On the Road to Santiago

We're not on the road to THAT Santiago. Though I'm not gonna lie, I'm surprised just how many places are named "Santiago," even in Africa!

We spent Sunday, our first full day in Santiago, relaxing on the island's famous Quebra Canela Beach, just a five-minute walk from our Airbnb. But after a lazy day of sunshine, this morning we headed out to see Tarrafal, a beachside fishing village at the northern tip of the island.

There's no real public transport in Cabo Verde, so to get to the other end of the island, it's a 90-minute taxi ride or shared minibus journey. Taxis want €65 each way, and minibuses charge €6. Guess which one we chose! There's just one catch: Minibuses won't leave until all twelve seats are filled. So you might be waiting a while to depart....in our case, nearly two hours. To be fair, that was our fault; we got to the minibus depot at 8:30, hoping to catch an early, full bus, forgetting that nothing starts on these islands until 10am. Our bad. But we were entertained during those two hours, however; not only did I read a book, but a single young white woman dressed in what I can only describe as "white girl who has only learned about traveling via TikTok" swanned into the van. Her entry line to a van full of Africans (looking directly at us), spoken loudly: "It sure looks like someone speaks English in here." Classy. I can cheerfully say that travel influencers are just barely above bedbugs on the scale of things I do not wish to encounter on my holiday.

The minibus ride took us over Santiago's volcanic mountains and through the national nature preserve. When we finally arrived in Tarrafal, I was struck by its completely different vibe than Praia's. Unlike Praia's busy city feel, Tarrafal had a much more tropical, beachy vibe. The beaches and ocean are stunning, and thanks to the sheltered coves, much warmer than Praia's. The beaches themselves are still filled with working fishing boats, though in 2025 they have to share the space with vacationers.

We found an oceanside café just in time for lunch, and claimed the best table overlooking the beach ('cuz that's how we roll). This café served different types of fish, depending on what was pulled out of the ocean that morning. I chose the fresh bluefin tuna, and Matt opted for the bonito fish. They were spectacular, and as we ate, we watched fishermen bringing bags of fresh catch from the beach to the restaurant.

We stayed at the table for a few hours, reading and enjoying the view with some hibiscus juice and beers. Around 4pm, we walked back to the minibus depot, where our van managed to fill up in under fifteen minutes. However, our speedy journey got a bit derailed by massive traffic jams as we approached Praia ("traffic jam on an African tropical island" was not on my bingo card today). We realized all the blockage was due to Carnival setup. That's right! Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, whatever you want to call it...is happening tomorrow. We've been told to ratchet down our expectations (the island of Sao Vicente is apparently Carnival Central), but Carnival is awesome and I can't wait. So there.Meer informatie