As a tour company owner on the island of Sal, we “Paradise Adventures with Gus” have spent many years organising projects to help those most in need on Sal and now is the time my home island of São Vicente needs our help. Sao Vicente is in total lock-down.. Despair and desperation is leading to people begging on the streets, this is putting their and others health in danger. No money, no food, no safety and no ability to self-isolate or social-distance. This is the…Continue Reading “Starvation in São Vicente, Cape Verde. COVID-19”

Happy new year! People often ask me what motivates me? what makes me happy? What makes me feel alive? Aside from my family; for me true happiness can be found in my work, my football and my people. When all three come together it becomes something quite spectacular. Yesterday was one of those days! I am lucky through my work to be in a position to have lots of great friends from all over the world that are kind enough to help and support the…Continue Reading “We are the children!”

I often get asked what I like to do in my spare time. I have two main passions outside of my family and my work, they are football and helping others to thrive and to become the best they can be. My football coaching allows me to guide and encourage the youngsters on Sal to make good life choices. Opportunities are limited in Cape Verde, jobs are in short supply and poverty is still a big issue in some areas. The key to getting a…Continue Reading “The Power of Football”

We finally have some good rain, this time it’s been nearly three years since the last decent amount of rain. Whilst this doesn’t really affect the islands of Sal and Boa Vista that rely heavily on tourism, some of the other islands such at Santo Antao and Sae Vicente are very beautiful and green normally. They rely on agriculture and need the rain for the plants to grow to feed the animals and the people living on these islands. The kids particularly love the rain,…Continue Reading “Dancing in the rain”

Cape Verde has the third largest population of loggerhead turtles in the world and the only major nesting area for loggerhead turtles along the entire eastern Atlantic coast. In 2015 the global status for the Loggerhead sea turtles was downgraded, from endangered to venerable, however, the North East Atlantic population (Cabo Verde) was left as endangered. In the season, from June to November 2018, Sal had a record high of 14,940 nests, this was 12 times greater than in 2015. The not for profit organisation Project…Continue Reading “Turtle Season is in full swing”

This past week, I have been on Santiago island. On a KNVP world leadership football coaching course, I found it really interesting and learn’t a lot that I can take back to my teams in Sal. Every Saturday morning I coach a children’s team in Santa Maria, we love having kids out on holiday join us, message me for further details (email link) I have spent a lot of time thinking about football this week and why it’s so important to me and the local…Continue Reading “Small Country, Big Dreams”

Madonna’s new single “Batuko” explores the interesting history of Cape Verde, in particular the slave trade. It is often reported that Cape Verde is the birth place of slavery between Africa and America. Cape Verde was a trading post for enslaved people coming from Guinea-Bissau and going to Brazil. In 1807 the British government passed the Abolition of Slave Act, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire, and while this did not end slavery it severely reduced the demand for slaves and made the…Continue Reading “Batuko”

Sal (the Portuguese name for salt) is named after a natural salt lake formed in the crater of Pedra de Lune Volcano. For 200 years, until 1999, salt was mined from the lake and exported overseas. The crater of the volcano is 900 metres in radius, the highest point is 39 metres above sea level, the lowest point is far below sea level and the lowest point on all of the Cape Verde islands. The salt lake has formed naturally in the crater of the…Continue Reading “Snippet of Sal’s History”

Wow what a week it has been for the island of Sal! Tuesday night we celebrated the official inauguration of the pedestrianised road in Santa Maria, by the Prime Minister of Cape Verde and the Mayor or Sal. It was celebrated in true Cape Verdean style with a festival atmosphere, singing, dancing and lots of laughter. It was so lovely to see so many tourists joining us for the celebrations, the performance by Dennis Graça and his band was absolutely brilliant. The opening has been…Continue Reading “Wow what a week!!”