From Santiago to Sao Vicente to Santo Antao

In the Aluguer, I went back over the mountains to Praia, it went quickly and without any incidents. In Praia, I left the Aluguer, turned around, and sat in a taxi not even two minutes later.

Only taxis have the right to drive to the airport. I arrived at the airport three and a half hours before the flight, actually too early.

My original plan was, of course, to make all island jumps by ferry, but unfortunately, the ferry from Santiago to Sao Vicente only runs every two weeks and sometimes it doesn't run at all due to bad weather. As I later found out, it had also had an accident during my stay. So the decision to take the plane was clearly the right one.

The flight from Praia to Sao Vicente is short, less than an hour. Already during the approach, you could feel the wind in the propeller plane, looking out of the taxi window on the way to "Mindelo," the capital of Sao Vicente. I saw a gray sky and how the wind blew the waves towards the land in a mystical way.

I had happily chosen my apartment again, it was once again an oasis of tranquility not far from the center of Mindelo.

The city itself is small and lively, very beautiful, but you should avoid the streets at night. It says everywhere.

After just one day, I left Sao Vicente again, this time heading to Santo Antao. And this island is amazing with a breathtaking landscape. Unbelievable when I looked out of the window on the drive from "Porto Novo" to "Cidade des Pombas / Paul," I saw such a stunning scenery, amazing!

I didn't want to waste any time and started my first hike the next day in the beautiful and impressive Paul Valley. An Aluguer took me up the valley for quite a distance.

Then I immediately embarked on a very beautiful but exhausting hiking trail, always uphill for the next two hours. At some point, I found myself in the midst of the clouds which got stuck on the mountains.

The wind became stronger and eventually, I reached the top of the path. Passed through a rock gate and it went downhill again. I was now in the "Cova de Paul," a crater cone of an old extinct volcano. The clouds even briefly cleared inside, exposing the whole crater. It is used for agriculture nowadays. I walked through it and left on the opposite side and found myself in a sea of clouds again. I followed a road for a while until it eventually went downhill again into the valley, mostly downhill from now on.

Further down, the clouds finally subsided and revealed an incredible view over the entire valley down to the sea. I walked the whole way back to Paul, so that in the evening I could look back on a distance of 17 km in total, with an ascent of 960 m and a descent of an incredible 1580 m.

The following day was granted for rest and relaxation.