Cape Verde a Tropical Paradise


by Douglas Scott - Date: 2007-06-22 - Word Count: 401 Share This!

Cape Verde has ten Islands of which Santiago is the main one, five and a half hours flight from the UK. These Islands are on the same latitude as Barbados close to the equator.

Cape Verde is a tropical paradise in the Atlantic Ocean benefiting from around the year sun.

Portuguese is Cape Verdes official language and the language of instruction in official schools. However, the Capeverdean Crioulo languages are also widely spoken. These are a range of Portuguese based creole languages, which vary considerably from island to island.

A mix of African and Portuguese cultures has had a large impact on the food. Many different ingredients are used in the preparation of dishes resulting in very delicious tastes. As well as very traditional food, there are also many restaurants across Cape Verde who specializes in international dishes.

It has a huge variety of fresh fish and seafood, tuna fish is readily available and is the most consumed by the local Capeverdeans. These are the other main types of seafood available such as lobster, squid, rock barnacle and many other kinds of shellfish.

Cachupa is a great national dish and is the most famous dish from Cape Verde. Cachupa is made from corn, a selection of meats, variety of beans, vegetables like sweet potatoes, manioc, cabbage, squash, and different types of sausages. Cachupa is also often made with fresh tuna.

Drinking teas are very popular and are usually accompanied by pastries like cuscus or corn paddies. These are eaten with different locally made fruit jams which are usually papaya, red currant, and coconut.

For an alcoholic drink the locally produced Grog which is a strong alcoholic drink which is made from sugar cane. There are also many fruit liquors which are all locally produced.

Cape Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea Bissau and formed the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde. Problems have since been resolved, and relations between the countries are good. The PAICV and its predecessor established a one party system and ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990.

Cape Verde is in the subtropical zone. Average temperatures range from 24 in January and February to 29 in September. The average annual rainfall for Cape Verde is 68.4 mm, with September the wettest month with 33.6 mm. Conversely, the months April to July record less than one millimetre of rainfall each. Its position in the Atlantic contributes to its mild, moist climate.


Related Tags: hot, cultures

Douglas Scott works for The Rental Car Hire Specialist. and is a free lance writer for The Cape Verde Rental Site

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: