Ilha de Santo Antão (Part 1)

Just west of Ilha de São Vicente is the second largest island in the Cape Verdes, Ilha de Santo Antão. The size and height (1979 metres) gives the island a different climate and we had read that it has quite different feel to the other islands and is well worth visiting.

Departing on the ferry from Mindelo. Ilha de São Vicente is the island pictured   

The issue for us was that the channel between Ilha de São Vicente and Ilha de Santo Antão accelerates the wind significantly and the anchorages on Santo Antão have a reputation for being troublesome. One of the few viable place for us to anchor would be the main harbour where the wind and swell makes things tricky even for the ferries. If we were to find a spot to anchor away from the ferries’ turning circle, the advice was to put out about 100 metres of chain even though the depth would only be about 10 metres. For peace of mind we went for the alternative option of leaving BV safely anchored in Mindelo and taking the ferry across to Santo Antão for our visit. We were joined on our day out by Lynne Riley from Bruno’s Girl. Philip and Claudia also came along on the ferry trip but they had plans to do some hiking and to stay overnight.

Porto Novo: windy but not much swell!   

The ferry dock at Porto Novo    

Arriving at Porto Novo we saw first-hand how the strong wind makes things difficult for the ferries and the damage that the huge rubber fenders on the modern quay (2012) have sustained suggest that there have been several much more aggressive arrivals. We met up with Umberto, whom we had arranged would be our guide, and he led us to the minibus which would be our transport for the day.

Acacia trees   

Not much agriculture on the arid southern side of the island    

Leaving the port, we were initially driven across the flat coastal area but very soon began climbing up towards the peaks. The road is an amazing feat of engineering. Cobbled in black volcanic rock it is the original road built by the Portuguese colonists. On either side we saw aloe vera plants and, dotted amongst the brush and grassland, hundreds of Acacia trees. We also saw a small amount of terracing for crops (potatoes and beans) but in this area it didn’t seem to be very agricultural.

The cobbled road zig-zagged higher and higher until we could see nothing because we were inside the clouds. It was a shame because at the highest part of the road we were about 1500 metres above sea level and the views out towards the other Cape Verde islands are apparently fabulous on a clear day [Ed: however, in many ways we were very fortunate with our choice of days to visit as, for the last few days we were in Mindelo, the cloud remained resolutely low on Santo Antao (much lower than on the day that we visited) and the visibility was also much, much reduced.]

Lombo de Figueira   

Once over the top the minibus continued to zig-zag but this time downhill until we stopped at the small hill-top settlement of Lombo de Figueira which was just below the cloud layer. Here it was quite clear to us that agriculture is the primary industry.

Beautiful terracing at Lombo de Figueira   

Potatoes, sugar cane, yams, cassava, bananas, mangoes and grain are all grown on the island. The terraces that have been cut to cultivate the land created a beautiful vista. However, it must be backbreaking work to farm here because the terraces are so narrow and difficult to get to that everything must be been done by hand rather than by machines.

Chãzinha Fajã de Cima   

Jumping back into the minibus we moved onto our next spectacle. The road turned sharply west and down on our right we saw a dramatic vertical cliff dropping down several hundred metres: Chãzinha Fajã de Cima. We got out and walked to really appreciate the views but the scale was hard to judge because the valley floor was so far below us.

Chãzinha Fajã de Cima: a waterfall drops down the cliff face (R) in the wet season   

Umberto told us that in the wet season a waterfall gushes down the cliff face and the now dry valley floor is a torrent of water.

Nicky and Lynne walking along the cobbled road built by the Portuguese colonists   

The road continued long the side of the ridgeline and we walked a kilometre further along it……

….. with the views down into the valley and back towards the waterfall cliff getting better and better.

llha de Santo Antão, Cape Verde Islands