Back
To view
our properties in this area, click
here
| |
|
 |
Boavista
has extensive unspoiled white sanded beaches. The island
gives the appearance of being one huge sand dune.
Boavista
is first of all sparsely populated, with a vast empty
interior, flat and dry, surrounded by white sandy beaches.
The few settlements are quiet places, although there
has been growing activity related to the tourist industry
in recent years. The island is often thought of as a
less developed, more beautiful version of Sal. |
Boavista
is the most eastern island of the archipelago, and quite near
to the African continent. It has a surface of 620km2 and is
pentagonal in shape with its longest distance, from north
to south of 31km, and 29km from west to east. lt is made of
sedimentary rocks and is basically flat except for the volcanic
formations in Rabil and Fundo das Figueiras. Pico d'Estancia
at 390 metres is the highest point of the island. Among the
typical vegetation of the island is the date palm a kind of
a palm tree with three or six branches coming out of the same
base.
The island
is covered with sand dunes which give it a lunar scenery and
it has 55 km of beautiful white sand beaches and esmerald
green water. All these characteristics make Boavista an excellent
tourist attraction.
Getting There /Getting Around
By air: A 12 minute flight from Sal International
Airport. There is a new extension in development and the expected
completion date is in early 2007.
By sea: There are no regular ferries to Boavista
On land: Car/bike hire is available but limited.
There are some taxi services. Otherwise transport around the
island is by the local taxi service – Alugar. This does
not tend to run to a structured timetable - lifts are usually
arranged locally.
History
Boavista (originally named S.Cristovao) was discovered on
3rd of May, 1480, after the islands of Maio,
Santiago and Fogo.
The name Boavista has its origin in the exclamation "Captain,
good sight (Boavista)", instead of the traditional "Land
at sight", due to the joy of a sailor in the dormer window
of a sailing vessel which faced a fearful tempest. Initially
dependent on one of the ports under the command of a captain
in the island of Santiago, the occupancy of that island started
in 1497, when it was given to Captam Rodrigo Afonso for the
raising of cattle in the hands of a small number of shepherds.
Its population began in 1620. In this year the first settlement,
Povoação Velha, was established when a group
of Englishmen started to extract salt which contributed significantly
to an improvement in the economy of the island, consequently
attracting other industries, such as cloth weaving and ceramics.
From this time on, the island had great prosperity and it
became an important cultural centre in the archipelago.
A little later pirates, attracted by the products it manufactured,
discovered Boavista. The island then suffered a series of
crippling raids between 1815 and 1817. To protect against
such attacks, the Duque de Bragança Fort was built
on the islet of Sal Rei. Boavista is considered the birthplace
of the 'morna' which is the main musical genre of Cape Verde.
This word had its origin in the English verb "to mourn",
which means to cry or to lament.
In 1843 the island was the centre of the Portuguese-British
Commission for the abolishment of slavery.
If
you would like to add information to this page please email
us with the details.
If
you are an agent selling property in this country and would like to add
your properties to this site, please email
us or call us on 00 44 1702 603210.
If
you would like to add a reciprocal link to this page, please go to our
links page.
If
you would like to add your banner/text link here, please email
us with the details. |
|
