CAPE VERDE

DESTINATIONS

CAPE VERDE

I visited this idyllic island with my then girlfriend, due to being divorced for 2 years or so. We decided to visit for a break, and it was a great place and the facilities excellent.

African Island Beach Paradise

Another different holiday destination for me and Emma, somewhere we did not previously know about before and was pleasantly surprised to see. Most importantly, it was all-inclusive.

This holiday was one of those Thomson all-inclusive packages I and Emma took while we were together. It was an unusual place, off the beaten track, new to "tourism" (you could tell by the lack of facilities), however I doubt if I would ever go there again.

Even the Thomson (rep) admitted it was a work in progress as far as activities were concerned, and you did get the impression they had to "make stuff up" in order for them to offer some money making upselling products to customers.

A modern Riu hotel in the oasis of sand in an unspoilt area of the coastline that was carved out in the name of tourism. Local people were the only ones to staff this spacious tourist monastic building, rising out of the earth with nothing nearby for miles. It was situated literally on the edge of the golden sands and blue sea on a remote island off the African coast.

All infrastructure had to be built and the fresh water used in the hotel is produced using "desalination" osmosis from sea water. This Riu was the first but a second one (we were told) would be built further down the coastline and of course gives work to the locals.

The accessibility was great inside and out, with level pathways, reasonable inclines (including one from main reception down to ground level) and included lifts to all floors. Initially I walked the prescribed route we were told to use to go from the reception area to our room. Luggage was taken to our room for us - good job really, because the route was a long, long way and there was no way I would be doing that again.
Luckily, we discovered a short cut through the entertainment area going past the dining room but the problem was that it included a number of sets of steps, some of which were steep.

The shortcut came out near our block, the room was comfortable with a large bed, bathroom and all the mod-cons you would expect of a quality hotel. Thomson is an all-inclusive provider, so we enjoyed 3 meals daily, snacks and drinks. When it came to upselling excursions there really wasn't much choice. One of them was a landrover tour of the island and the brochure advised bringing pens, pencils and paper to donate to the local school. We were the only people to do this, and as it turned out, weren't able to give them in person because the school was shut. We handed them to the guide who offered to pass them on.

On the tour we stopped at various places for photo opportunities and one of them was the ship wreck on the beach. It was a bit of a trek down to the beach so I decided to stay put, near the vehicles. The other stops were in the local town and it was very hard to avoid the hard sell of tourist tat, which obviously formed the majority of the resident's income.

Village life was much like any of a poor community eeking out an existance and reliant on tourism for money, especially being near to West Africa and a small island with no other prospects

Houses made of breeze blocks covered with whitewash, where select ones were made more colourful by the addition of colours such as yellow and blue. The main buildings like this, the ones we saw, were places such as the church and school. It was apparent the poorness of the locals yet they were friendly, hospitable and always smiling. Tourism was a manufactured industry and I really got the impression it was a fine balance of abusing the island and helping the residents to progress forward with the introduction of work, technology and such like.

Visiting one beach on the tour it was several miles long, untouched, beautiful, golden sand and blue surf rolling over it. We were told that there were plans for another Riu Hotel right here. It had been a difficult landrover ride just to get there (so we could relax, swim and sunbathe). It wasn't just the hotel that needed to be built, but desalination and electrical supplies, roads, and everything needed to support tourism.
As an island paradise, in 2010, untouched by big tourism, it was to become something else - a monster of environmental development - but at what cost?

DESTINATIONS

CAPE VERDE

CAPE VERDE

I visited this idyllic island with my then girlfriend, due to being divorced for 2 years or so. We decided to visit for a break, and it was a great place and the facilities excellent.

African Island Beach Paradise

Another different holiday destination for me and Emma, somewhere we did not previously know about before and was pleasantly surprised to see. Most importantly, it was all-inclusive.

Hotel Reception

Hotel Riu Karamboa

Life's a Beach