Cape Verde > Serra Malagueta N.P.

During the night, there is a strong wind around the little house. It’s chilly. It’s a good thing I took the extra blanket from the closet. When the sun rises, I have a beautiful view over the wide surroundings from my balcony. In the breakfast room, three tables are set. Each table is covered with a tablecloth. We lift the cloth where we think the table for three people is set. We have the right table. Under the cloth, everything is ready: bread, fruit, cheese, and a juice.

Cape Verde - Unfortunately it is too cool at height to sunbathe comfortably

There is also a small dish with three fried eggs and a dish with cachupa. At nine o’clock, we are ready outside the hotel. Alberto is not there yet. We wait a bit near the little church. From the other side, two full buses arrive with students. They sing loudly and enthusiastically on the bus. They stop right at the church. Enthusiastic and friendly, they greet us. They probably have a gathering in our hotel today. We hear a van approaching from the other side. It is Alberto. We quickly get in and drive down the mountain again. Today, we will take a walk in the Serra Malagueta National Park. This area is located on the northeast side of Santiago Island. To be well prepared, we buy water and fruit juice on the way. The road to the north passes through many small villages. Our driver has to slow down sharply for speed bumps in many places. We even encounter a traffic light—the first on this trip.

Cape Verde - The start of the walk through Serra Malagueta National Park

According to Alberto, there is also a traffic light in Praia. He points in the distance to a mountainside. At the low part on the ridge, the national park begins. The park is farther away than I expected. It is more than an hour later when we get off at the information center. Alberto buys the entrance tickets for the park and shows us the route on the map that we will take today. Many people only walk to the radio mast and back, he says. A nice route, but we will descend from the radio mast all the way down through the Ribeira Principal valley to the village of Hortelão. This will be the most beautiful part of the route, he assures us. The first part of the route goes uphill to nearly 1,100 meters. Right away, we look down into the depths on both sides of the path. I see the ocean on both sides. The island of Fogo with the Fogo volcano is also clearly visible. It feels like a long time ago that I stood on top of that volcano. The path follows the ridge to the highest point of Serra Malagueta. Due to its location against the mountainside, there is much vegetation here.

Cape Verde - The descent to the village Hortelao on the coast

Alberto points out different types of trees and plants. At the radio mast, we look down from a plateau. The ocean lies in the distance. Alberto shows how our route will run through the valley. It looks closer than it is, he warns. The height and depth are deceptive. From here, we follow a narrow mountain path mainly downhill. You have to watch out for the stones on the sandy path. You can slip quickly. The view is beautiful and seems to get better at every turn. About halfway, we take a short break at an abandoned village. The half-collapsed houses are now the domain of small lizards. Numerous little creatures look at us curiously from the stone walls. The weather is nice for walking today. There are occasionally a few clouds, so the sun isn’t at its strongest. As we get lower, we enter more inhabited areas again. We pass Gongar, a village with at most ten houses. Sometimes the path literally runs across people’s yards.

Cape Verde - The endpoint of the walk

They greet us kindly. They are clearly used to it. Around half past three, we arrive in Hortelão. Here we are back at a road. Our driver is already waiting here. In a small café, we order a cola. We have walked for four and a half hours through this beautiful nature reserve. At the end of the afternoon, we drive back to our hotel on the mountain near São Domingos via the east side of the island. Like this morning, it is about an hour’s drive. Back at the hotel, the owner is already asking how our day was. We already tell him what we want to eat tonight. We also order a beer. Unlike yesterday, it is less chilly and there is much less wind. The girl from the restaurant also comes to ask what we want to eat. The order probably hasn’t gone through yet. It is a bit difficult to explain that we already ordered. We simply give her the same order again. We are the only guests tonight. Later in the evening, a group of eight people is expected. For serving, it does not make much difference to reserve in advance. We had reserved for seven o’clock. The food is brought around quarter to eight.