Photos

These kids play football in a stadium located near the sea in Tarrafal de Monte Trigo, a small village in the southwest of Santo Antao.

Tarraf (probably not spelled this way) is the Kreol name for a plant found on all the Cape Verdian islands, therefore a Tarafal village exists on almost every island on Cape Verde. Taraffal de Monte Trigo lies near the Tope the Coroa mountain, behind the dry Campo Redondo high plane. Because the high mountains in the north absorb almost all the humidity from the trade winds, Tarafall receives only around 80 mm annually rainfall, much less than the northern part of Santo Antao. Although dry, it is located near a water spring from the mountains which enables extensive watering of plants and therefore can be considered a green oasis in the middle of a stone desert.

The village has to be reached from Porto Novo by a 3 hours pick up ride by aluguer, half of it over a dust road. If you ride on the back of the pick up, it is relatively cheap to get there. The trip is quite an adventure, you will be covered in dust, your back will hurt, BUT IT'S WORTH THE TRIP!

More pictures on Tarrafal can be found in the gallery of LEO61. Enjoy!