Cape Verde is an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean off the Senegalese coast. These islands were uninhabited until they were discovered in the fifteenth century by the Portuguese who colonized them to serve as the basis for the It deals with slaves. Join us to know these 50 Curiosities of Cabo Verde, an island country of Africa, that will surprise you .
Made up of ten large islands and five smaller ones, it has a population of approximately 525,000 people. The majority of its inhabitants are descendants of Africans and Portuguese. Cape Verde, together with Libya and Tunisia has the longest life expectancy of the African continent, being its population one of the healthiest in Africa.
50 Curiosities of Cape Verde
1. Cape Verde is located 600 km away. from the coast of West Africa.
2. The islands of Cape Verde were used by the Portuguese for slave trade and as a point of replenishment for transatlantic shipping and whaling.
3. In 1876, slavery was abolished in the country.
4. Of the ten Cape Verde Islands considered "major", nine are inhabited.
5. The Cape Verde Islands They are divided into two groups: those of Barlovento which are Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista and the islands of Sotavento which are Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava.
6. One of the curiosities of Cape Verde is that it is considered that Islands they are a marine extension of the desert of Sahara . This is because between June and October the sandstorms of the Sahara reach Cape Verde.
7. The capital of Cape Verde It is Praia and it is also the most populated city, with about 150,000 inhabitants.
8. The island of Santiago is the largest of all, both in size and in number of inhabitants and in it is the capital of Cape Verde , Praia.
9. The second island due to its size is Santo Antão and the main attraction is its verticality. This fact attracts many tourists who like to go hiking through their gorges, canyons and valleys.
10. South of the island of Santiago is Cidade Velha, which was the first European colonial post in the tropics and has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
11. Many Jews settled on the islands of Cape Verde, escaping from the Inquisition . Others were forced to work on the islands and in other Portuguese colonies. And, although finally in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries they moved mostly to Morocco, you can still see many Jewish tombs in Sao Antao and Brava.
12. One of the saddest curiosities of Cape Verde is that it suffers a desertification that seems unstoppable. Droughts and wind erosion are to blame because, even if it rains heavily, the earth is too hot for water to penetrate beyond the surface layers and arid areas can not turn green.
13. Only 11% of Cape Verdean land is arable and produces basically corn and beans, although new crops of vegetables, fruits and vegetables are being introduced. Coffee, bananas and sugar cane, although they are also produced, do so in a limited way.
14. There are more Cape Verdeans living abroad than in their country. Only in the USA they live 350,000. They have also emigrated to other countries such as Portugal, Luxembourg o The Netherlands.
15. One of the curiosities of Cape Verde More interesting is turtle nesting. It is the third most important nesting site for loggerhead turtles in the world. They come to lay their eggs in the sand of the country's beaches.
16. In Cabo Verde it rains a little and sometimes the annual monsoon of the southwest does not rise.
17. The record without monsoon rain in Cape Verde is 18 years.
18. Cape Verde has one of the most stable democratic governments in Africa. This has as a consequence that although it is one of the countries that receive the most international aid, it is also one of the countries with the highest standard of living in Africa. Being also one of the three African countries with the highest life expectancy.
19. One of the curiosities of Cape Verde is that it is estimated that in the country there one goat for every two people.
20. The food of Cape Verde is based on corn.
21. Its national dish is the "Cachupa" and consists of a stew with two kinds of corn, four types of beans and fish or meat. It is accompanied with yam, cassava and sweet potato.
22. One of the typical dishes of the island of Santiago was the "Tortuga filet", but you will not be able to consume it because in 2002 the government prohibited the killing of turtles.
23. Another of the curiosities of Cape Verde Worthy of mention is that there are no railways.
24. There are seven operational airports on the islands, but only one has a runway with more than 3,047 m. of length.
25. One of the most important trips to Cape Verde in history was by Charles Darwin in the Beagle.
26. Darwin was between January 16 and February 7, 1832 in the Cape Verde Islands. In them he studied and collected samples of plants, rocks and animals.
27. Christopher Columbus also visited in 1498 "Boa Vista", one of the Cape Verdean islands.
28. Other less appreciated "visitors" were the pirates who plundered the islands on various occasions between 1582 and 1585. Francis Drake was one of them.
29. Currently, to travel to Cape Verde you will need a visa that you can request until shortly before leaving.
30. The Government of Cape Verde is studying eliminating the need for mandatory visas for European visitors and creating a community of tourist islands of free circulation with the Azores, Madeira and Las Canarias in 2019.
31. Another of the curiosities of Cape Verde It is the increase in tourism that you are experiencing. In 2017, more than 400,000 tourists visited Cape Verde and the government expects that by the year 2021 they will reach a million visitors.
32. The beautiful island of Sal is one of the most popular tourist destinations. It has a beach of 8 km. long white sand, coral reefs and crystal clear and warm waters. It owes its name to the salt industry that flourished in the place between the eighteenth and mid-twentieth centuries.
33. The capital of Sal is called "Espargos" which means "Asparagus", this unique name comes from the large number of wild asparagus that grew in the vicinity of the city.
34. The currency is the shield and you can not bring or take shields from the country.
35. The trips to Cape Verde they are fashionable and tourism increases year after year having a predominant role in the economy of the country. In 2017, one of its beaches the "Praia de Santa Maria" was chosen as one of the best beaches in the world by TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice.
36. The trips to Cape Verde were discouraged for some travelers in August 2016, since active local transmission of the virus was detected Zika by mosquitoes of the Aedes species.
37. One of the curiosities of Cape Verde is its highest peak: the "Pico do Fogo " (Peak of Fire). It measures 2.8829 m. above sea level. It is an active volcano that had its last eruption between 2014 and 2015.
38. The "Pico do Fogo" is located on the island of Fogo. Despite the danger posed by the volcano, whose lava in its last eruptions engulfed more than 50 houses, the island has a population of more than 37,000 people.
39. The language of Cape Verde considered official is Portuguese. It is used in government and teaching, as well as in newspapers, television and radio.
40. However, the population has Creole as its mother tongue. This is the language of Cape Verde authentic. It has been tried constitutionally to equate it with Portuguese, but due to language differences between the islands, it is still being studied how to do it.
41. The Flag of Cape Verde It consists of a blue background with a horizontal strip of red with white edges and envelopes these bands a circle of 10 five-pointed stars.
42. The stars of the flag represent the 10 largest islands, the blue is the ocean and the sky, and the white and red the peace and the effort in the construction of the country.
43. Another of the curiosities of Cape Verde it is his army. For the defense of the country it has less than 1,300 active members. The National Guard that has over 1,000 members and whose troops are helped by the approximately 100 components of the Coast Guard Service plus the hundred marines and aviation officers who depend on the army.
44. There are some 540 species of animals endemic to the islands. One of the most curious is the giant gecko of Cape Verde which is in serious danger of extinction.
45. Perhaps one of the most artistic curiosities of Cape Verde is the "morna", which is a musical genre born in this country and that is related to Portuguese fado and other genres of countries such as Angola, Brazil and Argentina.
46. The morna is compared to the blues. It is sung in the Creole language of Cape Verde and among the instruments to accompany it is usually used the cavaquinho, the accordion, the violin, the guitar and also the piano. The morna has achieved great international fame.
47. The majority of Cape Verdeans have in their origins a mixture of Portuguese and Africans.
48. The national football team of Cape Verde has two nicknames: the "Tubarões" Azuis " (the Blue Sharks) or the "Crioulos" (the Creoles).
49. Continuing with sports, thanks to the natural winds and the transparent waters of the sea, Cabo Verde is one of the best places in the world for windsurfing, diving and kite surfing.
50. To finish these curiosities , we offer with your most popular drink, the Grog or Grogue, the national liquor of the country that the farmers of the island manufacture based on distilled sugarcane and it is quite similar to rum. And say goodbye to some of the phrases of his national anthem, created in 1996 and called "Cântico da Liberdade": "Between stars and the Atlantic, sing the song of freedom."
Curiosities of Africa | By countries
Have you been surprised by these curiosities of Cape Verde , a country that due to its spectacular beaches and its political stability is becoming one of the emerging tourist destinations in Africa? If you are fascinated by African countries you may want to know more curiosities of Africa ? Then, explore the following list with the most amazing information of the African continent distributed by countries. Expand your knowledge and let yourself be surprised!
- Curiosities of Egypt
- Curiosities of Equatorial Guinea
- Curiosities of Morocco
- Curiosities of Kenya
- Curiosities of Madagascar
- Curiosities of Mali
- Curiosities about Angola
Did you know these curiosities of Cape Verde ? Have you been surprised to learn that it was not inhabited until the 15th century, that there are so many Jewish tombs or that its islands are one of the main nesting grounds for sea turtles? We have loved discovering them! If you know something curious about Cape Verde that we have not mentioned, share it with us and we can expand the list!
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