The first thing you notice and feel is the wind. Strong, steady, a prevailing northwesterly that unlike Ireland is not indicative of change on the way. We are in Sal, one of a necklace of 10 volcanic islands comprising the Cape Verde archipelago, about 500km off the coast of Senegal, west Africa. Sal is the flattest and windiest, a 3½ hour flight from Lisbon, and 4½ from Brazil, so we are deep in the central Atlantic ocean. It is warm, sunny and inviting.
Independent since 1975 from the Portuguese who “discovered” the islands in the 15th century, it is stable politically and economically and, with an international airport built by Mussolini in 1939, a developing tourist destination. A friend who went on holiday for a month last year loved it so much that he stayed a further month, influencing our decision to take a short break in February. Planning it was another matter as Ireland is the only European country without direct access, so we went via Lisbon on scheduled TAP flight