By Kiki Omeili
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde as people from the country prefer is an archipelago of ten islands off the coast of Senegal and they are quite big on tourism as an income stream. So, when Cabo Verde Airlines came to Nigeria, there was really no reason not to take them up on their offer and see the country. It was quite inconvenient that the flight left Nigeria at 4 am which meant getting to the airport around 1 am which is really inconvenient in Lagos. But that was exactly what I did.
The flight to Cape Verde was quite interesting. Some guy needed to use the restroom and one of the air hostesses was serving at the aisle so he couldn’t get there. He asked her to excuse him but she told him that she would need to go past the row where he was seated so that he could have access to the aisle. He got really agitated and threatened to pee on her!!! Then he roughly shoved her aside and went to the restroom. In all my years of traveling, it was the first time I realized that it was possible for someone to pass by a food cart on the aisle of a plane. Needless to say, the police were waiting for him when we landed on Sal Island and they took him away. You cannot get away with that kind of behaviour on an airplane.
I changed my money to Euro at the airport because that’s the currency that is spent in Cape Verde, apart from their local currency. I took a taxi to the all-inclusive resort where I was staying and observed that the island is really quite sparsely populated. The total population in Cape Verde is just a little over 500,000 people. Creole is the major language spoken but they also speak English, French, and Spanish. The resort was very beautiful but the pools were cold so I didn’t do too much swimming. I booked a tour of Sal Island and went to see Palmeira which is the fishing village, I also went to Buracona to see the” blue eye” which is really just a reflection of the sun on a spot in the cave that appears blue.
I also went shark watching. I rented water shoes and walked from the coast into the water and saw the sharks at close range. It was so exciting. I could see their fins and see them darting in and out of the water. I also encountered Barack Obama’s doppelgänger. He is a tour guide who looks just like Obama and even calls his tour “Obama tours”
I also went to the “Pedra le lume” which is a very dandy area with salt skies and I floated in salty waters. The concentration of salt in the lake is so high that you float in it.
The Cape Verdean waters are so blue that I spent a lot of time on the beach and just had to take a cruise and it was so amazing. Nigerian music is really big in Cape Verde and has an overpowering presence on the sea vessel. Many of the buildings in town have multiple colors just like Cuba. It gives the town this picturesque appearance. I also went to Santa Maria which is essentially the town square. I visited the market and bought Cape Verdean keepsakes.
Generally, I found the people of Cape Verde to be very pleasant and friendly and I think it’s very smart how they have embraced tourism as an income stream. Thank you, Cape Verde!
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