Cape Verde Islands, 4th

by Aisling Irwin & Colum Wilson

• ISBN13: 9781841622767
• ISBN10: 1841622761
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2009-03-25
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides

Summary

Cape Verde is a destination on the up: construction is rocketing, international flight numbers are soaring, and visitor arrivals are rising year on year. The fourth edition of this genuinely independent guide is the only English-language guide to Cape Verde. It covers all the islands, and has information about how to plan and execute trips between them, particularly on a short timescale. It provides updated information on Cape Verde's rapidly expanding tourist facilities, a new section on buying property, and a revised natural history section, helping visitors delve deep into the heart of the country's spectacular landscapes, colourful music and unusual people.

Author Biography

Aisling Irwin is an ex-Daily Telegraph journalist who has been writing about Cape Verde for ten years. Colum Wilson is a specialist in humanitarian aid; he currently advises the UK government on aid to West Africa.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 2
Railthings	p. 3
Fare dos, and fare don'ts	p. 4
Great Western	p. 5
South Western	p. 6
East Coast Main Line	p. 7
East Anglia	p. 8
North of England (and Midlands)	p. 9
Scotland	p. 10
Wales	p. 11
South and South-East	p. 12
Extra
Further reading
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

“There are fine mountains, wildernesses of desert dunes, and warm waters. But Cape Verde really takes hold of your heart in that rare moment, that flush of empathy, when you begin to understand what they mean by sodade.”

 

“The rugged peaks and canyons of northeast Santo Antão are one of the world’s great landscape dramas. Precarious roads trace the tops of its ridges giving sheer views down thousand-metre cliffs on each side into the tiny settlements below. The people live in a series of deep valleys, their worlds enclosed by colossal volcanic walls. As you ascend the valleys on foot you discover that their dwellings persist high among the cliffs, clinging to the ledges.”

 

“Fogo rises steeply from the ocean, pokes through the clouds and towers above them. From the coast of Santiago or the peaks of Sao Nicolãu it can seem like a fortress. Fogo is a volcano, still active, and inside the crater the latest eruption still smokes gently. Fogo is a menacing place: the arrested flows of darkened lava reach down its eastern side to the ocean. But it has a soft heart. Amongst the clods of cold lava that have covered much of the floor of the crater are fertile fields. Spilling over its northeast side are woods of eucalyptus and cool valleys in which grow coffee and vines.”

 

“A key part of the Cape Verdean experience is to hear the bitter-sweet morna wrought from a collection of guitars and violins in an evening café; or the more lively, escapist strains of the funana embellished with the scratching of some unique percussive instrument. Music-making happens everywhere – in the nightclubs of Mindelo where people dance into the small hours, in restaurants, in people’s homes.

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Excerpted from Cape Verde Islands, 4th by Aisling Irwin, Colum Wilson
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.