Cape Verde Islands Vacation

Mindelo is on the island of Sao Vicente, to the west of the Cape Verde Islands. The town was very colourful, with bright Portuguese buildings along the seafront. Many of the buildings were really beautifully built, with a lot of influence from Portuguese culture. There were many locals on the streets selling a variety of produce, from exotic fruit and vegetables to fish, to wooden souvenirs and dresses. I can distinctly remember the smell of fish as I walked along the seafront, as fishermen would prep their freshly caught fish as soon as they got to land! 

The people of Mindelo were very friendly and very keen to sell you some of their products! They had some beautiful clothes and really pretty hand woven baskets, and because it is a relatively cheap country I ended up buying a few things to take with me! 

To the north of the city, was Matiota beach. This was a very idyllic beach, with white sand and crystal blue waters, with a gorgeous mountainous backdrop; a great place to spend the day! 

This is a must see! It was only a 20 minute taxi ride from Mindelo, to the west of the island. As soon as you jump into the sea, there are green turtles! You could either pay the locals for them to put you in a wooden boat and take you out a few metres, and they would throw food into the sea, which attracted the turtles. However, I do not agree with this kind of animal interaction, and so I went a little further bit down the coast and went for a snorkel, and I saw many turtles swimming around. There were also lots of colourful fish and corals in the shallows. 

To the north of the beach, there is a lighthouse located at the end of the headland. It is a really nice walk along the cliff, and you can see some spectacular views of the sea. 

I would also recommend Turtle Beach Bar restaurant for some food and a beer!