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The local language is sort of a Creole, based on Portuguese and west African dialects, that is very hard to understand even for people who are firm in Portuguese. As many Cape Verdians live or lived in the USA, some of the locals speak English.
The gate to the islands is Sal, the only island with an airport capable to handle those overseas airplanes. From there you can take connecting flights to the other islands with the local airline TACV. But be aware, that their planes are very small and it´s fairly impossible to take bulky luggage like surfboards with them. There are also some ferries, but they run very inconsistent and if you want to rely on them you´ll need a very large and very flexible time budget.
Besides Sal and Boa Vista, Cabo Verde is almost a white sheet concerning tourism, which leaves plenty of room for the exploration of an unique west African – Portuguese culture.
The nonexistent continental shelf means that north Atlantic winter storms create long running swells, that hit the islands out of deep water with plenty of force. And the Antarctic winter sends even longer running swells to the south costs of the islands. Due to the long distance of the islands to their swell sources longer flat periods are possible even in prime season.
The archipelago sits in the trade wind area almost year round what means almost paradise like conditions for wind dependent folks like windsurfer and kitebarders.
Most visitors only stay on Sal or Boa Vista. But if you have a little bit of extra time, don´t hesitate to visit the other islands. Bizarre landscapes on Santo Antao, colonial style buildings with a lot of morbid charm in the port of Mindelo (legendary nightlife too) on Sao Vicente, pure Africa on Santiago and for the ones having plenty of time numerous undiscovered surf breaks on the 9 inhabited islands (Sao Nicolau looks very promising for that purpose) make the sometimes difficult side trip worth the effort.
Cabo Verde compressed:
The archipelago consists of 15 islands, 9 of them inhabited. Here´s the main islands in portrait:
Sal:
About 220 km2 of sand and stone, highest summit 403 m, extremely dry climate.
Ca. 8,000 very relaxed inhabitants. Basic tourist infrastructure in Santa Maria. International airport.
Large swell window from WNW over N to SE. Island shelf drops rapidly, few sand beaches, lots of sharp reefs in shallow waters.
Action: windsurfing, surfing, kiteboarding, diving
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