Maio

Maio lies east of Santiago and has stayed the least developed of the inhabited islands: flat, dry, with a population of a few thousand, and beaches running for kilometres with nobody on them. Salt was worked here for centuries and shipped to Europe. A large acacia plantation was put in during the twentieth century to hold the soil, and loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches through the summer.

History

The island was found in 1460 and first settled at the end of the 16th century to raise livestock, above all goats; salt working from the 17th century brought more people, and English ships exported the salt to Europe from Porto Inglês, which is named after them. Persistent droughts drove many islanders to emigrate in the 20th century (Wikipedia, Maio, Cape Verde).

The main sights

• The empty beaches - long stretches of sand with almost no development.
• The salt pans - the workings the island's economy was built on.
• The acacia plantation - the planted woodland put in to hold the soil.
• The turtle nesting - loggerheads coming ashore through the summer.

When to go

November to June is the dry season. Turtle nesting runs from June to October. Ferries and flights are infrequent and unreliable.

Things to know

Transport to and from Maio is genuinely unreliable and being stuck is common. Facilities are very limited across the island. There is little to do beyond the beaches.

Nearby

Salinas do Porto Ingles is nearby, and Santiago is west.

Key facts