Between Cidade do Maio and Morro, the 5 km long and 1.5 km wide saltpan is the most important feature of the island, because historically it had brought some wealth to Maio, at least for some time. A line of dunes separates the pan from the sea, and it is only at high tides that […]
Schlagwort: Maio
Cidade do Maio (Cidade do Porto Ingles)
The capital of Maio is located at the southwestern tip of the island and has the only decent port. Some 3.000 or 4.000 people are living there, and all the island´s students attend high school in town. Maio had been discovered in 1460 but was of no further interest because of being barren and hostile. […]
Monte Batalha
Monte Batalha (294 m) is situated in the hinterland of Calheta close to the west coast of Maio, and it is the second highest mountain on the island. In the wet season, its foothills are used for agriculture, and the higher ranges are good for grazing livestock. On sea-level, there is the forest of Calheta […]
Calheta
Calheta is located at the west coast of Maio and with more than 1.000 inhabitants the second-largest settlement on the island. It consists of two different villages, Ribona a bit inland and Baxona right at the sea. Most of the people live in Ribona where there are at least half a dozen informal bars, a […]
Maio
Maio is the easternmost of the Sotavento islands (“under the wind”) of Cape Verde and besides Sal the oldest island of the archipelago. Its 269 km² are quite flat except for some old volcanic mountains in the interior of which Monte Penoso (436 m) is the highest. The island is dry, barren, hostile, and the […]