Experience the best of Sal Rei

Sal Rei is a low, sandy fishing town on the west coast of Boa Vista, one of the eastern islands of Cape Verde, off West Africa. Pastel-coloured houses front a sheltered bay, with a small islet just offshore topped by an old fort, and a few streets of cafés and shops. The island is flat and desert-like, with sandy plains and low volcanic hills.

Long white beaches stretch south from town, including Chaves Beach and, further on, Santa Mónica, and the Viana Desert offers rolling dunes in the island's interior. The rusting wreck of the Cabo Santa Maria, a Spanish cargo ship that ran aground in 1968, lies on the north coast, and Povoação Velha is the island's oldest settlement. Boats take passengers along the coast and around the islet.

Cachupa, a slow-cooked stew of corn, beans and fish or pork, is the national dish, often fried for breakfast the next day. Grilled fish and lobster come fresh from the boats, and grogue, a cane spirit, is the local drink. Loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches between roughly June and October, and the steady trade winds attract windsurfers and kitesurfers.