Think back 10 years ago. Had you heard of Cape Verde?
Not quite African and not quite Portuguese, a vibrant mix of both worlds.
The islands of Cape Verde are as beautiful as they are mysterious. It was
the transatlantic slave trades that put these islands on the map and ten years
ago, TUI put them on the tourist trail and
the industry boomed. It's no surprise but the constant beat of traditional music,
turquoise seas, sandy beaches, world-class surf and surreal lunar landscapes. I've
been given the opportunity to travel 2,700 miles across the Atlantic to visit
Sal, an island steeped in history and natural wonders, where suddenly there are
more tourists than locals. I want to engage with its people, absorb
its unique culture and at this most critical time in our planet's history,
dig deeper into the reality of tourism and learn how we as tourists can improve
the way we travel to ensure a sustainable future for an industry we
all love. We've been guided along the way by two amazing charities; the TUI Care Foundation
and the Travel Foundation who work closely with local businesses and
hotels. This trip was to become one of the biggest eyeopeners of my travels to
date. So let's go back to the beginning. At Holiday Extras we believe in making
simple choices to improve the way we travel, to find solutions that benefit
the environment and lessen our negative impact on a destination so our journey
began in an airport lounge at Gatwick, ideal if you're trying to avoid buying
plastic whilst filling up on delicious food before your flight. We chose to fly
direct to Sal with TUI Airways, the world's most carbon efficient airline.
And upon landing we were met by our prefect transfer driver who took us
straight to our greener hotel on the southwest coast of the island. So we're
starting our day having breakfast with a view. It kind of reminds me of what the
moon would look like. It's very rocky but that view is just gorgeous and we're not
wasting any time, we're starting today with an island tour an d this is with
the company called Explore CV, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what
today has an offer Booking an excursion on a trip can be
the highlight of any holiday but we want to emphasize the importance of finding a
responsible tour company. Explore Cape Verde were recommended to us by the
Travel Foundation for being passionate about the island's wildlife, whilst
providing eco-conscious excursions. We booked on an island tour and our tour
guide Jordi was a knowledgeable marine biologist. The tour started in the
coastal town of Santa Maria at the fishing pier which is the soul of the
island. Jordi showed us around and explained that the fisherman returned
around 11:00 a.m. every morning to their wives who are waiting at the pier ready
to sell the catch. If it's the locals fisherman's it is a
sustainable fishing we also sell the rights for the European Union to fish
here in Cape Verdean waters. Cape Verde got its independence in 1975. As a
former Portuguese colony, they absorbed the Portuguese influence and their blood.
Mixed with the Africans who settled here, essentially created their own race Creole.
It's like cultural to jump from the pier. If you come here and you didn't jump you
cannot say that you've been in Sal. The no stress lifestyle here it seems the whole
time. Next up we visited a natural reef, a popular feeding area for lemon sharks
and a place for tourists to safely see them in the wild.
You can rent water shoes to protect your feet from the rocks and carefully
wade in to watch them hunt. Jordi's care and consideration for the
sharks was very clear, insisting we keep a fair distance as not to disturb them.
Other guides let their groups go as far as they wanted, some even chased the
curious parts which reminded me of the importance of booking with a responsible
company. This tour also included a lunch stop in
the quaint fishing village of Palmeiro which gave us a chance to sample some of
the local delicacies, including tuna steak and some very strong local rum.
Geordie spoke to us about the tour guide training he'd received from
the Travel Foundation. He was telling us how important the training is to run a conscious tour.
Whenever you're dealing with wild animals you have to have training and know how to behave with the wild animals to keep the guests safe as well, especially with Lemon Sharks you have to know how to behave. I guess some guests might get over excited.
Yeah exactly, because everybody wants to be once you dive with sharks,
want to be close to sharks so whenever they get there they can get start
becoming a little bit excited and try to get closer and closer and closer but
well in the end we are in their natural habitat so keep a safe distance try to
don't touch them, to not feed them because that might change their behavior
and as well feeding them there are some diseases they can develop so those are
some advice. But the tour wasn't over yet.
After lunch we entered the inside of an extinct volcano to learn about the salt
mines which used to be in operation. The reason why we have people here is because of these salt mines.
They decided to change the name of this island to Sal. Sal means salt, it all makes sense!
The salt produced here used to be exported to Europe to like Belgium colonies,
French colonies but mainly to Brazil. Nowadays this is a more a tourist point,
tourist attraction. Tourists can come here to have a
floating bath and get ten years younger you know. Similar to the Dead Sea, the
water in the lake is dense with salt allowing you to effortlessly float. The
elements in the water are believed to have healing properties for the skin and
so the mines now act as a natural spa.
Feeling very relaxed, the sun was setting and we drove back down the island to
make our last stop of the tour at the famous kite beach. Warm winds from the
Sahelian belt sweep across from Africa, resulting in the eastern isles of Sal,
Mayo and Boa Vista being flat and dry and a mecca for water sports. We were
so impressed with the tour that we decided to book another one with Explore
Cape Verde, but this time on sea. We sailed along the West Coast past the
famous Ponte Preta surfing beach to the waters of Monte Leao. The best part was
jumping off the boat and free diving amongst the colorful fish and shipwrecks.
Visibility here is amazing so if you're a keen diver I would highly recommend it.
We had reached the halfway point of this trip and everything we'd experienced so
far had fueled my interest in the importance of protecting wildlife from
the impact of tourism. Over the next few days we were to explore the topic
further and meet with experts who are working on the island to make it
a better place to coexist. We were introduced to a charity called Project
Biodiversity, a group committed to conserving and restoring the island's
unique ecosystems. The organization work heavily to protect the turtles, which lay
their eggs on beaches that are now covered in litter and surrounded by
hotels. We visited their hatchery and got a chance to see their volunteers dig up
the nest they had recovered and watched hundreds of baby turtles being saved.
The charity see a great importance in educating tourists about the turtles to
encourage support and donations.They run talks at their hatchery in Ponta Preta. Before taking the baby turtles to a safe
release point on another part of the island. Island life seems idyllic doesn't
it? Secluded paradise with guaranteed weather, golden sands and exotic flavours,
but unfortunately there's a lot more behind the perfect Instagram photo and
Cape Verde is a great example of this. Nothing grows on this island, they don't
produce any of their own crops or anything. Everything has to be imported
from the other islands around Cape Verde or from Europe. Also water,
I think the locals will drink water that's being purified, you know sea water that's been
purified, but for tourists it all gets shipped in bottles which is really sad
by don't think there's any other way around it. I'm not really sure how else
you what else you can do with an island that has one day of rain a year. The
Travel Foundation's research highlighted that hotels create almost half the total
volume of waste sent to the island's landfill,
and that strong winds caused that waste to be blown right across the island,
littering the landscape and then at the ocean. You know they are believed to be
nearly 50 thousand pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean, which can
take up to 500 years to decompose. But it doesn't have to be this way, with a
little planning you can make a huge difference when you travel. It can be as
simple as packing reusable bottles and bags and choosing to stay in a
responsible hotel that cares about the environment.
The TUI Care Foundation and the Travel Foundation have together been working on
the Greener Hotel project. We invited Dahlia and Ricardo from the Travel
Foundation to talk to us a little bit more about the project and the
importance of choosing a greener hotel on your travels.
So Sal is one of the ten islands of Cape Verde and 9 have residents on them. Just for
you to have an idea, think about 80% of what we consume is imported. The
visitors that you know we receive during the whole year sums up to the quantity
of the population that this whole country has. Tourism is a very very very
important sector and brings a lot of pressure because the waste is it's a
natural byproduct you can say of tourism. What Ricardo has been doing with
the technical staff of the hotels is finding ways that they can reuse and
recycle the waste that is being generated but especially finding out
ways that we can prevent the waste in first place. So and then the TUI Care
Foundation is our major funder for the Cape Verde program which was a great
support, bringing in the majority of tourists they have such a massive impact
on this island so it's brilliant that you guys are working together to
make this happen. With support of the Travel Foundation but also by themselves they
have to come together and stand for this island
and for this mission. So what we're trying to do right now is to create the momentum of
continuity through the local stakeholders. You give them like a little
leg up. exactly! Amongst everything I've learned about sustainable travel,
over our time here I can see why Cape Verde appeals as a brilliant holiday
destination, especially if you're looking for some winter sun. So if you're
planning a trip here then here's a lowdown on some useful tips to know
before you visit. The official currency is Cape Verdean Escudo but it's a closed
currency which means you can't bring it in or take it out. However Euros are
accepted everywhere here so we've found this to be the easiest currency to use
and you're going to need to bring it in cash because not everywhere accept cards.
You'll need a visa to come here and you can get one of these online at least a
week before you fly.Failing that it will cost you 25 euros at the airport on
arrival but just be warned, there might be a big queue when you get there.
Portuguese is the main language spoken here the locals do also speak Creole
which is a mixture between Portuguese African dialects and some other European
languages. Now Sal is a really touristy island so English is spoken pretty much
everywhere especially in the hotels and on the excursions.
When it comes to food a standard dish that you'll find in pretty much every
restaurant here is fresh fish and a side of potatoes or rice and it is delicious
in fact it's caught fresh from the harbor just behind me here. Now if you're
vegetarian there isn't a great deal of choice but plenty of restaurants will
serve pizza and pasta. As we come to the end of our journey here in Sal, make
sure you hit subscribe; we have loads of travel guides on our channel and lots
more exciting destinations to come. And in Cape Verde they have this saying
'no stress' and it's so evident in the people and their culture but what is
also really evident is the impact that tourism has had on this island. We can
help this beautiful place build its sustainability movement, help it become a
marker for how other tourist destinations can reverse their negative
impacts. So come to Cape Verde and enjoy what these colorful islands have to
offer, sustainably.