Cape Verde

The first records of the archipelago of the Cape Verde islands narrate the landing of Portuguese navigators on the shores of the Sal Island and the islands of Santiago, Boavista, and Maio.

At that time, the Cape Verde islands were covered in lush tropical vegetation and rough volcanic rocks, set amidst the splendid ocean.

Four hundreds year later, however, this landscape had been transformed into a wasteland: a ruthless colonization had transformed the lush islands into a desert area and most of the population began emigrating in search of food.

Thanks to its fortunate strategic position, Cape Verde soon flourished once again, becoming a fundamental hub for trade and the profitable New Guinean slave traffic to the Americas.

However, this period of renewed prosperity did not last long: in fact, with the abolition of slavery in 1875, the islands of Cape Verde began a long period of decadence. The lack of labour for crops, poor resources, and the absence of maritime trade traffic resulted in this archipelago being totally abandoned. This isolation lasted centuries and the Cape Verde islands have maintained their pristine beauty ever since.

Sal Island

Discovered in 1640, Sal Island was originally known as “Llanda” or “Plana”, which was changed to “Sal Island” after the discovery of a water basin in the crater of an extinct volcano, today called Pedra do Lume, which became an important source of salt following the rainy season.

Sal Island began developing true economic activities when the inhabitants decided to export this salt, which constitutes its main natural and economic resource.
Up until a few years ago, it was extracted and exported throughout the world, and ships loaded with this precious commodity would set sail from the port of Palmeira, directed to Africa, Europe, and Brazil.
In 1939, Italian investors constructed an international airport that favoured the onset of internal migrations as well as flights to South America.
Over the past twenty years, new flight connections have boosted tourism, which has developed above all in Santa Maria, just south of Sal Island: a zone rich in ancient saltpans that even today continue to offer spectacular stretches of white beaches up to ten kilometres long.