The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Day hikes on Cape Verde

Located just off the coast of Africa, over 1000 miles south of the Canary Islands, the Cape Verde (Cabo Verde in Portuguese) archipelago is a walker’s paradise. Our KE group spent almost two weeks exploring its rugged coastlines and fertile terraced volcanic slopes and immersing ourselves in the islands’ Creole Portuguese-African culture. Our trip started in the largest and most populated island, Santiago. A short flight then took us to the nearby island of Fogo, known for its wine and its eponymous volcano, the high point of the country at 2829m (9280 ft).

Topographic map of the Cape Verde archipelago. Our hikes were on Fogo in the Leeward islands to the south and Santo Antao, the northern most windward island.
Fogo, the highest point in Cape Verde. Our first hike skirted its western slopes.
Lava formations near Cha das Caldeiras, which translates as “Caldera Plain”
A crater near Cha das Caldeiras on Fogo, the high point of our short hike on the first day
Early morning on our hike to the summit of Fogo. We started early to beat the heat.
Unknown yellow flower on Fogo
A bit of scrambling on Fogo’s summit block
The Vagabond Hiker on the summit of Fogo, 2829m
View north from Fogo’s summit
Our third hike on the island of Fogo was through the Monte Velha forest towards the north coast
Trying out the zoom on my new Panasonic Lumix on this Cape Verde sparrow I saw on the Monte Velha forest walk. We also saw lots of Eurasian Kestrels throughout Cape Verde, but they were somewhat more challenging to photograph.
Road building Monte Velha forest. These rugged cobblestone roads were all over Cape Verde, some made originally by slaves

After three hikes in Fogo’s arid landscape, we flew to Sao Vicente and next morning took a short ferry to the most northerly island, Santo Antao. The group spent a week walking amidst the sub-tropical jagged mountains. Santo Antao is the second largest island and an absolute haven for hikers. (Due to the coronavirus, I chose to return to the UK after the first two outstanding walks). I hated to leave Cape Verde, a beautiful and remote walking destination with stunning views of rugged coastlines set in the middle of the turquoise blue ocean.

Our first hike on Santo Antao was from the village of Cha d’Orgueiro down to the coast
Another view of the Cha d’Orgueiro village to sea walk
Apple of Sodom plant. We saw a lot of these, which have some medicinal uses, on this hike
Detail of the flower of the Apple of Sodom
Joe looking out at the landscape on the Cha d’Orgueiro village to sea walk
The Vagabond Hiker on the Cha d’Orgueiro village to sea walk. The water channels reminded me of those on Madeira last year. Photo courtesy of Joe.
The small beach we reached after more than 1000m (3300 ft) descent
Of course, we then had about 400m (1300 ft) to ascend to our vehicle.
Cliffs and sea looking west into the sun
Our second hike on Santo Antao began just above the village we were staying in, Cha de Morte. It’s named for the one cemetery on the island which is nearby.
Some of our group near the start of the 1000-plus meter ascent to a plateau near the Topo da Coroa
We saw several locals getting water with their donkeys from a rare spring. Rainfall has decreased dramatically from when the Portuguese discovered these uninhabited islands in the fifteenth century.
Rock formations at the pass onto the plateau
The plateau and some goats. In the past it was much greener; now it is green only in autumn after the short rainy season.
An unidentified purple flower on the plateau above Cha de Morte
Some cave dwellings along the plateau. The high point of Santo Antao is Topo da Coroa, just visible in the background
A panorama shot looking back down from where we started at Cha de Morte
View back up to the plateau. Much of the trail we hiked this day was built by slaves.

Although I made it back to England without any problems, as I write this the other eleven are still hiking on Santo Antao. I am not certain when my next blog post will come. I have cancelled my next two trips, to Jordan and the Azores, which were to take place in the coming month. Instead, I will spend the next seven weeks here in Hastings, then take a train out to the far west of Cornwall (assuming travel within the country is permitted) where I have rented a cottage near the Southwest Coast Path for five weeks until mid-June. My current plan is to post from that special part of England. In the mean time, stay safe while enjoying the outdoors,

The Vagabond Hiker

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