POLITICS

The morna “Boa Vista, nha terra,” played by a group of musicians, who were joined by Minister of Culture Mário Lúcio Sousa, brought tenderness to the National Assembly building, as the State of Cape Verde paid official homage to the country’s first President. After this moment recalling Aristides Pereira’s native island, current President Jorge Carlos Fonseca praised the “fighter” who was Cape Verde’s first head of state, and spoke of his trajectory as a statesman (A Semana).

INTERNATIONAL

Cape Verde is one of four African countries mentioned in the latest World Bank report as being able to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Inforpress).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

The Cape Verdean Coast Guard’s Dornier aircraft has been parked on the tarmac at Praia International Airport for several months. As far as A Semana Online has been able to determine, this forced grounding of Cape Verde’s territorial space is due to the fact that the aircraft is currently without a license to fly as a result of accumulated debts on the order of 75 million escudos owned to TACV Cabo Verde Airlines.

CULTURE

Legendary Cape Verdean singer Cesaria Evora, nicknamed the “barefoot diva”, has decided to retire at 70 due to ill health, her record label Lusafrica said (AFP).

Cesária Évora was admitted to Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, France following a stroke just moments after announcing that she was definitively retiring from the stage (A Semana).

Unless you are familiar with Carmen Souza’s music, chances are you’ve never heard anything like it. “My style is between Cape Verdean music and world jazz,” Souza said during a recent phone interview. “I mix the rhythms and melodies from Cape Verde and the traditional songs from Cape Verde with jazz improvisation and jazz songs” (NCTimes).

BOAVISTA

Prime Minister José Maria Neves promised that Boa Vista International Airport will be given the name of Aristides Pereira, as one of the tributes the government will pay to Cape Verde’s first head of state (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

The city of Praia will present a court action against the central government. According to mayor Ulisses Correia e Silva, at cause is the “blockage” Prime Minister José Maria Neves’ government has set in the way of the re-qualification of the Praia movie theater, with which Minister of Housing and Territorial Management Sara Lopes, in the mayor’ words, has “become obsessed” (A Semana).

The jugs, buckets and tins women and children carry atop their heads, in wheelbarrows and in the trunks of their cars are now a part of daily life in the city of Praia, which is in the midst of yet another water shortage (A Semana).

A GRAND TOUR OF CAPE VERDE

Read the fourth part in our travel series on the Grand Tour of Cape Verde: Santo Antao island, second part.

SAO VICENTE

A pardoning of São Vicente’s debt and an exemption from taxes – this is the request São Vicente mayor Augusto Neves has made to the central government. The municipality owes more than 20 million escudos in taxes and fees to the Ministry of Finances, and claims that this money would be useful for other investments on the island (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The Bank of Cape Verde forecasts predict real economic growth of 5% for 2011, as opposed to the 6% projection announced in April. This is one of the conclusions of the updating of the Bank of Cape Verde’s financial calendar, which speaks of a slowdown in economic activity in the country (A Semana).

The president of the Business Confederation of Portugal said, while visiting Praia, that Cape Verde could become the platform through which Portuguese businesses, as well as those from the rest of the Portuguese-speaking world, access the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). António Saraiva also called for greater coordination and collaboration between the ECOWAS and European Union countries (A Semana).

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FISHERIES

The new tuna fishing accord between Cape Verde and the European Union, which goes into effect on November 1, authorizes more vessels from the European space to fish in Cape Verde’s territorial waters. The proposal was approved in Strasbourg with the votes of 539 europarliamentarians (A Semana).

The contract for construction of the new Interbase (Fish Conservation and Storage Company) in Porto Grande, on the Cape Verdean island of Sao Vicente, was due to be signed Thursday in the city of Mindelo (Macauhub).

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MEDIA

A Semana is the most-read newspaper in Cape Verde, according to a study carried out by Afrosondagem on the request of the Directorate General of the Media. Both the newspaper’s printed and on-line versions lead the ranking regarding levels of notoriety and reader preference.

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

POLITICS

Aristides Pereira, who fought Portugal’s colonial rule in the Cape Verde Islands and became the West African country’s first post-independence president, died Thursday. He was 87 (Huffington Post).

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INTERNATIONAL

Only four African countries, including Cape Verde, are likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015, a World Bank report has revealed. The report released at the ongoing Annual Meeting of the bank and International Monetary Fund attributed this to accelerated growth and progress on social indicators (Vanguard).

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

DIASPORA

The Institute of Communities has registered a reduction in the number of deportations of Cape Verdeans from foreign countries – a trend that has, to a certain degree, come as a relief to Institute of Communities officials, given that Cape Verde has had difficulty dealing with its deportee problem (A Semana).

BOAVISTA

Recently, guides serving the Marine Club in Sal Rei drove at least 8 cars through Curral Velho beach, destroying nests on their way to the nearby beach of João Barrosa, ironically to show nesting turtles at night time… This beach has also been heavily used as a road by locals, tourists and possibly independent tour companies. Other problem areas include Boa Esperança beach, and all the local beaches around Sal Rei. Its time to put a stop to it (Turtle Foundation).

SAL

One year after its ribbon-cutting ceremony, the doors of the Santa Maria municipal market remain closed. The infrastructure, which absorbed initial investments of 100 million escudos from the municipality, began to present technical shortcomings over the months following its conclusion, making it impossible to open. Meanwhile, vendors continue to sell their goods on the city’s sidewalks (A Semana).

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A GRAND TOUR OF CAPE VERDE

A Grand Tour of Cape Verde is the name of our series of articles on what to see and do in Cape Verde when visiting the islands. Part 3: Santo Antao, first part (scroll down).

SANTO ANTAO

Portuguese companies Armando Cunha and Tâmega have been awarded the contract for construction of the Canto da Cagarras dam on the island of Santo Antao, a project costing over 5 million euros (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

The Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) concluded during the August update of its financial programming, that there was a slowdown in economic activity in the country (Inforpress).

Macau has taken a decisive step toward implementing the double taxation accord with Cape Verde with its publication in the Chinese territory’s Official Bulletin. But in Cape Verde this accord, which is aimed at keeping investors from being taxed twice and preventing tax evasion, is still awaiting ratification by parliament (A Semana).

The Minister of Infrastructure and Maritime Economy, José Maria Veiga, argued that to make the leap that the country wants, Cape Verde must also invest in the energy sector as well as water and sanitation (Inforpress).

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PROJECT OF THE WEEK

Render of a villa in the Paradise Beach project at Ponta Preta beach on Sal Island (Source).

AGRI ETC.

Cape Verde’s farmers have their eyes glued on the sky, looking for encouraging signs. And, if the forecasts from the National Meteorology and Geophysics Institute turn out to be right, Cape Verde will be graced by rain before the end of the week. Even if it rains in the coming days, however, it may not be enough to guarantee a good harvest (A Semana).

SPLIT SECOND POLLS

CONSTRUCTION

The 3rd Cape Verde International Construction and Housing Fair (FICH) will be held from 7 to 9 October (Macauhub).

Young people go every day with their calloused hands to smash granite rock at Cicada Velha, a hillside village to the north of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. “The life here is as hard as the stone,” one of them said (AFP).

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REAL ESTATE

Cape Verde has climbed into the top ten in the latest Top of the Props report, bringing a fresh-faced rival to a league of hardened competitors. In August, Cape Verde attracted 2.94 per cent of all enquiries on the overseas property portal, making it the ninth most popular property destination in the world (International Business Times).

TRANSPORT

Drivers working in the public passenger transportation sector will have to undergo professional training and an aptitude test to be able to obtain professional driver’s licenses beginning in January of 2012. Professionals with more than 25 years of work will be obliged to take a refresher course in order to obtain the professional license. The cost of the course will be the responsibility of the drivers themselves (A Semana).

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Jorge Carlos Fonseca was sworn in as the new president of the island nation, a bastion of democracy and economic stability in West Africa. Fonseca, a former foreign minister and the main opposition Movement for Democracy candidate, takes over from Pedro Pires who held the presidency for a decade and oversaw an economic and infrastructure boom in the former Portuguese colony. Pires leaves power after serving two five-year terms (AFP).

President Jorge Carlos Fonseca has challenges his Chief of Staff, Manuel Faustino, to create a Presidential Documentation Center and Library. Faustino has also been asked to organize a ceremony in 2012 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Cape Verde (A Semana).

The meeting of the governing PAICV’s National Council ended Sunday in Praia with an appeal for internal unity and greater levels of responsibility on the part of its leaders. Prior to the meeting’s conclusion, however, National Council members leveled considerable criticism against the group that supported Aristides Lima’s presidential run, particularly Felisberto Vieira. Indeed, Vieira ended up admitting that he had “exaggerated” in his recent public declarations regarding the party of which he is one of the most prominent members (A Semana).

Emanuel Adams is the new Director General of Tourism, replacing Carlos Miguel Ribeiro Ferreira Pires, who has resigned, while Fernando Jorge Ferreira Wahnon takes the National Directorate of Political Affairs and Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Inforpress).

INTERNATIONAL

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) aide Cassandra Butts is in Cape Verde to discuss the results achieved with the first Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) compact in the country (A Semana).

Morocco’s Minister of State Mohand Laenser assured the new president of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca, of the Kingdom’s will to bolster the bilateral cooperation in all areas. Laenser, who represented HM King Mohammed VI in the inauguration ceremony of president de Almeida Fonseca, stressed on Morocco’s determination to give the bilateral relation a new momentum in the fields set by the bilateral joint commission, notably training, agriculture, energy and fishing (Maghreb Arabe Presse).

When you only get a few days of rain a year, like some of the islands in Cape Verde, any change in climate is a big deal. Cape Verde is expected to get warmer and drier, worsening existing water shortages. But at the same time, this tiny nation is vulnerable to flooding from storms and sea level rise. Whether it brings too much water or not enough, climate change is trouble for this country heavily dependent on foreign aid (Climaterealityproject).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

The United Nations Organisation on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has joined hands with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and Interpol to develop an airport intelligence project to improve communication between police and airports to crack down on drug trafficking in Cape Verde and other West African countries and in Brazil (Ghana Business News).

DIASPORA

Leila Lopes, who was born to Cape Verdean parents in Angola, has been elected Miss Universe 2011, making her the first black woman ever to win the competition. The ceremony was held on the night of September 12, and the 25-year-old Angolan was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Lopes beat the representative from the Ukraine and another 89 contestants – a record number of participants in the pageant (A Semana).

BOA VISTA

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sal Rei-Bofareira road on the island of Boa Vista, the longest road built so far on the island. The infrastructure is expected to modernize the highway circuit on this, one of Cape Verde’s main tourist destinations (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The daily power outages between midnight and 7:00 am in the municipality of Porto Novo (Santo Antão) have been going on for three weeks, and local residents have run out of patience. A protest was held on the city’s streets to express the population’s dissatisfaction (A Semana).

SAO NICOLAU

Minister of Infrastructures and the Marine Economy José Maria Veiga arrived on the island of São Nicolau to get a first-hand look at the pace of progress on the public works being carried out by his ministry there, including the Ribeira Brava-airport road and the Tarrafal-Ribeira da Prata road (A Semana).

A GRAND TOUR OF CAPE VERDE

A Grand Tour of Cape Verde is the name of our series of articles on what to see and do in Cape Verde when visiting the islands. Part 2: Sao Vicente

SAO VICENTE

São Vicente municipal chamber inspectors demolished the foundations of buildings being constructed in the Norte de Baía district of the island. The constructions in question had been begun illegally within one of the island’s Integrated Tourist Development Zones (A Semana).

Nine days after the Ukrainian tugboat Leopard ran aground on Galé beach on the island of São Vicente, people circulating on the highway connecting the city of Mindelo to São Pedro International Airport, as well as residents of the nearby neighborhoods of Campim and Dji d’Sal, are complaining about the strong scent of diesel in the area. The rocks and sand on the beach itself also present indications of fuel spilled into the water (A Semana).

BUSINESS

The double taxation agreement between Macau and Cape Verde was published in the Macau Official Bulletin of 12 September, in a public notice from the Chief Executive of Macau, Fernando Chui Sai On (Macauhub).

Guinea-Bissau this month began to consume pharmaceuticals imported from Cape Verde. The Cape Verde lab expects to end the year with a turnover exceeding 200 million euros (Inforpress).

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SPLIT SECOND POLLS

AGRI  ETC

Dutch company Trabocca is creating a joint venture with the Association of Coffee Producers of Fogo and Casa Rodrigo to produce, process and export coffee from the island of Fogo to Europe and the rest of the world. The initiative to entice Trabocca to come to Cape Verde comes from Capital Consulting, and is aimed at re-habilitating the industrial coffee processing unit in Mosteiros, which has not been operational for the past two years because of the difficulty in finding parts on the local and international markets to repair its equipment (A Semana).

The rainfall registered on the island of Santo Antão in late August and on September 1 and 3, albeit considerable, is still not enough to guarantee a good harvest. The information was provided to A Semana Online by the delegate of the Directorate General of Agriculture on the island, Maria Auxiliadora Fortes, who expressed hopes regarding additional rain.

Cape Verde’s farmers need to grow and conquer the tourist market, said Carla Tavares, Director General of Agriculture, during the General Council meeting of the Ministry of Rural Development on the island of Boa Vista. The opening ceremony of the meeting was presided over by Minister of Rural Development Eva Ortet (A Semana).

COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU!

BANKING

Caixa Economica de Cabo Verde (CECV) launched a product that allows customers to perform operations for sending and receiving money from their bank accounts in the network of Western Union transfers (Inforpress).

Credit risk is the main vulnerability of the Cape Verdean banking system, particularly in the areas of housing, construction and consumer loans, according to the Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) (Macauhub).

FISHERIES

The government plans to build an ice production unit budgeted at 20 million escudos in Palmeira, Sal island, within the framework of the Fisheries for West Africa program (A Semana).

Sal and Boa Vista will soon have resident fisheries inspectors charged with inspecting and certifying the fishing products to be sold to the islands’ hotel establishments (A Semana).

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REAL ESTATE

Sal has been named as Cape Verde’s most popular destination for investors by local housing experts. Adrian Lillywhite, managing director of Cape Verde Property, said that almost 90 per cent of all Cape Verde property transactions are currently taking place on the isle (A Place in the Sun).

TOURISM

The ports of Cape Verde were subject to an inspection by executives from the cruise tourism companies Noble Caledonia, Kristina Cruises and Carnival UK, whose vessels usually make stops in the country (Inforpress).

POLITICS

Janira Hopffer Almada now has added functions in the government led by Prime Minister José Maria Neves. In addition to the sectors already under her tutelage – Youth, Employment and Development of Human Resources – the young cabinet minister will also now be responsible for Social Development and the Family (A Semana).

Felisberto Vieira, president of the Southern Santiago branch of the PAICV, said the group of deputies who had supported the candidacy of Aristides Lima could become “independent” and create a parliamentary group, if they are “driven out” of their party (Inforpress).

The vice-president of the National Elections Commission responded to opposition leader Carlos Veiga, reminding him that the Commission is a result of parliamentary actions and that, as such, has to respond only to the Parliament “if the National Assembly believes that the services provided were not quality.” Manuel Miranda also explained that it is up to Carlos Veiga, as leader of the MpD, to “activate the proper mechanisms,” as members of the CNE do not resign on their own initiative (A Semana).

The leader of opposition party MpD, Carlos Veiga, called for the resignation of all of the members of the National Elections Commission (CNE) so that, in his words, the country can “once and for all have unbiased and fair elections.” Carlos Veiga also expressed his hopes that complaints regarding vote-buying will not be disregarded and forgotten (A Semana).

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INTERNATIONAL

“The new migration paradigm of transitional African spaces” is the title of a study carried out by a Cape Verdean researcher at Canada’s York University. The book by Pedro Marcelino is dedicated to the emergence of a new migratory paradigm in Cape Verde, which reveals that Cape Verdeans’ traditional emigration now exists alongside immigration on the part of continental Africans, Chinese and Europeans, alongside the return of many Cape Verdean previously residing abroad (A Semana).

DEFENSE & SECURITY

Angola is going to train Cape Verde’s Military Police. Angolan Defense Minister General Cândido Van-Dúnem and Cape Verdean Defense Minister Jorge Tolentino, who also discusses issues related to military information and communication, have agreed to expand on an accord signed in 2007 between the two countries’ defense ministries (A Semana).

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A GRAND TOUR OF CAPE VERDE

A Grand Tour of Cape Verde is the name of our new series of articles on what to see and do in Cape Verde when visiting the islands. Part 1: Santiago

SANTIAGO

Work has already progressed three kilometers into the Serra Malaguera mountain range, but water conduits, cables and telephone and electricity poles and wires have set the asphalting of the road linking Assomada to Tarrafal behind some two months (A Semana).

SAO NICOLAU

The government has launched a proposal for a study aimed at the construction of a tunnel in the Covoada district of the island of São Nicolau which, at 600 meters, would be the country’s longest. The information was announced to A Semana Online by Minister Infrastructures and the Maritime Economy José Maria Veiga (A Semana).

PROJECT OF THE WEEK

Render of the Vila Cretcheu development in a beach-front location in the developing tourist village of Calhau on Sao Vicente Island (Source).

BUSINESS

A group of Portuguese businessmen set up in Praia a company manufacturing boards, professional lighting, decorative and renewable energy (Inforpress).

OPINION

No airline is perfect. But the question here is this: can an airline be any worse? In the case of TACV, “Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde”, it is instead a national disgrace for Cape Verde. Read the opinion of Invest in Cape Verde.

SPLIT SECOND POLL

BANKING

Financial institution Novo Banco and the Cape Verdean Post Office signed a protocol allowing the public bank, which was recently created to support small and mid-sized businesses, to use post office branches as an extension of its own network (A Semana).

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TELECOMS

Cape Verde Telecom (CVT) was named a finalist for the best operators in developing markets of the World Communication Awards 2011, an international award for one of the most prestigious awards in the telecommunications industry (Inforpress).

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TOURISM

The fourth issue of the magazine published by Portuguese travel company Soltrópico identifies Cape Verde as an ideal destination for vacationing families, “for the safe, warm, endless beaches of the islands of Boa Vista and Sal” (A Semana).

What is sustainable tourism?  One definition could be minimising negative impacts tourism has on the destination while maximising the benefits for the local population.  Benefits could include better standards of living, employment, improvements in health care and infrastructure (SOS Tartarugas).

Spanish daily El País, one of Europe’s most respected newspapers, highlighted the tourist industry on the island of Sal. The report is part of a segment dedicated to the best tourist destinations worldwide (A Semana).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

POLITICS

Cape Verde’s President-elect, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, who has chosen the island of Santo Antão to rest before being sworn in to office, confessed that he was taken by surprise by the date set for his inauguration – September 9 – given the short period of time separating it from his election (A Semana).

The leader of the MPD (opposition), Carlos Veiga, said that Jorge Carlos Fonseca owes no favor to his party for supporting him in the presidential elections of August 7th (Inforpress).

Cape Verde’s State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, José Luís Rocha, signed an accord with the Chinese ambassador in Praia to provide technical orientation in the use and maintenance of the government buildings constructed by the People’s Republic of China in Cape Verde (A Semana).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

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DIASPORA

Is wedding planning on the busy itineraries of Wiz Khalifa and Capeverdean-American model Amber Rose? The hip-hop power couple has never been shy when it comes to public displays of affection, and apparently they aren’t timid about discussing marriage, either (MTV).

SAL

SOS Tartarugas closed their kid’s summer programme with a 100 kids parade through the streets of Santa Maria in the turtle costumes they have made (SOS Tartarugas).

SANTIAGO

Beginning September 1, appointments and exams may be scheduled on a daily basis at Praia’s Agostinho Neto Hospital – up to now, appointments could only be scheduled on the first of every month. The change it aimed at facilitating and humanizing the hospital’s appointment system (A Semana).

The pediatrics ward at Praia’s Agostinho Neto Hospital was transferred to a new space located in the former maternity ward. The new pediatrics center is prepared to house both inpatients and those patients who currently use the children’s emergency room (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Cape Verde is considered one of the “2011/2012 African Countries of the Future” in a report elaborated by fDi Intelligence, which belongs to the Financial Times and which evaluates the various factors contributing to the state of health of African countries’ economies. Cape Verde stands out for its infrastructures, its business environment and the number of Internet users per capita (A Semana).

The index of consumer confidence continued its upward trend in recent quarters, according to the results of the Survey of Consumer for the second quarter of 2011, by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) (Inforpress).

CAPE VERDE INVESTMENT

Prime Minister José Maria Neves swore in the new board of directors of investment and tourism promotion agency Cabo Verde Investimentos on August 30. The ceremony took place in the government palace conference room. José Armando Duarte will be the new head of Cabo Verde Investimentos, being assisted by Carlos Rocha and Nuno Miguel Martins (A Semana).

The new chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cape Verde Investimentos (CI), Jose Armando Duarte, said that the implementation of a strategic plan appears to be a priority of his mandate (Inforpress).

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AVIATION

In three short posts published on his Facebook page, TACV Cabo Verde Airlines CEO António Neves vents his frustrations with the government. A considerable number of comments were posted supporting his statements, as were large amounts of the habitual on-line “cursing” (A Semana).

BANKING & FINANCE

Insurance activities in Cape Verde grew 4.1% in 2010, 1.2 percentage points more than in 2009. The annual report from the Bank of Cape Verde also reveals that per capita insurance premiums rose 3.6% (A Semana).

PORTS

Improving the competitiveness of ports in Cape Verde, including the simplification of administrative procedures, was the subject of a meeting in Mindelo by the government, Enapor, customs and police (Inforpress).

REAL ESTATE

There will always be demand for real estate in Cape Verde due to the lack of space available for new developments, one sector commentator has claimed (Propertyshowrooms).

Expatriate international health insurance policyholders who are considering purchasing a building in the Cape Verde Islands may find there are a large number of distressed assets to choose from. Managing director of Cape Verde Property Adrian Lillywhite noted that many sellers are “desperate to raise money quickly”, so house prices can often be as much as 40 per cent less than they were before the economic downturn (Expatriate Healthcare).

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TOURISM

In the first six months of 2011 alone, a total of 219,042 tourists entered Cape Verde, 47,291 more than during the same period last year. The number of nights stayed at Cape Verdean hotel establishments was also up 17.8% over the first semester last year. The United Kingdom was the country sending the largest number of tourists to the archipelago, and its citizens remained in the country an average of 8.3 nights. Sal remains the most sought-after island for tourists, representing some 37.7% of all entries in hotel establishments in the country (A Semana).

We thought it would be a good idea to show you a couple of apps that could assist you with your travels: Cape Verde World Travel by Feng and Cape Verde Islands – GPS Map Navigator by Flytomap (Product reviews)

Every week we invite three companies to give us their best deal for a specific holiday. Today: a week in Cape Verde – an archipelago of 10 islands off the coast of West Africa – in early November. Prices are for two, flying on Thomson and include transfers (The Independent).