| Baía das Gatas | |
 | |
| State | Cape Verde |
|---|---|
Baia des Gatas (in Portuguese Baía das Gatas) is the name of a beautiful natural bay on the island of São Vicente in the archipelago of Cape Verde, where an international music festival takes place: the Festival of the Bay of Gatas.
To know
The splendid and very long beach of Praia Grande (over 8 km in length) has always been the best beach in all of Cape Verde for surfing. The greatest world champions of this sport can confirm this. The Baia des Gatas is a huge natural swimming pool located 15 km east of the city of Mindelo, capital of the island.
To the east of the Baia de Gatas is Praia Grande, also known as Praia do Norte. A small fishing community lives permanently in this area.
The locality is supplied with electricity and telephone lines but has yet to import water from the city of Mindelo. From Baia des Gatas the island of is clearly visible Santa Luzia.
Territories and tourist destinations
Baía das Gatas: full screen map.How to get
The town can also be reached by bicycle without great difficulty. On foot, from Mindelo, you get there after about two hours of walking on a paved road with porphyry cubes.
By bus
Baia des Gatas is not connected by any urban service. It is possible to reach this place only by minibus / pick-up (about 150 Escudos) or by being given a lift by some truck that travels this way.
How to get around
For those on a bicycle there are no problems. For those on foot, good sneakers or trekking shoes are recommended. Outside the town and the beach there are numerous stony expanses while the streets are irregular, angular and not at all flat cubes of porphyry.
What see
In the western part of the bay, coinciding with the beginning of a large stony expanse, it is possible to observe the sea breaking into numerous natural pools with splashes of waves that can reach over 5 meters. For this visit it is advisable to bring a windbreaker and trekking shoes as you will walk all the time on irregular and often unstable stones.
Events and parties
Since 1983, the Festival de Baia des Gatas, takes place annually on the first full moon weekend of August. This is because the Full Moon, in addition to giving a romantic accompaniment to the event, also grants natural light of great effect. It was born as a meeting of friends who were passionate about music and then grew from year to year to become an event of international importance. Attendance is constantly increasing every year and in the past editions there have been gatherings of over 20,000 people. All participating musicians come from all over the world to play their compositions. Clearly, African rhythms prevail. Collateral to the event are then created numerous other events such as, for example, sports competitions. As there are not enough accommodation facilities, many participants camp around the bay with tents. It goes without saying that, at the end of the Festival, dirt reigns supreme; also calculating the reduced ecological awareness of the participants and the absence of locations suitable for the stowage and separation of the same waste, the Bay, in the weeks following the event, is an open-air landfill. It is not uncommon that even after months there are still heaps of glass bottles, slippers, and various junk in complete abandonment.
This should therefore be a warning to those who decide to go there. As far as possible, try to take the rubbish away with you to maybe leave it in some garbage cans in Mindelo.
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Small restaurants and trattorias surround the bay offering the opportunity to have a meal at more than cheap prices.
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Telephony
The town is covered by the GSM network and there are some public telephones.
Around
Itineraries
In addition to the northern part of the resort, where there are numerous natural pools, it is possible to reach Calau on foot (about 8 km) in a couple of hours of walking for the more experienced feet, while in over three hours for the less trained ones. After a first stony stretch marked by a path you will walk for the rest of the path on the beach. Here too, a good pair of shoes is a must to facilitate the excursion. The beach is often covered with waste of any kind brought from the sea and thrown by people, therefore, in order to avoid cuts and abrasions, slippers are strongly discouraged.
Halfway through, for the more adventurous, you can take a path that leads to the summit of Monte Verde (750m). For the latter choice, a windbreaker is required as the summit is often covered by clouds and sometimes by precipitation.
Other projects
Commons contains images or other files on Baía das Gatas
