Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tam Tam
PUB
( 9am-midnight, closed morning Sun & all day Thu)
This Irish-owned pub-restaurant is a popular
tourist drinking hole, with live music on Saturday night.
OTHER ISLAND HIGHLIGHTS
A great attraction is the surreal, lunarlike
Pedra do Lume
(per person CVE550) , the crater of an ancient volcano
where seawater is transformed into shimmering salt beds. You can see the old salt-extraction machinery of the
1805 plant; float in the medicinal salt water; have a massage, salt scrub or mud treatment at the small Salinas
Relax spa; and have a meal at the restaurant. Pedra do Lume is 6km southeast of Espargos; taxis from Santa
Maria charge between CVE3500 and CVE4400, with a wait of two hours. It's often mobbed with tour groups.
Other points of interest include the fish market in
Palmeira
, the gorgeous
Igrejinha beach
at the far-eastern
end of Santa Maria and the
Buracona
natural swimming pool (time your visit for noon to see the Blue Eye, a nat-
ural light effect in a small underground pool).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Espargos
Located near both the airport and the ferry dock, Espargos - the island's capital - is a
small, dusty workaday town that feels more like the real Cape Verde than touristy Santa
Maria. Both food and accommodation are cheaper here than in Santa Maria. If you want
to use it as your base, try
Pensão Paz e Bem
( 2411782; pensaopazbem@cvtelecom.cv; s/d CVE2120/
3180),
just to the south of the main square, with spacious and clean rooms.
Sivvy
(mains
CVE500; 10.30am-3pm & 7.30-10.30pm)
on the square is a good old-fashioned cafe-bar that
serves simple meals and drinks. Plenty of minibuses ply the road between Espargos and
Santa Maria (CVE100).
