Before flying to Cape Verde we were being told it’s the new Caribbean. To be honest, we had some serious doubts. The horseshoe cluster of 10 islands and eight islets are stunning but they don’t resemble the palm-fringed half moon bay of Sandy Lane, Barbados, or party central Montego Bay in Jamaica.
The good thing is that thanks to Mother Nature’s kindness and its colourful history, Cape Verde doesn’t need to make a claim to be anything other than what it is – a West African paradise with aquamarine seas rolling onto stretches of endless pristine beaches, on which tourists join locals chilling in bars playing soulful music.
Discovered by the Portuguese in 1456, the volcanic islands were uninhabited. Now there are international airports two hours' flying time south of the Canaries and around 350 miles from Senegal on Africa’s mainland.
We chose Sal island as the base for our stay, at Thomas Cook’s four-star Oasis Salinas Sea hotel, where our balcony opened up enchanting views of brightly-coloured, fishing boats at Santa Maria.
Waves pound the wide beach without making it too dangerous for a dip, while constant winds keep sunbathers cool and give kitesurfers perfect conditions to skim the Atlantic.
Locals told us that beneath the waves there’s an abundance of fish and that a man called Ubaldo was the best contact to arrange half a day’s fishing.
Having found him in the cramped office of the Cape Verde Sport Fishing Company, we boarded the Lady Di 11 to join Cape Verdean captain Silvestre and his Italian mate Danny to try and find tuna, amberjack, wahoo and possibly newly arrived blue marlin – the favourite sport fish of my hero writer Ernest Hemingway.
Once we were over a reef, we started trolling lures from the five rods Danny strapped to the boat. An hour out and I struck while standing on the deck and rolling with the waves. Danny was sure from the fight it was a tuna and he was right.
Weighing in close to 5lb I’d broken my previous personal best, a stingray off Miami. But, there was more sport to come. My line screeched out from a whirring reel and Danny ordered me into the fishing chair for stability.
It took about 15 minutes to get the fish close enough for Danny to use his gaff to hook a thrashing wahoo. He flipped it on board and estimated it at close to 50lb. I’d smashed my personal best 10 times over!
Our crew would later take it to market where they expected to sell it for €80.
I wasn’t going to join Hemingway in the annals of marlin fishing but it was exhilarating all the same.
At sea again the next day, we chose some more relaxing sailing on the yacht White Time, a 54ft boat crewed by Portuguese couple Eugene and Susana, who live on board in Palmiera harbour, where locals meet fisherman to buy their daily catch.
Eugene took us on a leisurely journey along the coast, anchoring so we could swim to Cape Verde’s smallest beach, just 20ft wide by 10ft long, wedged between black volcanic rock.
It was a refreshing swim before an on-board lunch of line-caught tuna bought from a passing fisherman. Sal island potatoes cooked in sea water and a salad with goats cheese from the island of Sao Antao was a delicious accompaniment, along with chilled beer and wine.
To get the most out of Sal, it’s important to get involved in water pursuits. The Oasis Salinas Sea hotel is a good starting place, just a few steps from a wonderful beach with its own club, sunloungers and parasols.
Swimming, kite and windsurfing, plus a dive centre attached to the club provide a lot of activity for those looking for more than just a lazy day by the surf, and the club serves grilled fish and meat with salad, vegetables, fruit and desserts.
The enthusiastic entertainments team arrange volleyball, football and aerobics on the beach during the day, and put on musical shows every night.
Grilled fish, meat and salads are served al fresco at the pool, with more formal dining at the Tradicon restaurant where the six-course menu changes weekly.
It’s a good option, even if you’ve taken the all-inclusive deal, to eat out in Santa Maria, where there are a couple of dozen bars and restaurants near the pier.
Strolling through the cobbled streets, we discovered a small door leading into a walled garden where French cook Patrice Fillion grills his food to perfection at Le Prive restaurant. We ate delicious sesame seeded tuna and wahoo in soya, along with salads and grilled vegetables.
The rugged walls created a surround sound for live jazz and Cape Verdean songs as we drank
chilled Portuguese rosé among the coconut trees, bougainvillea and cactus.
Another great spot for dinner is the beach-side Atlantis restaurant, where customers head for the moonlit veranda.
We started with caipirinhas and shrimp cooked in pastis. Then grilled lobster with mashed potatoes and salad lived up to everything our Thomas Cook rep Angie had described as a must-have Cape Verdean dinner.
A day tour of the island covers the few main points of interest. If you want to experience Dead Sea swimming Sal-style, there’s the salty lake in the non-active volcano crater.
But it was the Blue Eye that took us by surprise. This natural phenomenon is created by sunlight piercing a hole in a collapsed cave and then hitting sea water to form a blue diamond.
Stunning.
We drove through a favela, Portuguese for slum, where makeshift homes are constructed of tin, timber and even ship containers. The people were poor but welcoming as we took pictures of happy children playing in the dusty streets. A reminder that we were in Africa, after all.
In Espargos, the island’s capital, men played cards in a square under the shade of acacia trees. There’s a hospital, schools, bakeries, a church and the Nortentra restaurant for fish and chips washed down with chilled Strela beer.
All in all, this unique West African necklace of islands thrown into the ocean by Mother Nature far exceeded our expectations. It’s not the Caribbean. It’s pure paradise – Cape Verde-style.
The wonders of Sao Vicente
Mindelo is the old colonial capital on the island of Sao Vicente which lies 145 miles west of Sal, and we organised our own trip there on local airline TACV.
It’s a melting pot of races, including the descendants of American whalers, Senegalese slaves who worked the Portuguese plantations and British traders.
It’s reminiscent of the crumbling colonial elegance of Havana, while the town beach with its football pitch and a miniature sugar loaf mountain in the bay conjured up the joie de vivre of Rio de Janeiro.
The fish market on the harbour road is where life erupts every morning as fishermen lift their catches on to the quayside where men and women gut the fish. Restaurant and hotel staff barter for the biggest and best tuna, mullet and amberjack alongside eels and barnacles.
This really is exotic Africa and the people working in the laid-back Porto Grande hotel are proud of their culture. We stayed in a spacious room with views of a tree-lined square and a bar where the waitress told us she had worked for 33 years, serving all nationalities until 2am.
At the rear of the hotel is the quaint little restaurant Escale, which opens for just a few hours each day, serving Cape Verdean dishes conjured up by its cook, Angela.
After Escale, we walked through a few narrow streets before finding a small house on a back street where a four-piece band was playing inside. For a few euros each we spent a couple of hours listening to them and drinking chilled beers.
Another charming surprise in a place full of surprises.
Get there
Thomas Cook operates year-round to Cape Verde from Gatwick and Manchester with 7nts a/i at the 4-star Oasis Salinas Sea Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal, from £779pp inc transfers and based on 2 sharing and flying from Gatwick on Mar 8, 2017; Manchester departure on Jul 10, 2016, from £899pp.
Excursions bookable in resort: Lobster dinner at Atlantis Restaurant, €50pp; Cabo Verde sport fishing trip‚ €100pp; White Time sailing day‚ €99pp. thomascook.com 0844 412 5970.
Tourist info:capeverde.com
Time zone: UK -2hrs
Currency: Escudo £1 = 138. € widely accepted
Best time to go: Year-round isles of smiles