Cape Verde:Santo Antao the savage island

by Free man

If we had to count the real wonders of this low world on our hand fingers, Santo Antao Island would definitely be a part of it. This is the most fascinating island of Cape Verde and certainly one of the most interesting on the Earth. Santo Antao, the most distant Island from African continent, is as wonderful as inaccessible. There, everything is extreme, starting by the small landing strip, laid on the sea like an aircraft career. Natural elements are wild. The mangled relief and its abrupt mountains diving into an agitated sea ... (more)

Santo Antao, Passagem valley.
The northern part of Santo Antao is one of the most privileged place in Cabo...

Cultivations
A great example of whats a ribeira : a green valley at the bottom of dry tops...

Santo Antao Northern coast August 20
In most of villages, urbanism had to adapt to the environment, giving...

Santo Antao ( western part )
In this part of Santo Antao, less favoured than the eastern area, aggressive...

Santo Antao, southern coast.
After the road got down from the mountainous pine forests, and by approaching...

Fontainhas village
Located on an escarped declivity ( the location is quite vertiginous...

Santo Antao Western part August 2001
Are we still on the same island ? By passing through those deep...

Northern coast-August 2001
This scenic path running along the cliffs is like hanged between sky...

Corvo village
On the northern coast, some villages are accessible only by a small...

Santo Antao Northern coast.
If this bridle-path has been hewed by human hands, natural elements...

Santo Antao Panoramic trek
This vertiginous scenic way runs along the cliffs, along 11kms. Between a...

Northern coast
The extreme brightness of the coast gives a exceptional luminosity to...

Northern coast
To hew a path so close to empty spaces is a real challenge to the furious...

Cova Crater
Inside Cova crater, light filtering trough the clouds gives an exceptional...

Northern coast-August 2001
Imposing and menacing, black cliffs of Northern coast form a kind of natural...

Inside Cova crater
In Cova Crater, an inactive volcano, altitude flora ( pines forests etc )...

Cliffs wall Santo Antao Island
The natural barrier formed by cliffs encloses clouds inside the...

Formiguinhas village
People in one of the northern villages, proud to be taken into picture but...

People in Cruzinha da Garcia village
By realizing shots into a village, a foreigner has to be discreet or...

Santo Antao Western Part
A typical habitation in Passagem valley, in Northern-west area. This kind of...

Santo Antao Passagem valley
A typical habitation in Passagem valley, in Northern-west area. This kind of...

Santo Antao, western part.
In this part of the Island, crests drawn in arc and geologic aiguilles...

Santo Antao, western part.
Because precipitations are far more rare in this part of the island, terraced...

Passagem Valley
The vegetation can be quite dense at the bottom of agricultural valleys,...

Reefs
On the northern coast, furiousness of elements hewed the cliffs to create...

Inhabitants-Ribeira da Torre - Aug.2001
Girls are often pregnant very precociously in Cape Verde. This person,...

Santo Antao, central area
Those green valleys, so numerous in the centre and the north of the...

Western area August 2001
In the western area of the island, the difference of climate, less...

Santo Antao August 2001
In the North, at the mouth of a valley, clearness of the coast contrasts with...

Santo Antao Northern coast
Along the scenic bridle path, trekkers can admire the surprising...

Ribeira da Torre
Up to a green valley stand very agressive mountainous needles. This kind of...

Typical village
Characteristic habitations in Santo Antao, hanged on the cliffs. Once again,...

Northern coast
Another example of the exceptional nuances, given by a particular...

Santo Antao Northern part.
Inside Santo Antao, in the humid area, a characteristic grass duvet covers...

Fontainhas village
Located on perilous hillsides, up to a green canyon and at the bottom of...

A quiet village in Cova cratere
A typical group of houses located at the earth of a green valley, formed by a...

Passagem Valley - Norther area
A village that lives with agriculture and placed at the very middle of the...

Ribeira da Cruz village
A typical edifice built at the middle of sugar-canes and bananas in...

Inland
The Northern area by a rainy morning. A few kilometres further was a blue sky...

Western landscape
Pointed mountainous needles do not manage to drill clouds to water...

Corvo village
In lost villages, located at the bottom of craggy valleys, the atmosphere is...

Santo Antao, Northern coast
Imposing mountains diving in one step into the sea, perpetual combination and...

Inside Cova Cratere
Up to a certain altitude, a mountainous vegetation replace the...

People
Inhabitants in Cruzinha da Garcia village. In Cape Verde, the most important...

Santo Antao - Western part
Ribeira da Cruz village. A local production of Grog ( sugar-cane...

Inland - Northern part
Characteristic landscape inside the northern area : broken relief and...

Ferry in Porto Novo.
To travel by boat from Sao Vicente Island to Santo Antao is an unforgettable...

Passagem Valley
Habitations in Passagem valley, at the middle of a green ocean....

Children in Formiguinhas village
Along the path and picturesque villages, many encounters In Cape...

Passagem Valley
In the humid valleys of the Northern Area are cultivated an extreme...

Passagem Vally
Sugar canes and typical houses in Passagem Valley, by z humid but hot...

Fontainhas Northern area
In some places, the hillsides relief, hewed both by human beings and nature,...

Santo Antao Southern Area
Around Porto Novo, on the southern coast, an hostile and arid...

Santo Antao August 2001
Typical house. Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Northern coast
A natural cove, hewed by a moving sea. Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Santo Antao - Rocky art
Through Santo Antao, stand everywhere spectacular rocky formations. We can...

Grog production
The Grog, national drink of Cape Verde, is produced everywhere in...

Northern coast
A quiet cove, out of the beaten paths and just for me. There are...

Formiguinhas village Northern coast
Inhabitants in Formiguinhas village Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Passagem Valley
The luxuriant vegetation of Passagem Valley. Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Inter-mountains bridge
Can we even notice this bridge, so much the nature of its building material...

Santo Antao - Northern part
In Santo Antao, climate is so changing that light filtering through...

Ribeira da Cruz Village
Some villages are definitly middle aged and offer a trip through time. In the...

Inside the clouds
From the hillside, between two vapors of clouds, appear and disappear...

Grog Production in Santo Antao
This hand-made grog production made strong but authentic alcohol. Buying a...

Ribeira Grande - city centre
The lovely Ribeira Grande city. The atmosphere may seems a bit oppressing...

Ribeira Da Torre
This valley spreads just behind Ribeira Grande, the small capital,...

Porto Novo
The same statue looking over the sea, from another view point. All in...

Porto Novo harbour
Looking over the sea, a bronze woman and her son salute the immensity of...

Ribeira Grande
Ribeira grande, the small capital of Santo Antao, built into a nice...

Western part
Contast between irrigated plains and the dryness of the neighbouring...

Santo Antao-Northern coast
The abrupt cliffs of Northern coast. Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Passagem Valley
High palms feel rather good into this tropical atmosphere. copyright Nicolas...

Santo Antao - Northern part
One of the numerous canyons of Santo Antao. Copyright Nicolas Pietri

Ribeira Grande - August 2001
A duch tourist that I met during a trek. He was the biggest beer...

Ribeira da Torre
Down into a green valley, the hilly relief give sometimes an...

Ponta do Sol
Town hall. Ponta do Sol is a small city but is considered as an...

Porto Novo - ferry arrival
After a rather tiresome trip, the arrival in the small harbour of...

Santo Antao - Northern part
In this part of the island, the low clouds permanently envelopping the...

Santo Antao - Northern coast
The jagged cliffs of the Northern coast are so difficult to acces that...

Santo Antao - Norther island
Inside the clouds, up to a certain altitude, humidity is so important and the...

Santo Antao - Northern part
During some treks, the differences of level are so important that the...

Ponta Do Sol village
Ponta do Sol is a small city located on the northern coast. Contrary...

Ponta do Sol
Ponta do Sol village. Flashy colonial colours contrasting with the...

Ribeira da Torre
An aeolian tower at the bottom of a valley. Cape Verde islands are so...

Map of Santo Antao

article published 08/31/2001

Comments

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Santo Antão / Sintanton
Your article is so good that in a comment to mine (http://www.worldisround.com/articles/25747/index.html) I put a link to yours.
— Francisco Santos, November 29, 2003

Santo Antão- Cabo Verde
Hello I congratulation you for this foto of Santo Antão. I'm from Santo Antão and it's a pleasur see the place of« my Island». Sorry but you have a little problem there: its Paúl Valley, not passagem valley. Passagem its a place on paúl village.

Manuela
— Manuela, July 19, 2003

What an amazing coincidence ! I was welcomed by your cousin into her home and she offered me a drink. A good break during this long trek from Cruzina da Garcia to Ponta Do Sol. If you have any contact with your cousin, please say hello for me. Nicolas PIETRI
— ( author ), June 12, 2003

What a wonderfull surprise to see may beloved island of Santo Antao. I was born in Formiguinhas and as you can see it is a small village. The people you see are all my relatives .The lady with de kids is my (prima) cousin. Thank you for a job well done!

Providence R.I. U S A
— Dinis M da Graca, June 11, 2003

Super!
Merci de partager ces superbes photos. Christine
— Christine Bourgeois, April 11, 2003

Nothing less than fantastic
I was born in Santo Antão, but I only lived there for 2 years of my life and I have to admit that I didnt know the island I was born in could be so beautiful. Specially after living most of my life in suburban areas, it's nice to see a place that seems so peaceful and free from the cannibalistic destruction of nature created by the greediness of capitalism. Thank you Mr Nicolas Pietri
— Jeremy Santos, October 2, 2002

Cape verdian
I love Cape Verd
— Sherrinei\, September 2, 2002

Dr.
Thank You for the description of our favourite island, Santo Antao. Not necessary to tell that we are mountaineers but may be usefull to tell that we edited hiking maps on Santo Antao (38 tracks) and Sao Nicolau (the latter with a guide on the 16 most interesting tracks) and that you find a lot of information on our websites. Have a look at:

www.bela-vista.net/Santo-Antao-e.htm www.bela-vista.net/Sao-Nicolau-e.htm

Pitt Reitmaier Lucete Fortes
— Pitt Reitmaier, December 17, 2001

Beautifull
What beautifull pictures, thanx for sharing Regards Marilyn
— Marilyn Wouters, September 23, 2001

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