Sal

The Cape Verde islands lie about 1,500km south-west of the Canaries, 500km west of Senegal. Out in the middle of the Atlantic, they became a key port for ships bound for the Americas. Initially they carried slaves, whose offspring mixed with the Portuguese settlers, but later the steamships stocked up on coal at Cape Verde. Gradually over the centuries, various European and African immigrants forged a Creole culture. At 30km x 12km, Sal’s one of the smallest of nine inhabited islands. Its international airport made it the gateway to the archipelago, and hence – more by luck than judgement – the island with the most tourism. Opinions on Sal are starkly conflicting: for some it’s an Atlantic pearl, for others a desiccated moonscape. But the appeal is obvious for kiters and windsurfers: reliable NE winter trade winds, sandy flat-water bays, and world-class reef-breaks like legendary Ponta Preta. And it’s all just a six-hour flight from Europe.