Your African cruise will take you to a group of ten small islands off the coast of North Africa called Cape Verde. These islands were uninhabited until Portuguese colonization in the fifteenth century. During the sixteenth century the islands became a hub for slave trade. As slave trading slowed few people came through the island until the nineteenth century when it regained popularity as a re-supplying center for ships. In the 1950's a movement toward independence from Portugal began to gain momentum. In June of 1975 the citizens of Cape Verde elected a National Assembly, which Portugal recognized as independent. Cape Verde hosted a one party governmental system until 1991 when it switched to a pluralistic democracy.
Nine of the ten islands of Cape Verde are inhabited. On your Cape Verde tour you will see Mount Fogo, an active volcano that lies on the island of Fogo. A small group of inhabitants live in the volcano's caldera and grow coffee on the its slopes. The islands Sal and Maio hold vast salt flats. Inhabitants of the other islands have developed sugar cane and banana plantations at the base of islands' mountains.
The climate of these islands is fairly moderate. Temperatures range from 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The islands are quite dry. The islands do have some scattered rain between August and October. These islands are very isolated so the animals that you see on your Cape Verde adventure cruise are likely endemic to the islands. Some of the endemic birds include, Alexander's Swift, Raso Lark, and The Cape Verde Warbler. The islands are also home to the Cape Verde Giant Gecko.
Cape Verde's culture is a unique fusion of rural Portugal and West African customs. This mixture comes out in all aspects of the culture from food, to dances and the popular activities on the islands.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
