Travel guide Cape Verde

This is local transport, also known as coletivos or Hiace, based on the Toyota model. Aluguers (minibuses, SUVs, pick-ups or 4x4s) go in a given direction and pick up several passengers on the side of the road, so journey times are random. This is the best way to meet the locals and immerse yourself in local life.

These two terms determine the orientation of the islands according to their position in relation to the prevailing north-easterly wind. The northernmost islands, Sal, Boa Vista, São Nicolau, Santa Luzia, São Vicente and Santo Antão, are known as the Barlavento (windward) islands. The southernmost, the Sotavento (leeward) islands, include Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava.

In the spotlight: cachupa, the national dish that's omnipresent in every home and on every menu. A comforting stew prepared in a variety of ways, it includes hominy corn, beans, root vegetables, pork fat (simple version) or meat (enriched version). For breakfast, refogada is served with sausage and egg.

Inspired by the Brazilian carnival, it is now spreading to all the islands. Mindelo's carnival continues to attract curious visitors from all over the world. For the parade, each group chooses a theme and develops a choreography, in the greatest secrecy. On Mardi Gras day, the show gives way to celebration, floats and parades.

To communicate with each other, slaves were forced to gather words from Portuguese and other sources, and these mixtures are at the origin of the Cape Verdean mother tongue. It's basically ^15th-century Portuguese with simplified grammar; phonetics and vocables have been added from Manding languages.

Water is an essential factor in development, which is why the State devotes part of its budget to it. Some houses have no access to running water, as in the dry areas of São Nicolau, or in Sal, Boa Vista and Maio, where seawater desalination is used to supplement water delivered by tanker.

Sugar cane brandy and the country's main spirit, grogue is to Cape Verde what rum is to the West Indies! Regulated by law since 2015, production takes place between January and May. On the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau, you can visit the trapiches (traditional factories where sugarcane is crushed) and discover its flavours.

Music is an integral part of Cape Verdean life, drawing its strength and character from collective, often painful, experience. One of the highlights of a trip is listening to the morna, shaped by guitars and violins, in a café in the evening, or the livelier accents of the funaná, enhanced by the scrapings of a unique percussive instrument.

The archipelago and salt is a love story: as proof, the name given to the island of Sal. Indeed, in the 19th century, the island was the economic pillar of the country thanks to the extraction of this strategic product. Pedra Lume perfectly illustrates the epic of this white gold rush. The other flat islands also had their heyday.

These timeless-looking two-storey houses were built in colonial times. They were used to demarcate social classes, but also to indicate the personal wealth of their owners. Today, they represent a significant architectural heritage, and some of the most beautiful and colorful examples can be seen in São Filipe and Mindelo.

Cape Verde is an important stopover for turtles along their migratory corridor between America and Africa. The archipelago is a refuge for them and although the local population continues to collect eggs and glorify the taste of turtle soup, they are now aware of the growing pressure for their preservation.

A superb hiking destination, the views from the mountains, the solitary slopes of Brava and the astonishing crater of the Fogo volcano, make this region a unique experience. Much of the walking is done on the curious cobbled paths made in the most unlikely corners, making the exercise easier than you might think.