Unless you have never visited the islands and have been entirely fooled by the name, flora will be the last thing that comes to mind when you think of the Cape Verdes – but in fact the place is actually quite interesting to a devoted botanist. Of the plants which somehow managed to reach the archipelago without man’s intervention (thereby earning themselves the name of indigenous species) there are 80 which have evolved to become genetically different from their ancestors…
Inasmuch as it consists of just a few fragments of rock, flung far away from the continent and strewn across almost two hundred miles of ocean, the Republic of Cape Verde is superficially similar to the Canaries or the Azores; but in reality, geographic structure and a similar sort of lingo are pretty much the only things that this archipelago holds in common with those other two places.
El Hierro is probably the least visited of the Canary Islands. Certainly it is the smallest and the most remote. Until recent times there was no regular ferry service linking it to the rest of the archipelago, and there is still no airport. However, do not be deluded into thinking that this means that El Hierro is entirely rustic. It is certainly rural and it is surprisingly green in parts, but it is not the “peasanty” pastoral place that we…
The flag of Bermuda features a big red monster attacking a ship… or, at least, that’s what it seems to show at first glance. “I s’pose it’s something to do with the Bermuda triangle,” said I to myself. “All those boats and planes disappearing out here… P’raps there’s a legend about a sea monster.” The Isles of Bermuda The last time we crossed from the Caribbean to Europe we passed within fifty miles of Bermuda. Near enough to excite such…
Last week’s article saw your intrepid travellers obstructed by obdurate officialdom. Would we ever be able to step ashore again onto the pristine sandy islets which fringe the north coast, or would the Cuban government’s paranoia keep us at bay?
Cuba was great. After just one day of partying with the people we were Cuba-philes. Castro was a wonderful guy. “Well, he must be, to supply all that cut-price beer and rum to the people!” Then we set off to cruise the north coast of the country – and that was where things started to go wrong.
Having given Puerto de Vita and its environs a fairly bad press I am now going to tip the scales the other way, because when we think back to our fortnight in Cuba it is this particular place that we remember with the most affection. Puerto Vita is a bit of a non event – unless you happen to be there in time for the country’s biggest party. And when would that be? Would it be the day that Castro…
When we first arrived in the Caribbean and planned our itinerary amongst the islands Cuba was envisaged as the highlight of the whistle-stop tour; thus we had allowed ourselves four weeks in its waters. But by the time we left Luperon it was the 25th of April and only two weeks remained before the date when we must flee away from this region. “Two weeks…” moaned Your Correspondent. “It’s not enough.” “Well, it’s all we’ve got,” said the skipper firmly.…
The northern winter was trickling past like sand through an hour glass. Already we were eating into the second week of April. “June soon” says the weather rhyme; “July nigh”. But the fact of the matter is that by June the Caribbean hurricane season has often already begun. It is true that the “biggies” don’t tend to hit the place until August or September, but for a yacht at sea even a little, gale force Tropical Depression is a major…
Having planned to spend only three days in Nevis, we eventually tore ourselves away after a week. Our next stop was Saba, which is only a day-sail away, beyond St Kitts and just beyond Sint Eustatius. When the seeing is good, as astronomers would say, ‘Statia and Saba are both visible from the anchorage off Pinney’s Beach.