Cape Verde Islands Guide - Boavista
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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.
Further Information - Getting There
Region Information - Boavista
| Fogo | Maio | Sal
| Santa Antao |
Santiago |
Sao Nicolau | Sao Vicente