Explore Sal Island

Quiet beaches, steady winds, chilled bars. Welcome to Cape Verde’s easy-going paradise.
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THE OCEAN, SAND & SUN

“Paradise is when your mind is in a perfect state,” says Frederick Lenz, and that’s what Cabo Verde offers you — it’s both a colourful and a happy place if you only discover its vibrant energy, natural beauty and great culture. The more you get to know it, the more fascinating it gets. Explore the Island of Sal through our website, and see if you fall in love with what Sal can offer you.

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How to Play Ouril: Rules of The Traditional Game

How to Play Ouril: Rules of The Traditional Game

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Ouril (also spelt ouri, uril, urim, or ori depending on the island) is a traditional Cape Verdean board game of the mancala family. It was brought to Cabo Verde by enslaved people from West Africa and has been passed down through generations. The game is especially popular among men, often played in public squares and port towns, such as Mindelo (São Vicente). In essence, Ouril is a two-player strategy game where each player “sows” seeds and captures the opponent’s seeds to gain an advantage. Below is a comprehensive guide in two parts: first, a beginner-friendly walk-through of rules and gameplay; second, advanced tips on strategy and regional variations (including notes on the island of Sal).

Map of Cape Verde with Sal Island Marked Black © Sal, Cape Verde

Understanding Cape Verde

An essential step towards truly understanding a country’s culture is diving into its history. Events from the past profoundly shape local customs, behaviours, and the community’s character. To see Cabo Verde beyond its image as a sun-soaked tourist paradise, you first need to get familiar with its past — learning Caboverdian history is your starting point. From there, the authentic beauty and richness of local life become genuinely visible. Explore our pages to discover more about genuine Cape Verdean culture, away from tourist clichés.

History & Culture

Carnival

FEBRUARY

When: 3 days before Ash Wednesday
Where: all islands

Independence Day

JULY

When: July 5th
Where: all islands

Santa Maria Festival

SEPTEMBER

When: Mid-September
Where: Santa Maria, Sal

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Pontche: the Sweet Liqueur and its Great Traditions

Pontche: the Sweet Liqueur and its Great Traditions

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Cabo Verde in a Nutshell: History, Culture, Politics & Art

Cabo Verde in a Nutshell: History, Culture, Politics & Art

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Cape Verde comprises ten islands, of which nine are inhabited, and is located 375 miles (600 kilometres) off the coast of Senegal. The combined area of all the islands is 1,557 square miles (4,033 square kilometres), roughly the size of Rhode Island. The islands vary in geographical characteristics. Sal, Boavista, Maio, and São Vicente are flat and desert-like, with stretches of dunes. Santiago, Santo Antão, Fogo, and São Nicolau are more mountainous and arable, although all the islands have a long history of drought. They are all of volcanic origin; Fogo, the only volcano that is still active, last erupted in 1995. The capital, Praia, is on the island of Santiago, which is the largest in terms of area and population and the first settled.

Sal’s Hospitals, Clinics and Pharmacies: Useful Notes

Sal’s Hospitals, Clinics and Pharmacies: Useful Notes

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Whether you are on the island as a tourist or resident, it’s good to have up-to-date information on the nearest health centres and pharmacies. Health is a primary value, and it is crucial to protect it and to be able to get help quickly and efficiently in the event of illness or accident. I had the opportunity to visit almost all of the local clinics when I fell ill a few weeks after arriving on the island, and I still remember how much stress it caused me to search for information with a fever. Therefore, in this article, I tried to gather all the information on the island’s private and public health centres and pharmacies.

Spanish Shipwreck on The Beach of Boa Vista Island

Spanish Shipwreck on The Beach of Boa Vista Island

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Praia de Atalanta is a beach on the north coast of the island of Boa Vista, approximately 6 km northeast of the island capital of Sal Rei and 3 km west of Vigía. On its sandy beach stands the old, dark and corroded shipwreck. It’s a Spanish cargo ship named Cabo Santa Maria, which ran aground on September 1, 1968. Salty water and winds of the Atlantic took over that steel giant, slowly eroding and breaking it down.

The shipwreck’s corroded body became the icon of Praia da Atalanta, inspiring painters and writers.

Lemon Sharks: Close Look at the Beautiful Species

Lemon Sharks: Close Look at the Beautiful Species

The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) occupies shallow waters, coral keys and mangrove forests along the Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Pacific. It inhabits and returns to specific nursery sites for breeding, like the Shark Bay of Sal Island – the shallow bay where you can go in the water to see the little lemon sharks closely.

“Making of the Cape Verdean” by Manuel Costa

“Making of the Cape Verdean” by Manuel Costa

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The Making of the Cape Verdean is a book written about Cape Verdeans who migrated from the Cape Verde Islands in the late 1800’s to the 1970’s to New Bedford Massachusetts. The book is based on the historical facts about the Portuguese colonization of the Cape Verde islands and its people located off the West Coast of Africa. The author provides the history of colonization under Portuguese rule of Salazar and how the Cape Verdean people survived famine, imprisonment, torture, politcal unrest and the abandonment of the Portuguese government.

In addition, the author gives you a voyeuristic view of what life was like growing up in the Cape Verdean community in New Bedford after they migrated to the United States. This book is a powerful recap of of Cape Verdeans from this period and location. There is no other documentation that captures the Cape Verdeans the way “The Making of the Cape Verdean” does in this book.

Cape Verde’s Empresarias: Image and Reality

Cape Verde’s Empresarias: Image and Reality

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