Cape Verde is a group of ten islands nearby the west coast of Africa Continent. Sal is one of the most touristic one and has this name due to the two large salt ponds Pedra de Lume and Santa Maria. There are cheap flights from Brazil to Europe via Cape Verde using the Cape Verde Airlines.
Sal is a small island and can be seen in one or 2 days.
Espargos is the capital of the island, the largest city and place where the Amílcar Cabral International Airport is located. Santa Maria is the most famous beach town and a highlight for backpackers. There is public transport between Espargos and Santa Maria, sometimes is a bus, a van or even a pickup.
On my arrival I planned to catch this bus from the highway in front of the airport, that cost 1EUR only. But a very friendly taxi driver offer to take me for the price of the bus, normally taxis are 10EUR for this trip. He was really nice guy and I end up giving him 5EUR, a bit more than his expenses with the gasoline for this ride. I did the trip back with the same guy the other day paying the full price. His name was Denilson (nickname: Fortes) and his number was +2385292175. Call him if you go there, totally recommend!!!
Santa Maria is a very cozy little town by the beach. The slogan of every shop is “No Stress”. I stayed the night in Xamedu Sal Hostel, a backpackers place where I could meet other travelers.
After exploring the local shops and soaking in the beach I took a local transport to Espargos. A good start is the city tower on top of a mountain. from there you can have a great 360 degrees view on the entire island.
A very beautiful graffiti art can be spotted nearby the main bus station.
Since I did not had a lot of time and the public transport is very limited, I talked to a taxi driver and negotiated a price to explore the surroundings.
He drove first to the shark point where you can spot sharks right by the beach.
After that he drove me to the salt pond Pedra de Lume. He waited me outside while I spend over an hour walking around and floating in the salty water. Do not open your eyes underwater, I did that and was a big mistake. It burned all day.
It is an interesting place and you can walk for long distances on top of the salt.
I had a really great time in Sal, felt safe all the time and people were extremely friendly. Totally recommended.
