Born to be wild in cool Cape Verde
MARK JEFFERIES tries his hand at waterskiing on the dramatic island that is home to a sanctuary for loggerhead turtles
DAVID Attenborough eat your heart out. I’m standing on the edge of the beach of the Dune of Sal in Santa Maria in the Capeverde islands. We’re cooing as if the cutest ever newborn is being paraded. Eight tiny loggerhead turtles, barely a day old, are taking their first steps since being rescued by the Project Biodiversity team.
The group, supported by TUI’S Turtle Aid Programme have set up a flat sandy area with hundreds of nests filled with turtle eggs. Each is numbered.
They’ve been moved away from areas of the beach which suffer from light pollution or where eggs would have been damaged, to ensure they hatch and make it down to the sea. Even the little ones which are not strong enough are placed into buckets and released into the sea at night, to give them the best chance of survival.
This stunning volcanic island chain is made up of ten islands and five islets and sits 310 miles off the coast of West Africa. It could be likened to islands in the Caribbean thanks to their all-round sunshine and golden sands.
But they also offer visitors the rare chance to get up close to the turtles.the archipelago is home to the third largest loggerhead turtle nesting population in the world and second in
the Atlantic ocean overall. Cape Verde has often been referred to as The African Caribbean but in reality it’s perhaps only now that it has the quality of hotels, activities and restaurants to rival the likes of Barbados and Jamaica.
With a two-hour time difference and just a six-hour flight time, there is no jetlag to speak of.although there are palm trees and pastel coloured homes in every shade, what you’ll also find is a blend of mountains, beaches and peaceful seaside villages set amid a melting pot of African, Brazilian and Portuguese cultures.
The 18-mile long island of Sal, with its red deserts and salt pans, is also home to unusual wildlife.you can paddle with baby lemon sharks and deep-sea dive with tropical fish.
Depending on how lazy or adventurous you are, the Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort, can be a base to explore or a paradise to relax in without going very far. Opened in 2017, it offers a glorious vacation spot in the colourful town of Santa Maria.as well as the oversized swimming pool at the heart of the hotel, and the Eforea Spa which does fantastic post-flight massages, including the signature Caboverde Earth Reconnecting Journey, there are also four restaurants, including the excellent Magellan, bars, watersports and fitness centre.
But if you do, you could sink your toes in the pristine white-sand beaches and stroll to destinations such as the extinct Pedra de Lume volcano surrounded by white and pink salt pans.
We joined a tour with guide, Manuel. Swimming in the medicinal salt waters is a bit like taking a dip on a giant industrial estate that has been built on Mars.
There’s still old mining equipment scattered around and the old cable