If there’s one way to sum up life in Cape Verde, it’s morabeza. Which, in the local language of Portuguese Creole (Criolu), translates as ‘no stress’. It also sums up the innate willingness of Cape Verdeans to welcome people and make you feel at ease. Our COO, Maria Kostadinova, travelled to Cape Verde in February, where we currently have two walking holidays, to see if morabeza was for real. Long story short, she left wanting a lot more morabeza. Getting there is not always the most chilled, however, but it’s definitely worth it. Read her top tips on how to fly to Cape Verde, and more, to find an archipelago that’s got both chilled and challenging walks, stress-free and crowd-free adventures.
How to fly to Cape Verde
It’s not easy, especially as our Cape Verde walking holidays are a world away from the all-inclusive resorts that this African archipelago is becoming famous for. So, although there are budget airlines that fly there, the majority go to the resort island of Sal. Our recommended airport is Cesária Évora on the island of São Vicente, which is a whole other ball game altogether. There are plenty of flights that go there, but the majority of these go through Lisbon in Portugal. Because of the historical links with the country, a lot of Cape Verdeans live there and so, if you want to go to the real Cape Verde, follow the people who know it best. And get a flight via Lisbon.
Forget the ferry from Sal to São Vicente
You’d be forgiven for thinking that you can get a budget flight to Sal and then hop on a ferry. But the average ferry crossing between Sal and São Vicente takes between 10 and 14 hours, and they are pretty infrequent.
Give yourself an extra day when you get there
As it’s a long journey for most people, unless you’re travelling direct from Lisbon which is still about four hours, do plan for a day to rest when you arrive. And I recommend taking time in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, when you arrive. You are met and transferred to your hotel as part of our walking holidays, so that gives you a bit of morabeza from the get go. As well as hanging out at Laginha beach, you have plenty of time to take in the colonial architecture or cafes and, in the morning, don’t miss the Praca Estrela which is full of street vendors. I also recommend visiting the Núcleo Museológico Cesária Évora in Mindelo, to learn about the life and work of the famous singer Cesária Évora, who was born in the city.
Pick a time that’s not too hot
I think it’s the first time that I travelled somewhere to hike and didn’t get my rain jacket out once. Our walking holidays run between September and June, and so avoiding the very sweaty season. Although it still gets pretty hot (around 22-23C) in February, there is little shade on the walking trails, so it feels like you’re in a few degrees more than that. It’s not always easy to start hiking very early in the morning either, as the Cape Verdeans don’t do very early breakfasts. And, in addition, transfers are needed to many of the trails. So if you want to do that, make sure you get some supplies the night before, as 07.00 seems to be the earliest breakfast.
The walking makes you both sweat and smile
Our hiking trails in Cape Verde are rated as moderate to strenuous, with daily walking distances ranging between 5-16km. Daily elevation gains and losses both range from 100-1,100m and so you really do need sturdy boots and walking poles. I used two poles throughout the walks, and was very grateful for them. I was also very grateful for the extraordinary volcanic landscapes, where every ascent rewards you with Atlantic and valley views like nowhere else.
Tap into the water issue
Given that it’s an island nation, there’s an issue with water supply in Cape Verde, and you can’t drink tap water. So make sure you have plenty of bottled water, which your accommodations can supply as do all the local shops. Bring a reusable water bottle and/or a hydration backpack with you. Even better, invest in a filtered water bottle to ensure water is free of any toxins. I also recommend bringing electrolytes to avoid getting dehydrated, and I always travel with probiotics in case I get a stomach issue which, thankfully, I didn’t on this trip. Also local supplies of medications aren’t that good, so do bring anything you need with you, even basics like painkillers.
Get to know a few words in Cape Verdean Creole
The official language in Cape Verde is Portuguese, while 90% of people speak Cape Verdean Creole (Crioulo). However, for an archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic, it was amazing how many different languages people spoke here. And, apparently, how many different types of Creole there are between the islands too. Don’t worry about not being understood in English, however, as a lot of people speak it. A few Creole regular words that I heard, and loved: nu bai (pronounced no by), which means ‘let’s go!; sab-sab, which means delicious, and short for sabroso; and tud kul, which means everything’s cool; finally, and always important, thank you is the same as Portuguese, obrigago/obrigada.
Get your money locally
The official currency is the Cape Verdean Escudo and you can only get it locally, but there are plenty of ATMs in the towns. It’s a bit confusing as it’s often written as a $, but after the number, rather than before, as it’s a decimal separator. Traditionally it also has two vertical lines, not one. Sometimes it’s also written using the currency code, which is CVE. Not all places accept non-national credit cards, but they do often take euros, so have some of those to hand just in case. I’m Bulgarian, and so the cost of things in Cape Verde were similar to my home country. But compared with other European countries, or the USA, for example, prices are great value. A local coffee is around 150CVW (around €1.50), a fresh juice is around 500CVW and you can get a local dish of the day from around 3500CVE.
It’s all about fish in Cape Verde
I had fish every day which is not surprising really, given that it’s a tropical Atlantic archipelago made up of 10 volcanic islands. I also love fish, and so I was happy. It’s usually served with rice or chips and a salad, so, if you’re vegetarian, there are options, but be prepared for a lot of fish as the main dish. However, there is always a lot of food, and we could never eat it all. I also enjoyed visiting the fish market in Mindelo (mercado de peixe), although it’s a bit of a culture shock in some ways, as it’s a lot more down to earth than European fish markets.
Buy a local SIM card
Although I recommend it in a lot of places, for Cape Verde I’d say don’t buy an e-SIM before you go, as they are much cheaper when you get there. There were two operators at the airport, and they helped me put it into my phone, so it was all very straightforward. It cost €10, and I got 7GB, which was plenty for the holiday. And I did need it, as wifi is still limited in a lot of places. Our local partner on the ground recommended Alou, as it has the best coverage across the islands, and it certainly worked very well.
Cape Verdeans make a song and dance about everything
I mean in the best way possible, because they are very proud of their music in Cape Verde, and rightly so. It feels like everyone there is musical, and everyone can dance or sing too. I already knew about the late and iconic Cape Verdean singer, Cesária Évora, before I travelled there, as I love her music. But she’s a total heroine in Cape Verde, in particular on the island of São Vicente where she was born. I really recommend getting to know her music before you go there. You can’t miss her, as the airport is even named after her. And, as mentioned above, I also recommend the Núcleo Museológico Cesária Évora in Mindelo, created in her memory.
Cesária’s genre of music is called Morna, which is related to Portuguese fado, but with its own Creole style, which is slow, sad and poetic. It’s a very beautiful sound and also the national, UNESCO-recognised traditional music of Cape Verde.
Find the mad woman
If you can, before you go, try and find a copy of The Madwoman of Serrano, by Dina Salustio. It is the first novel by a female author to be published in Cape Verde (2020), and the first to be translated into English. However, I wasn’t able to find it, and it’s out of publication, but if you can find a keen bookseller, or ask your local library, you may have more luck than me.
Switch your western mindset
Although Cape Verde has some resort tourism in the south, where all inclusive resorts offer a generic globalised version of tourism, we like to walk away from that. And into parts of the country that are real, rambling heaven. As a result, you may need to manage your expectations around accommodation, some of which are small, locally-owned and on a smaller budget. There’s a risk of random water shortages or power cuts, and you may have fewer frills, but you will experience the veritable Verde. Also, as a result, please don’t use too much water.
Leave room in your bag for local souvenirs
I’m a big fan of Cape Verde’s music, and so I bought CDs from local musicians (and yes, I still have a CD player!). For example, the music of Elida Almedia, as a local person recommended her to me as a great contemporary singer. I visited a local arts centre, where I was drawn to the colourful handmade bags. And I bought a unique hand-sewn doll for my daughter, in a craft shop beside the fish market, which she loves. I also saw many examples of the local Cape Verdean hand woven cloth, which looked beautiful. The symbol of Cape Verde is the turtle, so you see a lot of images of turtles on things, and also clay turtles being sold, which were very sweet.
Get ready to feel the love
Cabo Verdeans struck me as inherently joyful. They are warm, welcoming and live up to their morabeza motto. This feeling is infectious when you’re there, and by combining that vibe with their incredible hiking landscapes, it’s rapidly gone to top of my favourite hiking locations. I’m biased about Bulgaria of course, as I hike at home a lot, but Cape Verde is so different on many levels. It’s just one of those places that really makes you smile all the time.
I also felt completely safe in Cape Verde, and local people leave their doors open all the time and told me that they never feel afraid of theft. Although we were told that at the beach resort in the south, where we don’t go, this is more of a problem. There also aren’t that many tourists on the hiking trails, so there aren’t any conflicts around tourism with residents. Quite the opposite, as we were greeted with open arms everywhere we went.
Get ready to share the love!
Cape Verde surpassed all my expectations, and honestly I’m telling all my keen hiking friends to go now. As I loved it so much. Because when you say Cape Verde, it’s still not really top of the travel list for most people, but I can’t recommend it more highly. It’s really, really lovely. It reminded me of the Canaries or Madeira, which are also both volcanic, but a lot less discovered and fewer people on the trails.
For more information on travelling to Cape Verde, please don’t hesitate to contact our adventure specialists. For other hiking adventures on the African continent, read our blogs about Morocco here, or see the Morocco holiday page.
