Five months of recovery after a motorcycle accident starts to give you cabin fever. Cas was daydreaming of an effortless holiday, out of the house, and away from wintery Amsterdam. With all 26 of his fractures nearly healed and his stamina coming back, it was finally possible. So, for seven days, we found ourselves basking in the Cape Verdean sunshine, just outside the colourful fisherman village, Santa Maria. Located on a small island off the coast of Africa's Senegal, it was the perfect "recoverymoon".
Cape Verde is named after Cap Vert, which means Green Cape in Senegal. Made up of a total of ten islands, the country is famous for it's warm tropical climate, volcanic islands, talented musicians, and delicious cuisine. It is also the 3rd largest nesting site in the world for the endangered Loggerhead turtles and a historic sight for Charles Darwin's flora and fauna studies in 1832. Santa Maria beach on Sal was named one of the top 25 in the world in 2017 for it's white sand and chill vibe. The local's here pride themselves in their carefree motto, "no stress", making it the South Atlantic's very own Caribbean.
Our Recommendations
Surf, kite surf, paddle board, snorkel down to a sunken Jesus statue, go on a diving excursion, explore Santa Maria village and it's fishing pier, eat local seafood, watch for migrating baby turtles, sip cocktails at sunset, celebrate Carnival, visit the salt mines and float in it's warm waters, rent a four wheeler to explore the island (it's possible in one day), eat as Chez Pastis.
...and watch out for sea urchins in shallow, rocky areas or you'll be pulling spikes out of your feet for weeks. We would know ;)