Boa Vista, Cape Verde: What A Vibe

Seeking a stress-free holiday after a busy few months of job changes and exams, we decided to look for a holiday destination where we could just sit back and relax in a beautiful environment for once, rather than a busy week of hopping on trains and clocking up thousands of steps round city streets. I have been to beaches in recent years, of course, but I had not had this sort of all-inclusive holiday for a decade.

Hotel in Boa Vista

The ten Cape Verde volcanic islands form an archipelago in Western Africa and its official country name is the Republic of Cabo Verde. ‘Cabo’ means the end of something and ‘Verde’ means green, so these islands are named after the green ending/edge.

Praia on the island of Santiago is the capital city and the two most touristic islands are Boa Vista and Sal. Cesária Évora, the celebrated Morna singer, was from São Vicente island, and 93% of the country’s population live on Mindelo island.

Fogo is the only island that produces its own wine, with grapes grown on the Pico do Fogo active volcano. I bought a bottle from the hotel shop and brought it back to share with my cousin in the northeast of England and it was delightful; a rich smoky red.

Red wine from the volcanic island of Fogo
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A Guide to Visiting Reykjavik, Iceland

“The sand is so black and smooth which contrasts with the white foam of the sea and the greyish sky overhead. The tide was out but the waves were quite angry as they came roaring and crashing on to the shore.”

I watched a documentary on Iceland in 2008 and my sister went there in 2009. Ever since then, I had waited and waited for the chance to visit the land of fire and ice for myself.

The opportunity didn’t present itself for a while with so many other things over the years, so many other countries. When my cousins told me they would be visiting Reykjavik before flying on to New York, I booked on to the first part of their trip in a heartbeat! While I would have loved to have gone to New York, I’m in the middle of buying my first house alone so this time it was not to be…

There was SO much preparation to do for those 3 days in Reykjavik and the internet was a goldmine for research. I had to buy so much cold weather gear that will probably sit in my wardrobe unused for a long time but at least it’s there for any future trips.

In this blog post, I’m going to pass on what I did, what you need for a trip there and key information for getting the most out of three days.

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Algeciras: Andalusia’s Forgotten Corner

Algeciras is often spoken about as the ugly spot of Andalusia. Industrial. Crime-ridden. Barren.

You won’t find it featuring highly in travel guides and it is often seen as just a transient port of call between Spain and Morocco. Algeciras is in the autonomous region of Cádiz, it is the last stop on the train line from Madrid and overshadowed by its stunning neighbour, Tarifa to the south-west.

I first heard of this supposedly unremarkable town when I was studying A level History, with reference to the Algeciras Conference of 1906, held to discuss the future of Morocco.

Intrigued to see why this place is both disregarded and heralded, I spent three days in the Algeciras zone, visiting a friend who lives there. The Campo de Gibraltar encompasses the following areas:

  • Algeciras
  • Los Barrios
  • La Línea de la Concepción
  • Castellar de la Frontera
  • Jimena de la Frontera
  • San Roque
  • Tarifa

With my knowledgeable friend to show me round, our first stop was at one of Algeciras’ surprisingly beautiful beaches. The ugly reputation is largely undeserved, once you look past the grey dusty streets and shutter-drawn windows.

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Discover Cádiz: the Oldest City in Western Europe

Cádiz is a city on the coast of the wider province that goes by the same name.

Cádiz was once called Gadir by the Phoenicians and this name evolved into the Latin Gades when it was under Roman rule. This is why the people from Cádiz are known as gaditanos even now the place is known today as Cádiz.

The gaditanos hold a reputation for being the funniest people in Spain and although I didn’t find this particularly evident in the Cádiz Capital, I certainly did when I visited El Puerto de Santa María which is just across the bay and of course, is still a part of the Cádiz province.

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A Brief Guide to the Charming El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz

Spontaneous trips often turn out to be the best trips, ironically as you don’t have much time to plan what you are going to do with your time there!

I booked a train to El Puerto de Santa María (just under 3 hours from where I am in Córdoba) on a whim when some friends said they were going to go for our puente (bank holiday weekend but of 4 days).

As I had never been before and it is located in the province of Cádiz which I adore, I thought why not?

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