Santo Antão - Santo Antão

Santo Antão

Location
State	Cape Verde

Santo Antão is one of the islands that make up the archipelago of Cape Verde.

To know

Santo Antão (from the Portuguese "Sant'Antonio"), or Sontonton in Creole, is the largest western island of Windward. The island is separated from São Vicente by the São Vicente Canal. It is also the westernmost island of the entire African continent. Completely volcanic and formed by basalt rocks, it was discovered in 1462 by Diogo Afonso, but was not given its current name until around 1500. The first inhabitants settled in 1548. It is divided on the north / south axis by a mountain range for a long time crossed but today crossed by a couple of roads. The main town on the island is Ribeira Grande on the north coast; here is also the small airport currently not used. Its commercial port is Porto Novo on the southern coast. In the south-east there is a predominantly arid climate, while in the north-west, thanks to the reliefs, rainfall is often frequent. The highest mountain is the Topo de Coroa which reaches a height of 1,979 m. The second highest is the Pico da Cruz at 1,585m.

In the 17th century, inhabitants of Santiago and Fogo along with Portuguese settled in the northern part of the island forming the town of Ribeira Grande. Later, wine and coffee became the island's most important exports.

Fishing and paper making are currently the main industry on the island. The main source of agriculture are sugar cane, potatoes, cassava, bananas, mangoes, wheat. The main product on the island is a typical rum made from sugar cane, the Grogue. Tourism is becoming one of the main industries of the island: mountain-biking and trekking enthusiasts find here the best place in all of Cape Verde. is

Since 1999, volcanologists periodically checking the sea temperature in the Ponta do Sol area have advanced a new risk of eruption in the area.

Geographical notes

Making you think of a trapezoid, the island of SANTO ANTÃO has 779 km² of surface and is the second largest island of the archipelago. Its maximum length is 43 km between TUMBA to the north-east and CAMARIVA to the south-east. It reaches the widest width between AREIAS (to the north) and CAIS DO FORTES (to the south): 24 km. In the middle of the island a mountain range, more rugged in the north than in the south, extends from north-east to south-east and culminates with the TOPE DA COROA (1979m) which is a relatively recent volcanic peak. There are still other noteworthy peaks: PICO DA CRUZ (1814m) to the north-east and GUIDO DE CAVALEIRO (1811m) to the south-east. Of volcanic origin, the island still retains remains of its past, boasting some craters, especially that of COVA, excellently preserved.Due to the effect of erosion, the valleys are deep and the peaks and peaks, steep.The picturesque coast, jagged to the north and north-east due to the violent sea, however, has some beautiful beaches such as PRAIA FORMOSA.

When to go

The climate, very dry in the south, cool in the central part (1000 meters high) and humid in the north-east region, gives rise to contrasting landscapes: the plateaus (higher areas) are covered with trees including eucalyptus , cypress, pine and acacia; to the south there is a desert landscape, with grassy vegetation.

Background

The island of Santo Antão was discovered by Diogo Afonso on January 17, 1462. Colonization began in 1548. During the 19th century, roads were built connecting PONTA DO SOL to RIBEIRA GRANDE and RIBEIRA GRANDE to PORTO NOVO which through its port allowed the exit of the goods. Economically, this island is very rich on the agricultural level: sugar cane, yam, cassava, banana, coconut, "frutapão", mango, papaya and almond predominate. In terms of transport, new road junctions have been opened. Maritime services and air connections have been increased. Fishing employs a large number of people in the ports of TARRAFAL, PORTO NOVO and JANELA. Pozzolana (clayey volcanic earth) is extracted and exported for the manufacture of cement. There is a commercialization project for the mineral waters of VALE DO PAUL.

Territories and tourist destinations

Santo Antão: full screen map.

Urban centers

Alto Mira, Chã das Furnas, Coculi, Corvo, Cruzinha, Curral da Russa, Eito, Eito de Baixo, Espongeiro, Fontainhas, Formiguinhas, Janela, Lomba dos Pombas, Lombo de Santo, Lourenço, Monte Trigo, Paul, Passo, Pombas, Ponta do Sol, Porto Novo, Ribeira da Cruz, Ribeira das Bras, Ribeira Grande, Synagogue and Tarrafal de Monte Trigo.

How to get

By plane

Ponta do Sol airport is closed and slowly deteriorating. The length of the runway, less than 1 km, was usable only by small aircraft and the pilots, to land there, had to have specific training. The last to use it were the NATO forces and, after then, the facility was closed.The construction of a new international airport is planned in the southern part of the island and, according to official communications from the government, the works should begin by the end of 2011.

On boat

Currently the only way to reach the island is by ferry boat which leaves regularly twice a day from the port of Mindelo (Sao Vincente). The cost of the ticket (March 2007) is 350 Escudos each way.

How to get around

What see

Santo Antão still remains an island unknown to many. It is a paradise for those who want to go trekking or love mountain biking. Perched on mule tracks overlooking the sea, you can enjoy breathtaking views in many points of the island. Verdant, Santo Antão is considered the garden of Cape Verde even if, on closer inspection, it is certainly not a luxuriant alpine green. In the internal valleys, numerous pine forests cover a lot of soil while going down to the sea there is a substitution with palm groves and rocky plants. The luxuriance of the place is mainly due to the greater rainfall. Mind you, it is certainly not a matter of abundant and continuous precipitations; they are in the order of a few downloads every couple of months.Ribeira Grande, while offering nothing, is certainly worth visiting only for the route that separates it from the port. A mule track of about 40 km that climbs up the mountains along donkey ridges and skimming cliffs of several hundred meters. The journey takes about an hour and a half and with the aluguer it will cost around 350 Escudos per person.

Numerous trails start from Ribeira for both bikers and hikers. You can decide to continue in a western direction to get to the characteristic village of Ponta do Sol where the now disused airport is also located. Ponta do Sol is the extreme north of Cape Verde, a very small village made up of some cats, some dogs and some fishermen. A microscopic beach between the rocks and the waves of the perennially agitated sea. Punta do Sol still retains that Cape Verdean atmosphere if you don't pay too much attention to the slow-growing residential complexes. A couple of hotels with more than affordable prices. Here you have the feeling of being truly at the end of the world even though Ribeira is only four km away.

Events and parties

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Try the island liqueurs (coffee, cinnamon, fig leaves, mint, orange, lemongrass) or the "Bandai" of CHÁ DAS PEDRAS. In Ribeira de Torre and Paùl you can see the trapiche (traditional tools for grinding the barrel) from which the grogue (a fresh or aged sugar cane distillate).