Cape Verde > The Shortest Flight Ever

Today we are picked up at our hotel at eight o’clock. This means we join the breakfast buffet early. We eat our bread rolls on the terrace. A staff member is still busy sweeping and mopping the terrace. Another employee is removing leaves from the pool. Everything must look perfect for a new day. Slowly, other tourists also arrive. Around eight o’clock, we check out. The rooms are paid for, but we still have to settle the tourist tax. We were informed about this in advance. “You are checking out one day too early,” says the receptionist, surprised. “There must be a mistake, because we are really flying to the island of Fogo today.” The shuttle van arrives. Is this the same driver as last night? We’re not sure. We can’t ask because he doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Portuguese. He drives us through the morning rush hour to the airport. At the roundabout, there is a long queue of cars. What a difference from yesterday, when there was hardly any traffic here. We arrive at the airport well in time. We join the queue for the flight to Fogo, a flight of about twenty minutes. I cannot remember ever having flown such a short distance between two destinations. This officially becomes my shortest flight ever. Despite the short flight, all procedures remain the same. Even the water bottle must be handed in. Around half past nine, we walk to the plane. We board the propeller plane from the rear. As we take off, I see the island of Santiago getting smaller. The pilot makes a turn over the sea, making Praia clearly visible. I see the plateau. Then the plane turns further toward Fogo. The island of Fogo lies 70 kilometers westward. Soon I see the sea below me. The two stewards come around with water. They have just enough time to serve everyone a drink. The “fasten seatbelts” sign comes on again.

Cape Verde - On the 20minute flight face masks are mandatory

The descent begins. Through the airplane window, I see the Fogo volcano on the island of the same name. It’s a bit hazy to see it clearly. Exactly twenty minutes after takeoff, we land at the São Filipe airport. Everything here is small scale. The baggage belt is at most twenty meters long. Soon, I see my suitcase appear. In front of the airport building, we meet Mayuka. He is holding a sign with our names. He asks if we might speak French? He is originally from Senegal and speaks French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Creole. Not exactly languages I excel in. Still, we understand each other in a mix of languages. Meanwhile, he drives us to São Filipe. At a small shop, we stock up on water for the coming days. Just outside São Filipe, the road gradually rises. At every bend, we climb higher. Mayuka honks and waves at everyone he knows. He suggests turning on the music. Shortly after, we drive higher into the mountains with the sounds of Kim Alves, a local celebrity. Mayuka sings along. Suddenly something crosses right in front of the car. It turns out to be a chicken. A dull thud sounds. The little animal did not survive the collision. Mayuka stops the car. He is visibly upset. He even begins to cry. Of course, we understand it is unfortunate that he hit a stray chicken, but we don’t quite understand the intensity of the emotion. He wasn’t speeding and could reasonably do nothing about it. The music goes off. During the rest of the drive, we remain quiet. When we see the Fogo volcano, our driver seems to have recovered. “Do you want to take a photo of the volcano?” he asks. We do. This is clearly a place where everyone stops. We are immediately approached by people offering all kinds of souvenirs. We enter the Parque Natural Do Fogo. At the junction between the old and new road, Mayuka stops. He points to the hill. “That is your guide.” A boy rushes down the mountain. He introduces himself as Eurico, but most people call him ‘Zé,’ he says. “We are now at 1700 meters altitude,” Eurico explains. Mayuka will take our luggage to our accommodation in the village of Chã das Caldeiras. We will walk there. The village lies in the crater at the foot of the Fogo volcano. During the eruptions in 1995 and 2014, the area was flooded by lava flows. The villages were almost completely destroyed in the 2014 eruption. Most houses in Chã das Caldeiras also succumbed to the lava. As soon as we start walking, we see the large solidified lava flow ahead of us. The road runs straight towards it. The new road goes around the lava field. Just before the solidified lava, we turn off and climb up the volcano slope. We pass some houses and arrive at vineyards. Eurico tells us that wine is produced here but they depend on rainfall. On average, it only rains five days per year. Last year, there was hardly any rain. The island already has great difficulty providing enough drinking water to its residents. Spraying crops with extra water is not possible.

Cape Verde - The first hike along the foot of the volcano begins

Eurico also explains that the vines only grow above 1400 meters. Below that, it is too warm and dry. We continue walking over the gravel of the volcano slope. Sometimes I sink into the loose gravel. After more than two hours of walking, we reach the volcanic crater that erupted in 2014. The large Fogo volcano last erupted around 1700. The eruptions in 1995 and 2014 were in smaller craters at the foot of the volcano. Around the crater, the color of the sulfate minerals is still clearly visible. I also smell the sulfur. What a surreal landscape. I would imagine the moon to look like this. From the crater, we also see the village of Chã das Caldeiras. It is clear how the lava flow pushed through the valley. The dark solidified lava reaches into the village. In about three quarters of an hour, we descend to the village. In the gravel, descending is easy. The soft ground muffles our steps. I accept the dust as part of the deal. Behind us, we see the impressive Fogo volcano. Eurico already points out how we will climb the volcano tomorrow morning. He advises us to start at six o’clock. Then we should be at the top after about four hours, he estimates. The sun won’t be so strong then. In the village, we order some drinks at Casa Lavra. This is also where we sleep. The owners, Cecilio and Heleni, warmly welcome us. My luggage is already outside the room. Eurico arranges for us to have breakfast at half past five tomorrow. He also arranges lunch for us if we return. Cachupa, a Cape Verdean specialty. In the afternoon, we walk through the village of Chã das Caldeiras. The houses stand at the edge of the lava field. In some places, the lava reached up to the houses. They were lucky. In many places, people are building new houses, some from lava chunks to keep costs down. In a little bar in an old container, we have a drink. In the evening, we eat at the restaurant of Cecilio and Heleni. A dish of fish, vegetables, and rice is served. We order a local white bottle of wine. Wine from the volcano slope. For dessert, we get ice cream with orange flavor. Tasty but also quite filling. The small restaurant is a nice and good place for dinner. Outside, it has become dark. Pitch dark. Because of this, the stars are clearly visible. Especially when we stand in a spot without any lighting. I even see the Milky Way. The Big Dipper is low on the horizon. The North Star just barely rises above the mountains. I go to bed early because tomorrow promises to be a demanding hike.