Maio Island, Cape Verde, remote and quiet
Maio Beachfront Hotels and Sandy Beaches
First settled in May in the 1460, from whence it derives its name
which is Portuguese for the month of May. For centuries it lived
a precarious existence from ranching goats and harvesting salt.
There are still salt flats on the western coasts.
It is still remote and as yet undeveloped, but has fine sandy beaches
like Sal. There is a fine beach at Vila do Maio the main seaport
and airport. This was formerly known as Porto Ingles because an
English company exploited the salt pans. Perhaps the most friendly
island, as it is so little visited, its arid plains and fabulous
beached do permit the herding of goats and cows.
Vila do Maio
Hardly more than a large village it is two miles from the air strip
and right on a fine beach. The small jetty receives cargo ships and
fishing boats are moored and nearby is the fortress built in the 18th
century to defend the town from pirates. Dominating the town is a
large, old church surrounded by beautiful flowers. The local Coop
is modelled on an African village hut with conical roof.
Morro
A small village on the road North, it is also the site of a failed
hotel and property complex. The local handicrafts and another fine
beach with nearby some abandoned salt pits.
Santana Bay
This is a deserted semi-circular sandy beach, and an important nesting
beach for turtles.
Calheta
A few miles north is a charming fishing village at Calheta where you
can see the tuna catch early in the morning and wander amongst the
cows, bulls and donkeys which graze along the beach. . Another fine
beach is just south of Ponta Preta at Porto do Maio and there are
more to the North where the wind is stronger. All are empty.
Itt also has the largest area of forest in the Cape Verdes. Few
people make the long trip by light plane and/or ferry and you may
find that you are the only people in the small hotel Marilu , where
the owner is also the chef, waiter, barman and porter. It is the
place to get away from it all and from everyone. The pretty island
that is as yet untouched by tourism.
But perhaps it is the island in the Cape Verdes that will show
the best investment returns on property, when people are more easily
able to get there.
Maio airport is closed but there is a catamaran service from Praia
B from Manchester liked the calm.
"If you need to chill out in absolute calm and peace, Maio may
well be the place for you. Porto Ingles is charming, colourfully
painted little town scrambling up the hillside above the sea towards
the cathedral, with a couple of shaded squares hung with bougainvillea
and hibiscus. The town beach is a crescent-shaped slick of pale
gold sand sliding of into the distance into a sea of every sparkling
shade of green and blue. Maio only has nine miles of paved roads
so there is very limited vehicle ownership: this means no car hire,
but also means that if you do manage to find yourself some way of
getting about then exploring the island is a dream. Public transport
is created for by 4x4 pick-ups that simply circle the island one
way or another with people jumping on and off as they wish. This
is a really good fun way of seeing the island - most of the driving
is, of necessity, off road! - and of interacting with the local
population, and although the time tables may be erratic, there is
nowhere on Maio that requires punctuality! We actually borrowed
a pick-up for a couple of days and ambled at our own pace through
costal scrub, along miles of pale straw-gold beaches, up vertiginous
mountain sides, along dried up river beds and through picturesque
pastel painted villages. There is no litter on Maio! Neither are
there sign posts, obvious tracks or any sign of humanity between
the villages, so you need to be self-sufficient and sensible, well
prepared with food, drink and your first aid kit and not given to
panicking. Having said that you need to have an adventurous spirit
but haven't had much opportunity to put it into practise, then Maio
offers a gentle initiation: you can only be lost for so long on
a small island. "
Restaurants and Bars
There are only a couple in Vila do Maio and one small one in Calheta.
B from Manchester concentrated on one.
"Porto Ingles has a couple of restaurants – both Italian
– the Tutti Frutti and the Trattoria. We ate at the Tutti
Frutti and from then on had no reason to need to check out the Trattoria.
How amazing that in such a backwater you are able to find superb
food. Italian Alberto and his Venezuelan wife Brenda are both sailors
home from sea. They both love their quiet life by the ocean, and
love cooking and entertaining. Over our first beer in Maio –
and then a leisurely pasta lunch – we discussed with Alberto
what he had available for us to eat that evening. We came back later
and the candles had been lit, the wine was breathing and he produced
simple dishes cooked to perfection: crisp but softly melting sauté
potatoes, vegetables ‘al dente’ in a tissue thin batter
and Brazilian steaks: nearly two inches thick of succulent tenderness.
Brenda’s contribution was a seductively smooth orange crème
brulee with glass-brittle caramel cap. All washed own with a wine
from the Island of Fogo, the most southerly wine-producing region
in the northern hemisphere. No wonder that we didn’t bother
trying anywhere else! For people that can’t resist the buying
urge, Brenda has a small boutique along side he restaurant were
she sells artefacts gathered from their travels through the Pacific
and Indian oceans, South American and African jewellery and great
beach water from Brazil and Venezuela."
D from Berkshire tried the other
"Maio was absolutely beautiful and the beaches to die for. The
town was very quiet but we found ourselves a nice little internet
cafe with an Italian owner called Paolo. The hotel was basic but
the Staff was very pleasant and friendly: even managed to get a
smile out of the girl at the bank. "
