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Santo Antão

Cape Verde

Africa modest ~$55/day
How to get there

Fly to Mindelo on São Vicente via Lisbon, then the hour's ferry across a channel that means it.

Where to sleep

Village guesthouses along the valley trails — dinner is whatever the terraces grew.

What to expect

An Atlantic island of knife-edge ridges and hand-built cobbled paths connecting villages no road reaches, grogue rum distilled in the ravines, and Creole morna drifting up from Mindelo.

First move on arrival

Walk the Vale do Paúl from the crater rim to the sea — one of the great day hikes anywhere.

When to go

November to June

One phrase to carry

Tudo dret — all good, in Kriolu.

Read before you go

The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida — Cape Verde's great comic novel.

Getting weirder nearby

Mindelo itself — Cesária Évora's hometown, live music every night of the week.

One honest warning

The ferry crossing is famously rough — take it on an empty stomach and sit low.

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