Brava - Cape Verde's Magical Island

Nova Sintra

Brava is perhaps the most beautiful of Cape Verde's ten islands. Cape Verdeans call Brava, "the island of flowers." But this entirely misses the point of Brava's beauty.

It is a magical place. Before the arrival of the Cabo Verde Fast Ferry which now provides daily service to the island, Brava and its 6,000 residents were virtually cut off from the rest of Cape Verde, and by extension, the rest of the world. It is no surprise then that going to Brava is like a journey back in time to a period when life was simpler, to a place where you walk along narrow, country lanes lined with beautiful flowers. You won't find airports, shopping malls or large hotels here.

When you arrive at the small port town of Furna on the ferry, your first thought is whether anyone actually lives here. That's because the principal town of Nova Sintra is a 10 km climb from the port up into the mountains where Nova Sintra is nestled. Make sure you catch one of the Hiaces (mini-vans) which will transport you up the steep, winding road to Nova Sintra. Its not a journey you'll want to do on foot.

The ferry gets in at night so you may not have time to explore the port town of Furna. It's actually more lively that the capital, so if you get here on a weekend, perhaps you can check out the local tavern before heading up to Nova Sintra. I stayed at the quaint inn, Pensão Castelo (Eugenia 238-982-5786) in Nova Sintra. The room was spartan but clean and inviting. I've also stayed at the Dja Braba Hotel (Marcos 238-979-4934) which is the largest and most modern hotel facility on the island, and also has the best restaurant. Either place is a good base from which to explore Nova Sintra and the rest of the island, like the picturesque fishing village of Fajã d'Agua.

Charity in Paradise … Schoolbooks for Kids

Nilton Gomes is a man with a big heart, an even bigger smile and the biggest desire to make a difference in the lives of children. He was born 24 years ago in the interior of the island of Santiago surrounded by rolling green hills. He grew up poor. He remembers his school-days as happy days. But he also remembers that his parents were too poor to buy the textbooks he needed for school. Each of these books cost about €3 or US$4. His parents had to choose between feeding their kids and buying the text books. It’s a very tough choice for any parent. His school, Escola de Salina, did not have the resources to supply him with free schoolbooks.

Despite those early challenges, Nilton eventually went on to success: he serving in Cape Verde’s military, obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is now assistant manager of operations at Cabo Verde Fast Ferry in the capital, Praia. But he never forgot where he came from. He decided that he would give back to his community, the community that raised and nurtured him, by helping the students who are sitting in the same desks and classrooms that he sat in almost 20 years ago.

Nilton enlisted the help of his former teacher – Manuel Barreto – who coincidentally, also works at Cape Verde Fast Ferry. Today they are headed back from Praia through those beautiful rolling hills into the interior of Santiago to visit three schools in Salina, Santa Cruz and Achada Ponta; with 400 text books that Nilton purchased on his own account; to distribute them to the students whose parents cannot afford to purchase them; accompanied by the proud CEO of his company.

Getting around in Cape Verde

One area that many tourists have questions about when visiting any destination is how to travel around within the country or city being visited. In Cape Verde, the transportation industry is quite developed. The infrastructure is in place for road, air and sea travel. You'll find that the conditions vary by island given population sizes and state of development of each of the nine inhabited islands.

Car Rentals
Roadways are increasingly being paved. Over 25% of the roads are paved and the unpaved roads are not places you would have imagined anyone driving on anyway. So driving yourself around is very doable. However, car rentals are relatively expensive at around €45-80/day depending on the type of vehicle you rent. There are quite a few choices for car-rental agencies and you'll even find a few in the airports on your arrival.

Don't expect turn-by-turn GPS! LOL. In fact, you'll promptly and often get lost even with detailed maps because none of the streets have street-signs although the streets all have names. I've often wondered what is the point of naming a street if no-one can actually see the name? And if you're the adventurous type and want a good laugh ... just stop and ask a resident for directions! It's not that Cape Verdean's are not a friendly lot, but you simply will not get there.

Be aware that Cape Verdeans love their cars. So don't smack into anyone! And watch out for the guys who will offer to wash your car at every turn.

I would strongly advise that you not drive at night if you don't know the roads really well. If you decide to rent, please be safe.

Traveling between the Cape Verde islands by ... Fast Ferry

One of the biggest transportation challenges in Cape Verde faced by residents, businesses and tourists alike is movement between the islands of Cape Verde. It is a particularly daunting challenge because the islands are relatively far apart in terms of maritime distances.

The islands are served by air transportation via TACV, the local airline, but the cost of air transportation is relatively more expensive than by sea. In addition, it is virtually impossible to move large quantities of goods by air. And worse, the islands of Santo Antao, Brava and Maio do not have airports - so air travel is not an option to those destinations.

However, the local ferry services are quite unreliable, crowded and service is very spotty. The only exceptions are the ferry between islands which happen to be close to each other - like Sao Vicente and Santo Antao, or Santiago and Fogo, yet even so they are not necessarily 100% reliable. But if, for example, you were looking to enjoy the beauty of the Brava, a stone's throw from Fogo, you had better be sure that your schedule has a few days of flexibility - you might get to Brava by ferry, but you'd have no idea if you could actually return on the appointed day.