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Sao Vicente Island Tourist Information

Location Map of Sao Vicente Island

Sao Vicente Island

An interesting island with a distinctly European flavour which has attracted the bohemian set with musicians, intellectuals and artists mingling with the tourists. There are some good beaches, particularly attractive to windsurfers, with San Pedro reckoned to be one of the world’s finest for speed windsurfing. Mindelo, the main town, is relatively lively. It has the distinguished air of the Portuguese and Brazilian provinces, yet it was for a long time occupied by the British. São Vicente (Portuguese for Saint Vincent), is one of the Barlavento islands of the Cape Verde. It is separated by the São Vicente Channel in the northwest separating the island of Santo Antão. The airport is in the southwest. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau. The island has a population of around 70,000 concentrated in its main town of Mindelo, long a British refuelling port. It is the second most populous island of Cape Verde. As the island is generally arid, its main industries are now fishing and tourism, along with its military base. It is known for the Baia das Gatas Music Festival and for its cricket team. It also has a small airport and a desalinisation plant. The island is roughly rectangular in shape with a surface area of ca. 227 sq.km. From east to west it measures 24 km and from north to south no more than 16km. The terrain includes mountains in the west, the southwest, the south, the east-central and the north. The area is flat in the northcentral, the central part, the eastern part south of Calhau and the northern part in the Baia das Gatas area. The urban area of Mindelo is in the northern part. Much of the island are deforested. Although volcanic in origin, the island is quite flat. Its highest point is Monte Verde (Portuguese for green mountain) located in the northeast-central part with an altitude of 774m. Although a great amount of erosion has taken place, some craters still remain -- in particular near the bay of Mindelo. The other mountain include Monte Cara. Other mountaintops includes Topona.

Climate

The climate is mainly tropical and dry with the temperature around 24ºC all year round. The ocean water temperature every year is around 12°C and 25°C. The two seasons in November and July are mainly dry and windy while August and October is the "rainy season".

Towns

Baia das Gatas, Calhau, Lazareto, Madeiral, Mâto Inglés, Mindelo, Salamansa, Seixal, São Pedro and Topim.

Places of Interest

• Ponta de Doca, in the northern part of the island

• Ponta Marigou, north, the northernmost point on the island

• Ponta da Fregata, in the northeastern part of the island

• Praia Grande (meaning large beach), northeast

• Ponta do Calhau, located in the east

• Ponta da Vianna, located in the east

• Ponta de Saragaça, located in the east southeast

• Ponta da Várzea, located in the southeast

• Ponta do Matadouro, located in the south southeast

• Ponta da Calheta Grande, located in the east southeast

• Ponta do Sul, located in the south

• Ponta Araujo, in the south-southwestern part of the island

• Ponta da Ribeira da Caixa, in the southwestern part of the island

History

Discovered on Saint Vincent's Day (January 22) in 1462, the island remained practically uninhabited until the middle of the 19th century. It was only in 1838, when a coal deposit was established in Porto Grande to supply ships on Atlantic routes, that the population started to grow rapidly. Due to the lack of rain and consequent lack of natural resources, the economy of São Vicente is based mainly on commerce and services.

Population

The population of São Vicente in the 2000 census was 67,163 of which 4,174 are rural. The annual population growth is around 2.7% (higher than the state (national) level of 2.4%). 94% of the population live in urban areas, higher than the Cape Verde's level of 54% and is the highest in all of Cape Verde. Its life expectancy are 62 for males and 65 for females, higher than other parts of Africa. The birth and mortality rate are high. The majority of the population are young and 66% of the population are under the age of 30, 8.6% of the population are over the age of 60. The island has 16,000 families, of which there are 4 persons per household, lower than Cape Verde's level of 5 persons per household. 56% of the families live in houses, the other 30% live in poorly-built houses. About only 11% of the families own automobiles, that's 7.4% of Cape Verde's level.

Shopping

São Vicente has churches, a post office, a few banks, shops (not as many as Praia) a hospital named Baptista de Sousa and squares.

Cape Verde Photo Galleries

Sal Island Photo Gallery            Santiago Island Photo Gallery            Fogo Island Photo Gallery

Boa Vista Island Photo Gallery            Sao Vicente Island Photo Gallery            Maio Island Photo Gallery

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