SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT CAPE VERDE

(Versao em Portugues)

·  Despite its name, Cape Verde is neither a cape nor is it very green. The islands get their name from the "real" Cape Verde on the coast of Africa due east of the islands.

·  Contrary to what most people think about islands, the islands of Cape Verde are extremely dry. The landscapes are stark, and mountains have been eroded into very dramatic shapes by wind and sand from the Sahara.

·  One of the islands, Fogo, is the second-highest peak in the Atlantic Ocean, after Tenerife in the Canaries.

·  The climate on Fogo is such that both coffee and wine grapes are grown there – inside the crater of an inactive volcano.

·  The islands were completely uninhabited when they were discovered by Portuguese explorers in 1460.

·  The very first European colonial town in either Africa or America was founded in Cape Verde – in 1462, thirty years before Columbus set out on his voyage to the Americas.

·  Its oldest town was once captured by Francis Drake. He marched overland and attacked the town’s defenses from the rear. All the cannons were pointed out to sea and were thus useless.

·  Cape Verde remained a Portuguese possession for over 500 years, until independence in 1975.

·  On the basis of longitude, Cape Verde is the closest capital in either Africa or Europe to the Americas. It is less than four hours flying time from Cape Verde to Brazil.

·  Some of the first non-slave emigrants from Africa to America came from Cape Verde. Young men shipped aboard whaling ships and ended up in places like Providence and New Bedford in New England.

·  There are thus almost as many people in the U.S. of Cape Verdean descent as there are in Cape Verde.

·  The islands are ideal for windsurfing – one of the highest windsurfing speeds ever recorded was made here.