Better Call Sal

Greetings from the island of Sal in Cabo, or Cape, Verde- a country off the west coast of Africa, consisting of a string of islands. And fair warning, I am a ginormous "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" fan, so I'm taking full advantage of the island's name (Sal!).

Cabo Verde is its own country, and #84 in my li'l collection. But until it regained its sovereignty in 1972, Cabo Verde was a Portuguese colony for over 500 years. The colonial period was ugly for many reasons, including famines, being used as a penal colony for expelled Portuguese Jews, and the many Cabo Verdeans who were stolen into slavery and forced to work in the salt mines (clever readers will note that the name of this island is literally Sal, or "salt" in English). Like many countries colonized by Europe, today Cabo Verde is a gorgeous place, but still recovering from the colonial damage, while adapting to tourism from those same countries.

This is my long-winded history nerd way of saying: We are not in Mexico. Cabo Verde is not Cabo San Lucas. I promise, we are in Africa!

We arrived on Sal in the late afternoon, and checked into our beachside apartment. The owner of the building is a fellow expat American who has lived here since the 1980s, and he happily pointed us to the nearest grocery from the building's rooftop. And I do mean literally pointed; Santa Maria, the capital town of Sal Island, is that small. So we walked five minutes to pick up essentials: coffee, milk, wine, yogurt, and Cabo Verdean biscuits that are sold everywhere in unmarked bags. They taste like Danish butter cookies in that blue tin. Nom nom nom.

We headed out for a late dinner at Criollo, a local restaurant recommended by our host. I ordered the local fish stew, Matt ordered the local rice dish (fish, sausage, and white beans in a thick stew). The food was typically African, with lots of beans, local fish, root vegetables, and rice (though ironically, not with a ton of salt!). We split a pitcher of local wine- yes, Cabo Verde makes wine! Much like the nearby Canary Islands and Greece's Santorini, Cabo Verde is a volcanic island with excellent winemaking soil. The wine was good, but for €3 per liter I shall bump that rating to "excellent."

We don't have a ton of plans for the next week beyond "spend time on the beach" and "read books." So far, so good.Læs mere