Sal, the sportiest.. liveliest tourist island

The heart of Cape Verde's tourism industry is Sal Island , with its long coastline of white sandy beach and an infinite vastness of clear turquoise sea whose rythmic waves power many wind and kite surfers to heights of sport's excitement. It is in this island of 22,000 local inhabitants that property development is taking place at a rapid phase.

In an easy promenade from the hotel complexes of Bela horizonte and Nova horizonte- where clusters of bungalows house tourists from different European countries- towards the small town centre of Sta. Maria, one passes by the popular Atlantis restaurant, then the Turtle Schack bar, then the Baracuda travel agency and restaurant. Continuing from here, one can take a right turn to the fisherman's pier where fishermen takes up the harvest of the day and where fishing enthusiasts sit on the pier's edge catching from trumpet to mackerel quite easily. The view to the left shows the exclusive D'Odjo Hotel - where Hilary Clinton stayed for 3 days when she last visited Africa late last year. And between the pier-cum-fishing wharf is the first developed beach housing complex called Porto Antigo.

Following the road that passes by the Porto Antigo Shopping Gallery, one ends up in an open field fronting the sea, where on the left side are newly-built seaside apartment complexes that are currently on the market from studio flats to 3-bedroom, two bathroom and toilet apartments. When landscaped, the front view of these apartments will be the sea and a lighted promenade lane with palm trees, says the Italian developer.

Among the newest apartment complexes now being sold by Danish company "Cape Verde-Living" are Casa Carolina, Prestige and Casa da Onda. The prices range from Euro 59,000 to the top price for a penthouse of Euro 257,000. An average flat of 2 bedrooms, wide balcony with a seaview, living room and kitchen is around 139 Euro unfurnished, and 149 Euro with furnishings. The materials used in the construction are of top quality like marble stones from Italy and wood from Brazil.

Considering that it is a buyers market right now, buying a seaside apartment in Sta. Maria in Sal Island is a great investment option for people nearing their pension who want an easy lifestyle without the stress of city living and a gentle temperate climate throughout the year. It is as well a second home for city dwellers who want to run away from the hustle buzzle of city living and to recapture new energy for the challenges of tomorrow. And for the tired souls, battered by emotional and spiritual defeats, this island of uncomplicated peoples who love their art, scultures, batik paintings and the "No stress" day-to-day lifestyle, Sal offer a holy retreat unto the bossom of its vast turquoise sea.#
(Pictures taken recently by Sheilah Kälfors during a tour of the properties for sale)

Cape Verde - from slave trading to freedom

Sal is one of 9 inhabited islands that make up Cape Verde. According to history, Cape Verde which was discovered by the Portuguese in 1450, rose from the bottom of the Atlantic ocean many million years ago after a series of volcanic eruptions took place. Due to its strategic location, shipowners exploited the North Atlantic route to take advantage of the wind and current patterns.

Cape Verde soon became a known stopover for vessels crossing the Atlantic. In those years of inter-ocean trading of various good and commodities including the slave trade - Santiago, today's capital became a regular stopover. Cape Verde, along with Mozambique,Angola, Guinea Bissau were overseas provinces of Portugal. In 1975, it became an independent country and Amilcar Cabral became its first President.

Cape Verde is a melting pot of cultures that vary from island to island. Even agriculture and industries are different in each area. Sal appears to be a flat brown land from the airplane, engulfed by a vast ocean of turquoise blue and a very long coastline of dirty white sands.

The 1900s saw Cape Verde in a dismal economy situation owing to the downturn in the shipping industry and a terrible drought. With the introduction of newer technologies,inter-ocean shipping using oil as fuel no longer needed Cape Verde as a stopover point. Today, tourism is the hen that is laying the golden egg for Cape Verde. The heart of tourism development - in terms of real estate development is in Sal Island. The government is committed to embracing "responsible tourism", where there is a balance in ecology, diversity and beauty.# ( The view is from the penthouse of a seaside apartment complex for sale through Cape Verde-Living. See even: www.capeverde-living.com)

Cape Verde, paradise islands in the Atlantic

The Cape Verdeans aptly call their land " No stress" and they live by the line. It was sheer luck with Divine intervention that I and my other half discovered this unspoiled group of islands in West Africa when we were looking for a place to recapture lost energies at the end of 2009. It was a hectic year and it ended with a plunging temperature that is today freezing the depths of the Baltic sea.

The Swedish travel company called "Fritidsresor" (Leisure Travel) offered a price for two persons that was hard to refuse, and because I was in the clutch of severe colds and influensa, we hurried ourselves to Arlanda on an early Monday morning to fly to Sal Island via Boavista. Suddenly we found ourselves on a 7 hour flight to the Atlantic, in a country we have never been and with a language that was foreign. Portuguese I did learn when I lived in Mozambique for five years in the early 1980s to 1988.

We were greeted by an island in a property development frenzy. It is a flat brown land from what one sees in the plane as it approached the island which is engulfed by a turquoise blue ocean and a long coastline of nearly white sands. The hotel we were booked was unspecified and instead of finding some rundown apartment, we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in an area with many small bungalows just a short walking distance to the beach.

The hotel complex is neighbour to other hotels and it is very close to Sta. Maria, which is the commercial center. Sta. Maria is a small place with a fast developing property market. The seaside is lined with new apartment complexes and commercial buildings that are now being offered to foreign buyers and investors at very attractive prices. It is forecasted that in five years, the place will be another Canary island.

In the course of this blog, I will show pictures I have taken of our trip and portray why Cape Verde is an attractive second home.