Creole Capers

The island nation of Cape Verde is situated 450 kilometres off Africa’s west coast. A former Portuguese colony, the archipelago has a multitude of ethnic and cultural influences from Brazil, Senegal and Portugal. Think fabulous food, dancing and irrepressible salsa rhythms!

Tarrafal Beach is the largest and most impressive stretch of sand on the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. The fishing village of Tarrafal is the site of an colonial Portuguese political prison.

Comprising a string of volcanic islands ringed by white sand and turquoise sea, the country serious rivals the Caribbean as an autumn and winter sun destination, but for the time being remains pleasantly unspoiled and crowd-free. Its excellent year-round climate and almost constant sunshine mean sun worshippers have plenty to be thankful for and water-sports enthusiasts will not be disappointed either.

Choosing the best beach is a tall order, but the endless stretches of white sand around the main town, Santa Maria, on the island of Sal are hard to fault, as is the vast Curralinho beach on the island of Boa Vista. Boa Vista is also a fabulous spot for snorkelling and sailing, whilst São Vicente island offers the best windsurfing. The cooling breezes off the island of Sal make for great surfing and the whole archipelago offers top-notch diving, with abundant sea life including turtles and plenty of caves, rocks and wrecks awaiting exploration.

Oman’s 1001 Arabian Beaches

One of the more unspoilt and under-frequented destinations in the Middle East, the Sultanate of Oman, boasts a 1700-kilometre coastline with some of the finest (and emptiest) beaches and cleanest waters in the Gulf, if not the world. Unbearably hot during the summer months, Oman is the perfect place to visit in autumn; October is a very pleasant 25 degrees Celsius with plenty of sunshine.

Oman is a haven for five species of rare turtle, four of which nest here. Tours to see these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat are extremely popular with visitors. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/M@t

The capital, Muscat, has some great sun spots, including Qurum Beach, a favourite with picnickers and day trippers thanks to its shady palms, as well as the more secluded Bandar Al-Jissah, a bay that provides the perfect city getaway sheltered by cliffs and hidden from onlookers.

If you’re looking really to get away from it, 4×4 car hire opens the way for a two-hour drive over the dunes from Muscat to Sifah Beach, voted one of the world’s best beaches by the Guardian newspaper’s readers. Getting there is half the fun apparently, but being there isn’t so bad either. For your own private tropical paradise, fishing boats from there are available to whisk you away to one of many little coves off the main strand.

As you would expect, water sports are available up and down the coast with excellent diving, snorkelling, fishing, sailing and kayaking on offer, as well as dolphin-watching trips.

Panama’s Caribbean Coast

Situated on Panama‘s Atlantic coast, the province of Bocas del Toro – actually an archipelago of seven large islands and hundreds of smaller ones – enjoys a brief dry season during the months of September and October, which means not only is there welcome respite from the frequent rain, but the water is at its clearest. Year-round tropical temperatures and calm azure seas mean boat trips, deep-sea fishing, kayaking and snorkelling in the area are pretty spectacular.

Although off the mainstream tourist radar, the islands of Bocas del Toro in Panama have been popular with backpackers, hippies, divers and surfers for some years now. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Carlos Adampol Galindo

The archipelago is surrounded by coral reefs (home to a dazzling display of sponges and fish), caves and wrecks that make it one of the top dive sites in Central America. Above the water, light ocean breezes help keep the temperature down and make Bocas del Toro a popular spot with surfers picking between easy beach breaks and challenging tubes over the reefs. Travellers on a budget will be pleased to note that water sports can be organised in Bocas at a fraction of the price in neighbouring Costa Rica and Honduras.

If lazing around in a hammock is more your scene, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better place to do absolutely nothing. With its palm-fringed, white-sand beaches set against a backdrop of lush rainforest, Bocas is the epitome of a paradise on earth. The best beaches include Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos, named after the poison-dart frogs who make it their home, and Cayos Zapatillas, a long stretch of ivory sand in a protected marine park with some of the best snorkelling in town.

Philippine Dream

Regularly lauded as one of the best beach destinations in the world, the Philippine island of Borocay, located about 200 kilometres south of Manila is small but perfectly formed. Its two main beaches – White Beach and Bulabog Beach – sit opposite each other, with White Beach catering more to the party crowd with its bars, clubs and restaurants, and Bulabog offering the best wind- and kite-surfing in town.

Fire dancing is a big hit on Boracay's beaches. The beachfront Bamboo Lounge bar and restaurant is a great place to check out this mesmerising entertainment. Photo courtesy of Flickr/www.boracay.travel

There are other smaller beaches and coves too that offer more seclusion and privacy, such as Balinghai Beach, which is enclosed by high rocks and whose nearby coral garden makes it a perfect spot for snorkelling. Another quiet beach is Cagban, which means ‘cave’ or ‘chest.’ Legend has it that there are still treasure chests secreted in the sand and surrounding caves.

In addition to some world-renowned diving, Boracay is the place for sailing in a paraw, a double-winged boat ideal for groups of two to six people. They can be rented with or without crew, depending on your sailing skills.

September is considered off-season, which means there is plenty of cheap accommodation and lots of elbowroom on the beach – welcome relief after the hectic summer months. The weather is at its best during October and November, when the temperature drops a little and makes the prospect of lazing around on the beach all the more enticing.

Cape Verde is a fascinating country – an amazing group of islands and mesh of cultures – located about 700km west of Senegal. Still relatively unknown to many travellers, Cape Verde has however been attracting more and more attention, especially from Europeans, who can reach it by plane in only four hours from Lisbon, Portugal. Other flights by TACV Cabo Verde Airlines now also arrive regularly from Africa and the Americas.

Once you find out a little about Cape Verde you will be amazed that it isn’t at the top of many diehard travellers’ must-see lists. With a fusion of Portuguese and African culture all mixed with pinches of other country’s traditions from its days as a shipping-route hotspot, Cape Verde offers a little bit of everything, from marine conservation projects to remote communities preserving unique cultures and food to whet and satisfy any an appetite.

In 2000, on just 5km of beach on Boa Vista Island, more than 1,000 nesting female turtles were tagged by researchers

Marine Turtle Conservation
If you are visiting during July or January, head to Boa Vista Island, where you can get up close and personal with a wildlife conservation project focusing on sea turtles. Cape Verde is home to the second-largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles (Caretta-caretta) in the Atlantic Ocean, and Boa Vista is the place to witness the amazing egg-laying process. On an evening turtle excursion, you are almost 100% guaranteed to see one of these endangered species laying eggs in their native habitat. Conveniently, you can be collected from where you are staying – the Spinguera is a particularly good launching pad for the excursion – and dropped back again afterwards.

Watching a nesting turtle is an unforgettable experience, especially at night

The turtles’ picks of beaches like Boa Esperança in the north and Ervatão and Ponta Cosme in the southeast are the choice locations for turtle-watching activities. Also located at Ervatão is an international field station for the scientific research and conservation of Caretta-caretta.

Rabelados – a Symbol of Resistance
Since the 1940s, the Rabelados of Cape Verde have been an enduring symbol of resistance. Located on the island of Santiago, this group has spent seven decades in the mountains keeping alive their traditions, culture and way of life. They fled into an area famously difficult to access to avoid persecution by the Portuguese colonial authorities whose forced imposition of Christian teachings they opposed. The community still exists today, its customs more or less intact despite the challenges of a difficult environment that takes its toll on their quality of life.

A visit to a Rabelados village is a vision of a unique way of life

Travellers can now visit a Rabelados village, meet with the locals and purchase some of their handmade crafts, such as paintings, sculptures chiseled out of local tree wood and other objects, the sale of which directly benefits the community without compromising the culture.

Incomparable Cachupa
Nothing feels more real in Cape Verde than to sit down with friends and family to enjoy cachupa, a foodie’s delight and the dish most emblematic of Cape Verde culture. Basically a boiled stew, cachupa transcends culinary boundaries. It can consist of corn, beans, vegetables, spices and marinated meat or fish, but the exact ingredients vary from island to island and family to family, secrets that can include certain vegetables and special spices. Never say no to a homemade cachupa, especially when it includes some of the islands’ abundant fresh seafood!

Cachupa – the quintessential Cape Verdean dish

Cachupa is available at almost every eatery in Cape Verde, usually priced at around €1.50 to €2. Locals often eat it for breakfast (called cachupa rafogado), but in the morning leftovers from the night before are cooked again with olives or butter and onion and then sometimes eaten with egges.

Cape Verde Carnivals
The biggest and most impressive celebration in Cape Verde – one sometimes compared to the Brazil’s Carnaval – is the São Vicente Carnival on the island of São Vicente. The island of São Nicolau also has some parades worth checking out, bringing with them plenty of fun, frivolity and energetic music.

When planning travel during party times, book all accommodation and flights a few months in advance. On São Vicente, a  good place to stay is the Oásis Hotel Porto Grande, although there are many good smaller accommodations too.

Colourful costumes during the São Vicente Carnival

For more information about Cape Verde, including accommodations, tours, activities, all your travel needs and lots of insider tips, contact your local whl.travel connection: the team from Executiv Tour at www.capeverde-tours.com.