"I'm sorry, you won't be able to fly." I fixate on the lady behind the check-in desk at Munich Airport, because I'm sure she's just trying to be funny. But for her the matter seems to be settled, she pushes me aside and greets the gentleman behind me. Dumbfounded, I return to my fellow travellers Karen and Moritz and explain to them that they have to fly without me. Why? I sort out what I've just learnt in my head: Cape Verde is not part of Portugal and therefore not part of the EU. Instead, they are an independent island state for which you need a passport that is valid for another six months. And mine? Exactly: it expires in four months. Man, I was looking forward to sunshine and double-digit plus temperatures. I could already see myself strolling to dinner today in a T-shirt and shorts and filleting fresh fish from the Atlantic. Instead, the other two are now taking off into the sky to the south and I'm returning to the frosty German grey of December.
Cape Verde, the independent island state
Cape Verde was once a colony of Portugal, but has been an independent island state since 1975. It consists of 15 islands that protrude from the Atlantic Ocean just under 570 kilometres off the coast of Senegal. At a cursory glance at the map, it is easy to confuse them with the Spanish Canary Islands. But while the islands of eternal spring float in the Atlantic Ocean at the level of Morocco, Cape Verde, 1700 kilometres further south, is already in eternal summer. Coldest month: January with an average of 23 degrees. Conditions that have been attracting surfers for many years. Mountain bikers, on the other hand, are rare guests, although volcanic mountains similar to the Canary Islands tower up on some of the nine inhabited islands. With extremely rewarding trails, as a Swiss biker recognised and who has now opened a bike station on the main island of Santiago. That's exactly what we want to see.
I land in Praia, the capital of the archipelago, in the middle of the night the next day with an express extended passport. As a result, I see nothing of the volcanic mountains of Santiago Island on the shuttle journey to the hotel. But the hour-long, winding drive to Tarrafal on the north coast of the island gives me a glimpse of an exciting area. The Pico da Antónia is almost 1,400 metres high and there are trails in all directions from up there, my taxi driver explains to me in relatively good English. He may not be a mountain biker himself, but the few biking tourists he has already shuttled back to the airport have all been very enthusiastic so far.
There is room for everyone on the shuttle vehicle
So do Karen and Moritz, who have of course already made their first trail excursion without me. The next morning, they already know how to push the bikes onto the back of the pick-up. The wooden bench next to it is our seat. It vibrates because loud reggae music is blaring from the speakers underneath. "There's unlimited space for passengers," Karen giggles meaningfully as we speed off. And it doesn't take long for a few students to run after us and jump on the footboard. In no time at all, the number of passengers grows into a real cluster until the driver slows down a little and suddenly everyone jumps off at the same time. That was probably the "stop" at the school.
We continue for quite a while longer up an angular and porous-dry looking mountain range. There doesn't seem to be much rain here, but it's enough to give the landscape a mottled green colour. This is probably due to the fact that Cape Verde is climatologically part of the Sahel region. But apparently there were a few heavy showers during the last "rainy season" (September to October). Where the water has managed to hold on, it is now sprouting green from the ground. Once we reach the highest point, our two guides discuss the next meeting point with the driver, then Bruno explains to us which direction we will take on the bikes. Bruno is Swiss and runs the bike centre in Tarrafal. Adelson was born on the island and only started mountain biking two years ago. But he is already really good at it. The only problem is communication, as he speaks Creol, the original national language of Cape Verde.
The mountain flanks of the Serra Malagueta rise up below us. A national park just over 1000 metres high with canyons that stretch all the way down to the Atlantic. But we were wrong, our tour doesn't start with a descent, but with an uphill gravel road. This is particularly good for the view, which takes on overwhelming proportions to the right and left: Hills in all shapes and colours of sand stagger into the milky horizon, then we look down a gorge that plunges into the rich Atlantic blue. Up here, the vegetation becomes increasingly dense and the air noticeably more humid.
Swiss trail-building experience flows into the route
Before we switch to downhill mode, we pass two friendly national park rangers who have no problem with us turning off onto a trail that has obviously just been cut out. A few weeks ago, Adelson and his boys were out and about on all the trails on the island, clearing them of their "winter fur" with a machete and saw. But there is also clearly some Swiss trail-building experience in the route. At the top, a few hairpin bends keep the speed under control, but then it's full throttle. The trail meanders skilfully and effortlessly through the mountain terrain until regularly interspersed technical passages take the pace down again. This is how mountain biking should be.
A few mountain farmers have built their huts up here and reclaimed a few square metres of land around them. Maize, beans and pumpkin - three plants that live together in symbiosis and hardly need any care. "The people up here live almost independently with them," explains Bruno. At one of these huts, we turn left onto the next single track. This suddenly has a few rocky sections and a few tight bends to master. Fittingly, this rough descent leads us to the village of the Rabelados, which means rebels in Creole. People here once resisted the Portuguese colonial power and the Catholic Church. To this day, this village community lives self-sufficiently thanks to its own animal husbandry and agriculture.
Back at the hotel, we check out the surf spot on the neighbouring beach. Paxiola, one of Adelson's guide colleagues, lives here with five other young people in a straw hut. Surf Cabana - a social project for orphaned children. They offer surfing lessons, food and drink and jewellery that the boys make out of flotsam and jetsam. We sit around the campfire with the boys and watch the sun sink into the sea.
King Fisher Trail: Santiago's Epic Tour
The King Fisher Trail is the jewel in the crown of the island and provides us with a truly epic day. We take the shuttle back up early in the morning, then get on our bikes and follow a high-altitude trail that runs right across the island's mountains. Once again, the landscape is steppe-like, the paths are fast and almost flat through the sand. We don't encounter any technical challenges up here. Until the trail turns vertical at some point and drags us into a canyon. "Care!" shouts Adelson, opening his eyes. He probably meant "be careful", because we bump behind him into a kind of loose stone desert. He stops at a ledge. A quick shake of the arms.
Adelson takes the opportunity to tell us about a guy who lives here in the middle of nowhere and grows drugs, when suddenly three peacocks attack us out of nowhere. Get out of here quickly! So we follow Adelson, somewhat unprepared, into the next key section: our path soon balances along a sloping ridge. The abyss looms to the right and left, straight ahead a rough, stony surface demands speed and the sun grills from above. The landscape becomes more barren and steeper with every metre you descend. By now it's clear: the tour ends at the bottom by the sea, there's no turning back. I ask Adelson if a boat will pick us up at the beach. His answer is "yeeh", which we interpret as a clear yes. We roll on, reassured, until we suddenly come to a precipice. No more trail far and wide, just jungle-like forest.
Adelson points down into the ravine and nods. I feel my way forwards and startle a few goats in the bushes. Loud monkeys cackle from the treetops. A river now shines at the bottom of the canyon, directly in front of us: a rockfall. We have to climb down it with our bikes on our shoulders. We've done it. Now a path winds its way back along sandy ground, which spits us out directly in a dreamlike sandy bay by the sea. Just at that moment, a colourful fishing boat chugs around the corner. "Nelito!!!" Adelson waves his friend over so that we can load up the bikes. Which is not so easy in this swell. Besides, we mustn't step on the big fish that Nelito caught on the way here. We have a delicious barbecue later on the beach.
Info Cape Verde
The precinct: Cape Verde is located in the Atlantic Ocean, approx. 570 kilometres off the coast of Senegal and 1700 kilometres south of the Spanish Canary Islands. Nine of the 15 volcanic islands are inhabited. These include the largest island, Santiago, with the capital Praia. About the same size as the island of La Palma, Santiago may not have the highest peaks in the archipelago, but with the first bike station in Tarrafal (on the bay with the most beautiful beach on the island) it has the best infrastructure with trail crew, guides, rental bikes and shuttles. Highest point: Pico da Antónia (1392 m). Highest peak of the entire island state: the still active volcano Pico do Fogo (2829 m). You can't expect a European infrastructure like in the Canary Islands on Cape Verde. Tourism is still in its infancy here. Cafés, restaurants and bars can only be found in the towns on Santiago.
Best time to travel: Cape Verde is also known as the islands of eternal summer. Due to their proximity to the equator, there are hardly any temperature differences in summer or winter. It is coolest in January with an average of 23 degrees, and warmest from August to October with 29 degrees. However, the latter is also the rainy season, which is not too abundant with 2-3 days of rain. Only the humidity is extremely high during these months. The most pleasant months for mountain biking are November to March/April. This is also when the sea still has bathing temperatures of 20 degrees. Time difference in winter: two hours.
Language: Until their declaration of independence in 1975, the Kaverden were a colony of Portugal. Portuguese is therefore still the official language today. However, Creole is mainly spoken in the countryside. However, you may have luck with English in the few tourist spots in Santiago.
Currency: The Cabo Verde Escudo is best purchased at the local airport from an ATM or at the bank counter. 110 CVE is currently the equivalent of 1 euro.
Accommodation: The most beautiful beach bay on Santiago is located near Tarrafal, in the north of the island (Ponta de Atum). The King Fisher Village hotel is also located here, along with a bike centre and surf school. Travelling time from Praia airport on the south coast: approx. one hour. Info: king-fisher-village.com
Journey: Air Portugal flies daily from Germany to Cape Verde with one stop (via Lisbon). The total flight time is approx. 8 to 11 hours. In the winter months, Tuifly also offers direct flights from some German airports. ATTENTION: Your passport must be valid for 6 months upon arrival! Info: tui.com
Cape Verde trip with guide: Holger Meyer will be offering his adventure trip as a guided tour from next autumn. Dates: 10. - 16.11.2024 and 9.-15.2.2025.
All information: dierasenmaeher.de
