Boa Vista Touareg day 7

Our last full day on the island. 

We stumbled out of bed around 08.00 and headed to the poolside restaurant for breakfast.  Next stop: beach.  We found a good spot with 2 loungers and the right balance of sun and shade for the day ... and we held that position for most of the next 7 hours or so.

I finished reading my book, "Absolute Power" by David Baldacci.  This was his first major novel, published in 1995, and I fully understand why it catapulted him to the top of the Best Seller rankings.  It was very good and I can recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good conspiracy thriller.  But it is quite a long book, so be warned.

We walked along the beach a few times, paddling in the warm water, listened to our music, and even slept for a bit.  This was my view of the world for the greater part of the day ...

We went to the pools a couple of times to swim, and had a light lunch in the poolside restaurant.  Late afternoon we bade farewell to this little slice of paradise and headed back to the room for showers.  After supper in the main restaurant we packed our bags and are ready for an early night.

Pre-dinner drinks

We are scheduled to leave the resort at 09.00 tomorrow morning for a departure flight around noon, returning us to Birmingham airport around 19.00 local time.

Au revoir, Riu Touareg, until the next time!

Boa Vista Touareg day 6

Another quiet, relaxing day, much like yesterday.

After breakfast we settled on a pair of sun loungers beside the pool for the next few hours.  Sun, relaxing music, cold beverages, books, and an occasional dip in the pool.

We had a light lunch in the poolside restaurant and returned to our sun loungers, but that did not last too long.  We were not far from the swim-up bar, where there was a rowdy bunch who had ensconced themselves in close proximity to the endless supply of alcoholic beverages, taking full advantage of the fact that everything is included in the "all inclusive" cost of the holiday, and they were determined to get maximum value for their money.  By early afternoon many of them were already well-pickled, so we migrated to the loungers on the beach, which were far away enough to provide the peace and quiet we wanted, and the rest of the afternoon unfolded along the same lines as the morning. 

The waves were bigger and rougher today than they have been in the previous days.  Still mesmerising to watch, but the strong undercurrent in this area made anything more than an  ankle-deep paddle quite unwise, even for the most confident swimmers.

Supper was in the main restaurant again this evening, delicious as always.

This week of the year is becoming more crowded than we like, so in future we will be more careful about the dates we select, to avoid the crowds.

Enjoy the photos!

Boa Vista Touareg day 5

A very quiet, relaxing stay-at-home day today.  We surfaced around 07.30 and headed for breakfast in the poolside restaurant.  Much the same spread as most days, but we kept it simple with a selection of cereal, fruit, yoghurt, toast and tea/coffee.

We headed for the beach and settled on a pair of sun loungers under a shady palm tree.  We both listened to music and read our books.  That was the morning. 

We returned to the poolside restaurant for a light lunch at some point when the sun was high in the sky.  After that we found a pair of loungers beside the pool where we settled for the next few hours, interrupted only by a swim and the occasional cold beverage.

After showers we had supper in the Asian themed restaurant.  It is quite popular and we were only able to reserve a table for the second sitting, which started at 21.00.  The food was very good, as we have come to expect, although some of the dishes were definitely a Cabo Verdean interpretation of the originals.

We walked back to the room past the pools and I took some photos of them and the poolside restaurant lit up and looking a little magical.

Enjoy the photos!

Boa Vista Touareg day 4

An interesting and adventurous day out and about.  We had arranged to go on a tour of the east coast of the island with a local tour company.  Our driver (Adi) and guide (Cheny) collected us in a 4x4 twin cab Toyota at around 09.00.  The route took us along the coast heading east and then north, stopping at various interesting places along the way, and returning down through the middle of the island.

First stop was not far from Touareg at a spot popular with local fishermen, which also provided a beautiful view back (west) along the beach with the resort in the background.

A little further on we stopped at a vast area where the ground is littered with the remains of coral, now dry and bleached white like stones.  This area is several metres (maybe 20-30) above the current sea level, which indicates that it was pushed upwards out of the sea a long time ago, probably around the time the islands were formed.

The local people are very proud of their islands being a popular nesting ground for turtles.  The prime nesting season begins in late July, but even now there is evidence that a few turtles have already visited the beaches to lay their eggs.  We stopped at a stretch of beach where we could see fresh turtle tracks in the sand.  In the photo you can see the tracks from the top right corner and ending just below the centre.  The roughly circular patch at the bottom left of the picture is the nest where the eggs have been laid and covered up to incubate.  Needless to say we were not allowed to drive onto the beach, and had to be careful about where we walked.

Next stop was at a large salt pan, no longer being mined, but still with several acres of salt lying on the ground.  Some of the salt had a slightly pink colour.  Shane explained that the salt is very good for the skin, and can also be used to treat some internal ailments if consumed, although we are not convinced about the authenticity of those stories.

The 10 islands that make up Cape Verde were formed by volcanic activity many years ago.  On one of the other islands the volcano is still active and last erupted as recently as 2014.  We stopped at an area where you can see clear evidence of the volcanic larva that flowed into the sea, which is the black rock in the photos.  These rocks are extremely heavy compared to the surrounding native rocks.

A little further on we stopped at a Baobab tree.  Nobody is sure about its origins but it seems to be healthy enough, although nowhere near as big as some of the African varieties.  Apparently it is one of 2 or 3 on Boa Vista.

Approaching noon, and our next stop was for a swim at another beautiful beach which sloped very gently into the turquoise sea, making it safe to swim in.  Apart from the idyllic setting, I cannot ever remember getting into sea water that was as warm as this.  At first we were the only people on the beach but a few others arrived after a short time, apparently also for their mid-tour swim.  The swim was very refreshing, given the midday temperature of 31°C.

Last stop before lunch was the lighthouse on the east coast.  The terrain was fairly dry, sandy and stony for most of the tour, and as we approached the lighthouse it also became more hilly.  The vehicle could only take us so far up the hillside and the final ascent was made on foot - an unwelcome reminder of our lack of fitness.

We drove through 3 little villages with prettily decorated buildings, stopping in the second one for lunch at a modest snack cafe, whose exterior belied the quality of the meal prepared for us by the owner.  The food was all local produce, prepared using traditional recipes, and a delight for the tastebuds.

The next leg of the journey took us along the Cabo Verdean version of "Route 66", named just that, and paved with black stones from the volcano larva.  Although still a fairly rough surface it was a lot more comfortable than most of the earlier dirt tracks had been.

Many miles later we stopped for a rest at an almond tree, which is apparently more than 100 years old.  There actually appear to be 2 trees, but the one is probably an offshoot from the original.  There were many nuts scattered on the ground, and we were able to crack open the shells to eat the nuts from inside.  They were not very big, but it was a novel experience.

That was the last stop on our tour before Adi and Cheny dropped us back at Riu Touareg, weary but happy after an extremely interesting and enjoyable day.  After a shower and change, followed by supper in the main restaurant, it was early to bed.

I would end with "Enjoy the photos!" but by now you have seen them all.  More tomorrow. 

Boa Vista Touareg day 3

Another relaxing day on the island.  I was thinking today, if you're having a bad day in Boa Vista, you're not really having a bad day!

After breakfast we claimed 2 sun loungers beside one of the pools that became our base for the day.  The weather was much the same as yesterday, starting with a bit of hazy cloud cover, but soon clearing to blue sky.  The mercury rose to about 27°C again, thankfully cooled off a bit by the intermittent breeze from the north-east.  The day was spent working through more relaxing tunes and tackling the next few chapters of my book, interrupted by more cold beverages and a few dips in the pools.  We took a short stroll on the beach in the late afternoon and paddled up to our ankles before returning to the room for showers.

This evening there was a Euros football match between England and Slovenia, which was shown on the big screen in the entertainment area off the central square.  Because so many of the guests are from the UK, most people went to watch the match, and we felt it our duty to go along.  We only watched until half time at which point we went to have some supper.  The full time score was 0-0 and my only comment about the part we watched is that it represented a wasted 45 minutes of my life that I'm never going to get back.

Supper on the other hand was wonderful.  We went to the Italian themed restaurant and ate more than we should have, but enjoyed it immensely.

Tomorrow we will be going on a guided tour of the eastern part of the island, which we have not seen before, but that will be the story for tomorrow's blog post.

Enjoy the photos!

Us in the pool

The central square with bar in the middle and restaurants, shops, reception and even a night club scattered around the perimeter 

The entertainment area. Most of the seating is under cover in the front, and the screen is just visible near the centre of the photo

Boa Vista Touareg day 2

We both surfaced at around 07.00 after a very good sleep.  Today's busy agenda started with breakfast in the main restaurant, followed by a long walk on the beach, heading east.  At that time there was still some cloud cover but this faded away as the day warmed up.  We took many photos and videos of the beach and the waves.  Undoubtedly this is one of the best beaches we have seen anywhere in the world.

We settled on a pair of sun loungers in amongst the palm trees on the beach, which provided just the right balance of sun and shade for us.  Listened to relaxing music.  Read some of our books.  Went up to the pool for a dip to cool off.  Consumed cold beverages.  Went to the poolside restaurant for lunch, which we chose to be a build-it-yourself hamburger.  Returned to the sun loungers on the beach for more of the same as the morning.  We finished the day's activities with another swim in the pools, during which I demonstrated conclusively that the reason why I swim like a brick is that my body tends to sink in water, whereas most people's bodies tend to float.  What can I say, I'm just a dense guy!

Showered and changed for supper, which was in the Cabo Verde themed restaurant with a large assortment of local favourite dishes.  Unsurprisingly, seafood featured prominently in the dishes on offer.  I tried octopus stew for the first time, which was unlike anything I have ever eaten before.  Nice and tasty with a bit of a burn.  I enjoyed it, but not the sort of thing that I would go back to for a second serving.

We plan to spend tomorrow doing much the same as today, but probably based on the loungers beside the pools rather than the beach.  But now it's time for bed.

Enjoy the photos.

Sun loungers on the beach 

Beach looking west

Breaking wave looking east

Two of the pools with one of the accommodation blocks behind

Video panning from west to east, to give an idea of the size of the resort

The waves are quite beautiful 

Boa Vista Touareg day 1

Ann pointed out this evening that this is the first time we have been away on holiday to the same hotel where we have been before.  This is our third visit to the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde, and the second time at the resort in the south called Riu Touareg.  The first time we visited was December 2017, 6.5 years ago.

We drove to Birmingham yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and dropped our bags at the airport before checking into one of the budget airport hotels for the night.  The alarm woke us up at 03.00 and we were inside the terminal building by 03.25.  We had been warned of long delays because of renovation work inside the building and the new security scanners installed recently to comply with new government guidelines.  Yes, there were long queues, but in true British fashion the process was being managed with great efficiency and in the end we were through security and passport control in about 40 minutes.  Not too onerous after all, allowing plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast.

We departed on time at 06.30.  The flight was uneventful and arrived on time at 10.00 local time, 2 hours behind the UK.  The process of moving through the airport here took longer than the 40 minutes in Birmingham, mostly because the baggage handling staff were working on Boa Vista time ... no stress and no hurry.  The coach brought us to the resort by about 12.00 noon, where we were welcomed with cold drinks, even before check-in formalities.  By 13.00 we were unpacked and heading to find some lunch (it had been 10.5 hours since breakfast!)  The meal was followed by a generous coating of sunscreen beside one of the pools, where we remained for the next few hours.  This included a very refreshing dip in the pool, which was adjoining the swim-up bar.  It is actually an arrangement of 4 pools all interconnected and filled with sea water.  The water was wonderfully warm, so we intend to repeat the experience over the coming days.

Late afternoon we returned to the room for showers before drinks and supper in the main restaurant.  The resort is busier than last time because of the time of year, but even so it does not feel uncomfortably crowded.  The food has been as good as we remembered from before, both in quantity and variety.  We will not be hungry this week!

It's time for bed now after a long but enjoyable first day.  Tomorrow ... beach, sun, relax, swim, eat, drink, repeat.

Enjoy the photos!

One corner of the buildings and garden

A view inside the entrance lobby this evening 

Buba, serving some excellent apple fritters and ice cream as one of the dessert options this evening. I think he looks a bit grumpy because I kept pronouncing his name as "Bubba", but he chose not to correct me if I was saying it wrong. No stress!