Another trip, means another blog post! :) Joel and I found a good deal on direct flights to Cape Verde and couldn't resist a short trip to escape the cold and use up those last holidays for 2019! We booked the trip in July and decided as we usually do not to pay extra for the refundable tickets... which later we regretted because we found out in August that I am pregnant! My obstetrician had no problems with me going, but we were concerned as Cape Verde had cases of Zika in the past. After much research, and speaking with the travel doctor, we decided the risk was very low and to still go for the trip. There hadn't been cases of Zika for 2 years, and the island of Sal (where we stayed 4 nights) never had any reported cases of Zika. So we just had 4 days of extra caution with mosquitoes. When we visited conditions were very windy and dry! So we only saw maybe one mosquito the whole time and neither of us had any bites. YAY.
We arrived on the island of Santiago, and the capital city called Praia. (Beach in Portuguese). The first day we walked around the area of our hotel and found some food for lunch. Joel & I had a great grilled fish called a Bica. The restaurant was on a big hill and overlooked the beaches and the island! It was such a nice view. After that we explored the area. Almost everything was closed for the public holiday. There were lots of street dogs, all so peacefully sleeping in the shade. It was 33c/92F and intense sunshine! We visited the nearby beach, Quebra Canela where there seemed to be a mix of locals and tourists. The water temperature was very refreshing! The sand was quite dark, almost black!
We spent day 2 walking around and exploring the city. There was a huge confusing market (Suscpira) with the typical goods, but people were not aggressive asking for you to buy things like you find typically! Everyone was very relaxed. There was lots of beautiful street art. The neighborhood of Plateau has a nice pedestrian street full of restaurants and cafes. Restaurants in Praia generally took a really long time! We spent almost two hours waiting for food in the Plateau. Luckily there was plenty of people watching to be done. I ordered the typical Cape Verdean dish, Cachupa. There are a few types of the dish, I ordered the "wet" one, or one that is more like a soup. It is a stew with beans, corn, potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and whatever meat you want to put. I decided to try the vegan one without meat. I liked it, it is similar to the Portuguese stew called Feijoada. At the hotel I tried the dry version and it wasn't my favorite thing.
The next day, we visited the Cidade Velha. We took a taxi round trip for an outrageous price but the car rental places were closed on Sunday so we had no other choice to get there... Unless we wanted to take the local transport, but in the heat there was no way I could make it! I read several blogs about how much people enjoyed the little village, but there wasn't really much to see. There were beautiful views from the fort, Rua de Banana, apparently the oldest street in Cape Verde once settled by Europeans, and the sea side views. We enjoyed watching some young boys bring their catch of fresh fish and selling it to a guy sitting next to us at the lunch restaurant.
On Monday, (my 31st birthday! :O ) we rented our little busted up car from the cheapest car rental place we could find and made our way across the island to Tarrafal. It was only then, we realized why the island was named Cape Verde. Because so far, all we had seen was rocks, sand, brown, and arid desert! Crossing the island you go over this mountain range where there are suddenly huge granite peaks spiking up and covered in green and trees. Corn plants are plentiful. Joel loved the driving adventures like always. The car added extra challenge with the clutch being almost useless, and the steering wheel misaligned. The beach in Tarrafal was stunning, much nicer than in Praia! We stopped by the Tarrafal prison to find some kiddos who wanted to sell us apples. They told us that the prison was closed, but told us a "secret" viewpoint to see it from above. Joel said we would discuss the apples after we visited. Turns out they were not lying to us, it was indeed closed on Mondays. But we had a little view from the top and in the end agreed to buy two apples from them. Then we cruised our way back to the capital. We stopped in Plateau again to get some birthday ice cream. It was so good but it melted sooo fast! I couldn't keep up. We decided to return the car at the airport, as it was the same price as returning in the car rental office near our hotel. I was a little tired of eating the same stuff, so was trying to find a different kind of food for my birthday. I found a Latino restaurant with some pictures of Guacamole and tacos on google... Like the crazy lady I am, why not have Latin food in Africa? The place was really random, we thought maybe a cover up for something else. Anyways the menu was mostly snacks plates and drinks. I told them I saw Guacamole and they said they didn't have it but the owner came over and was like no problem we will go get avocados and make some! It was amazing Guac! Even Joel liked it, for the first time! He has tried several guacs in his day now and never enjoyed it until this place! The main dish reminded me of Filiberto's Carne Asada Fries. Fries, topped with sauces, salsa, different meats like chorizo, etc. They also made killer Mojitos (virgin for me of course.) The owners were from Chile.
The next morning we were off to the island of Sal. We booked 4 nights at an all inclusive resort, for the first time ever! :O It was really nice in some ways not to worry about anything, but I think we would have been happy to stay only two nights as we got a little crazy of doing the same things every day. Cristina's friends were staying at the resort next to ours so we met up for drinks one afternoon. Other than that, it was reading by the pool, by the beach, swimming, napping, drinking, eating, sleeping in, etc. They had some nightly entertainment shows which were cute, but nothing spectacular. One night was Cape Verdean dancing, another night was a tribute the Queen, and the final night was the Lion King. The beach directly in front of the resort wasn't really swimmable because there were huge rocks and really intense waves. There was a little portion which they made a sandy beach and two walkways to create a calmer area for swimming. The water temperature was a little cold, but also nice after you got used to it. We brought our goggles and saw a few little fish swimming around. I also really enjoyed doing Yoga on the beach.
Most meals were buffet style which was okay, but lacked variety day after day. They also had some restaurants which were included but we could only make reservations for the last two nights. The other nights were already full. The restaurant quality was a bit lower than we had expected. Drinks were plenty and strong according to Joel. :P Plus they had taps of every kind of wine and beer for meals. I had never seen wine on "tap" before.
The island of Sal is very small and besides the beach and the small city, the only other thing to do there is visit the Salt Pools, but since we have the salt pools also in Aveiro, we decided to just hang out at the resort. That was pretty much our time in Sal! It was very very relaxing but as I said before, not our normal cup of tea.
Overall, people were super friendly and helpful in Cape Verde. The food seemed to be very influenced by Portugal, and we were surprised that it wasn't cheaper. Considering the wages they earn, prices in the supermarkets, restaurants, were similar to what we pay here in Portugal. We also saw house prices and rent in apartments isn't very cheap versus how much they earn. The taxi driver told us 70 percent of the people work in agriculture. This seemed crazy because it is so dry and there isn't water! They spoke very understandable Portuguese to Joel and I, but among themselves they speak a creole version of Portuguese that even Joel cannot understand. They also were quite confused to whether to speak in English or Portuguese to us which was funny! Some of them seemed to prefer to speak in English even when Joel would answer back in Portuguese.
I really enjoyed the holidays and our "baby moon" in Cape Verde. However, it definitely didn't top any of my favorite lists. Maybe this is a problem with instagram, and blogging. My expectations were a bit too high after reading great things in blogs and on instagram.
We arrived safely back to Portugal for lots of rain and COLD! I will post another update about my pregnancy so far soon!
Love & Beijinhos
Nicole Joel and Mel
We arrived on the island of Santiago, and the capital city called Praia. (Beach in Portuguese). The first day we walked around the area of our hotel and found some food for lunch. Joel & I had a great grilled fish called a Bica. The restaurant was on a big hill and overlooked the beaches and the island! It was such a nice view. After that we explored the area. Almost everything was closed for the public holiday. There were lots of street dogs, all so peacefully sleeping in the shade. It was 33c/92F and intense sunshine! We visited the nearby beach, Quebra Canela where there seemed to be a mix of locals and tourists. The water temperature was very refreshing! The sand was quite dark, almost black!
We spent day 2 walking around and exploring the city. There was a huge confusing market (Suscpira) with the typical goods, but people were not aggressive asking for you to buy things like you find typically! Everyone was very relaxed. There was lots of beautiful street art. The neighborhood of Plateau has a nice pedestrian street full of restaurants and cafes. Restaurants in Praia generally took a really long time! We spent almost two hours waiting for food in the Plateau. Luckily there was plenty of people watching to be done. I ordered the typical Cape Verdean dish, Cachupa. There are a few types of the dish, I ordered the "wet" one, or one that is more like a soup. It is a stew with beans, corn, potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and whatever meat you want to put. I decided to try the vegan one without meat. I liked it, it is similar to the Portuguese stew called Feijoada. At the hotel I tried the dry version and it wasn't my favorite thing.
The next day, we visited the Cidade Velha. We took a taxi round trip for an outrageous price but the car rental places were closed on Sunday so we had no other choice to get there... Unless we wanted to take the local transport, but in the heat there was no way I could make it! I read several blogs about how much people enjoyed the little village, but there wasn't really much to see. There were beautiful views from the fort, Rua de Banana, apparently the oldest street in Cape Verde once settled by Europeans, and the sea side views. We enjoyed watching some young boys bring their catch of fresh fish and selling it to a guy sitting next to us at the lunch restaurant.
On Monday, (my 31st birthday! :O ) we rented our little busted up car from the cheapest car rental place we could find and made our way across the island to Tarrafal. It was only then, we realized why the island was named Cape Verde. Because so far, all we had seen was rocks, sand, brown, and arid desert! Crossing the island you go over this mountain range where there are suddenly huge granite peaks spiking up and covered in green and trees. Corn plants are plentiful. Joel loved the driving adventures like always. The car added extra challenge with the clutch being almost useless, and the steering wheel misaligned. The beach in Tarrafal was stunning, much nicer than in Praia! We stopped by the Tarrafal prison to find some kiddos who wanted to sell us apples. They told us that the prison was closed, but told us a "secret" viewpoint to see it from above. Joel said we would discuss the apples after we visited. Turns out they were not lying to us, it was indeed closed on Mondays. But we had a little view from the top and in the end agreed to buy two apples from them. Then we cruised our way back to the capital. We stopped in Plateau again to get some birthday ice cream. It was so good but it melted sooo fast! I couldn't keep up. We decided to return the car at the airport, as it was the same price as returning in the car rental office near our hotel. I was a little tired of eating the same stuff, so was trying to find a different kind of food for my birthday. I found a Latino restaurant with some pictures of Guacamole and tacos on google... Like the crazy lady I am, why not have Latin food in Africa? The place was really random, we thought maybe a cover up for something else. Anyways the menu was mostly snacks plates and drinks. I told them I saw Guacamole and they said they didn't have it but the owner came over and was like no problem we will go get avocados and make some! It was amazing Guac! Even Joel liked it, for the first time! He has tried several guacs in his day now and never enjoyed it until this place! The main dish reminded me of Filiberto's Carne Asada Fries. Fries, topped with sauces, salsa, different meats like chorizo, etc. They also made killer Mojitos (virgin for me of course.) The owners were from Chile.
The next morning we were off to the island of Sal. We booked 4 nights at an all inclusive resort, for the first time ever! :O It was really nice in some ways not to worry about anything, but I think we would have been happy to stay only two nights as we got a little crazy of doing the same things every day. Cristina's friends were staying at the resort next to ours so we met up for drinks one afternoon. Other than that, it was reading by the pool, by the beach, swimming, napping, drinking, eating, sleeping in, etc. They had some nightly entertainment shows which were cute, but nothing spectacular. One night was Cape Verdean dancing, another night was a tribute the Queen, and the final night was the Lion King. The beach directly in front of the resort wasn't really swimmable because there were huge rocks and really intense waves. There was a little portion which they made a sandy beach and two walkways to create a calmer area for swimming. The water temperature was a little cold, but also nice after you got used to it. We brought our goggles and saw a few little fish swimming around. I also really enjoyed doing Yoga on the beach.
Most meals were buffet style which was okay, but lacked variety day after day. They also had some restaurants which were included but we could only make reservations for the last two nights. The other nights were already full. The restaurant quality was a bit lower than we had expected. Drinks were plenty and strong according to Joel. :P Plus they had taps of every kind of wine and beer for meals. I had never seen wine on "tap" before.
The island of Sal is very small and besides the beach and the small city, the only other thing to do there is visit the Salt Pools, but since we have the salt pools also in Aveiro, we decided to just hang out at the resort. That was pretty much our time in Sal! It was very very relaxing but as I said before, not our normal cup of tea.
Overall, people were super friendly and helpful in Cape Verde. The food seemed to be very influenced by Portugal, and we were surprised that it wasn't cheaper. Considering the wages they earn, prices in the supermarkets, restaurants, were similar to what we pay here in Portugal. We also saw house prices and rent in apartments isn't very cheap versus how much they earn. The taxi driver told us 70 percent of the people work in agriculture. This seemed crazy because it is so dry and there isn't water! They spoke very understandable Portuguese to Joel and I, but among themselves they speak a creole version of Portuguese that even Joel cannot understand. They also were quite confused to whether to speak in English or Portuguese to us which was funny! Some of them seemed to prefer to speak in English even when Joel would answer back in Portuguese.
I really enjoyed the holidays and our "baby moon" in Cape Verde. However, it definitely didn't top any of my favorite lists. Maybe this is a problem with instagram, and blogging. My expectations were a bit too high after reading great things in blogs and on instagram.
We arrived safely back to Portugal for lots of rain and COLD! I will post another update about my pregnancy so far soon!
Love & Beijinhos
Nicole Joel and Mel
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