Day 1 (Dec 28):  Arrived in Cape Verde 🇨🇻 (my 16th African country) after a 10hrs flight from Boston.

Two hours after getting into my accommodation, my guide picks me up. We explored the Old city (Cuidad Velha), Pelourinho, Fort real de São Filipe, Rue de banana, New City, popular street food place, archaeological ruins and many others.

Day 2 (Dec 29): per my itinerary, today was supposed to be a ‘relax day’. I flew to another Island in Cape Verde in the morning. The day was to enjoy the resort. But a couchsurfer agreed to show me around & I took up the offer. Glad I did. Santa Maria, Sal is pretty small. We walked the entire town!

The best part was taking me to a Nigerian restaurant to eat Fufu😋. There are 3 Nigerian restaurants 😳 in Santa Maria- the population of the town is about 7,000 people.

Day 3 (Dec 30): This was a busy day. I got picked up by my guide and we went to several places on the island 🌴. First stop was to see a mountain shaped like a sleeping lion in Mudeira (didn’t see the resemblance 🤷‍♀️).

Then we passed through Espargos (capital of Sal Island), toured the fishing town of Palmiras and drove through the Terra Boa desert to see mirage. We also stopped to see Olho Azul (Blue Eyes). We had lunch where I got to try the traditional food here – Cachupa 😋. Last stop was the Salt Mines where you can get a salt massage.

Day 4 (Dec 31): I left Sal on the 8am flight back to Praia. Took a longgggg nap 💤. At 11.30pm, got picked up to go see the fireworks 🎇. The beach was extra crowded- food, drinks, concerts and fireworks. I got to try some street food. By 3am, I was ready to go bed.

Day 5 (Jan 1): I slept in then moved hotels. Took a walk around town. Pretty quiet until 6pm. To be honest, all I did was sleep, eat, long walks and people watch (my favorite things).

Day 6 (Jan 2):  My last full day in CV. We explored the more on Santiago Island. Drove to the oldest baobab tree in the country (brought from Senegal). Stopped in Santo Domingo for empanadas made with corn and tuna fish. We stopped in Somada town to see Amílcar Cabral statue (a Guinean who fought for independence). We ended in the town of  Tarrafal where we visited the concentration camp used by the Portuguese where they kept freedom fighters from their colonies. We briefly stopped at Tarrafal beach and lastly the Rabelados compund. The Rabelados broke way from the Catholic Church a long time ago to create their own community.

Day 7 (Jan 3): Early morning flight to Boston

• On other notes- it gets windy + chilly here from Dec-Feb I was told. Wished I knew that before booking my flight.
• I used A Vontade Tours from my trip. The owner – Joli planned my trip from Day 1 to 7. The package included hotels (Praia + Sal), and tours. The best part was having a female guide both in Santiago and Sal.