CAPITAL PRAIA - POPULATION 423,613 - AREA 4033 SQ KM - OFFICIAL LANGUAGES PORTUGUESE, CRIOULO
Since package-holiday flights started jetting out regularly to the sunny climes of Cape Verde, set just off the coast of Senegal, things have been changing here fast. Once little more than the bleak and barren volcanic islands of Cesaria Evora's haunting morna folk refrains (a type of blues), the islands are increasingly known for the resort hubs of Boa Vista and Sal. With 10 main islands and still more islets, it isn't all resort and time-share winter sun madness. One of the best ways to escape the masses is to take a hike up Mt Fogo, a still-active volcano that hasn't erupted in the last decade or so, to peek from the peak at incredible views out over the islands. |
