS (LOTS OF CATS)

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Comments (10)

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SLLiew Dec 10, 2009 at 6:11 PM

NIce page here. SL :)
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diosh Aug 9, 2009 at 6:17 AM

I love the 'message in a bottle' idea. Wonderful.D x
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craic Dec 11, 2008 at 9:02 AM

fabulous - and wierd - which is fabulous
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risse73 Dec 8, 2008 at 8:25 PM

Thanks for these tips! Love the "message in a bottle" tip most of all. -Marissa-
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angiebabe Oct 25, 2008 at 2:30 AM

did that guy understand the words though thinking it was just rap music?have you got some pics for us of how the place looks?thanks ever increasingly country number belt notched well travelled well AFrica'd Dao.
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glo39 Oct 24, 2008 at 9:07 AM

I hope you had your #1 VAs ears boxed for this trip Dao. What will we encounter next?
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Gillybob Oct 20, 2008 at 5:07 AM

My crystal ball says you are missing a Warning and Dangers tip!! Gillybob greetings
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starship Oct 16, 2008 at 8:00 PM

Modern development on the island seems almost gentile compared to the invasion of the abomination of gansta rap! It's like a fungus amongus--the insidious disease!
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moiraistyx Oct 16, 2008 at 7:05 PM

LOL only you can manage to write a tip on a foul mouthed driver. I love it. See you in 09, yay.
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cachaseiro Oct 16, 2008 at 7:04 AM

good to see the ATM's has arrived to cape verde. they were not there when i was there 8 years ago.