The Setup Monte Verde is the highest peak on the island of São Vicente, Cabo Verde. As the bird flies, it’s only 6 kilometers 744 meters east of Mindelo, the island capital and Cabo Verde’s second-biggest city. The mountain and its plants are protected inside the Parque Natural Monte Verde. The island main ‘ring road’ surrounds the entire mountain, and is a cool trip for one or two people in itself; you can hitchhike, take an aluguer (minivan/pickup, public transit), or rent a scooter/car for a day to see basically the entire island. The peak of Monte Verde is quiteContinue reading
How to get a 90-day visa for Cabo Verde: Part II – the Cabo Verde Visa Extension
Read Part I of trying to get a visa extension in Cabo Verde here. Disclaimer: This article on securing a 90-day visa extension after getting a 30-day entry to Cabo Verde applies mostly to EU+ citizens. This new visa policy only applies to holders of EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, and UK passports. Passport holders of other nationalities can still apply to a Cabo Verdean visa at embassies and consulates the regular way. If you don’t want to read the backstory, read The TL;DR or ‘What to bring’ for a summary of findings. The Immigration office in Espargos, Sal We first tried toContinue reading
Hiking Monte Gordo, São Nicolau
The Intention We’d been in São Nicolau for four days. I really wanted to hike up Monte Gordo, the highest point of the island before we arrived. When we flew in from Sal, I already spotted the peak piercing through a thick layer of clouds from my plane seat. Monte Gordo (‘fat mountain’) is the highest point of São Nicolau island, Cabo Verde. It’s 1312 meters high , and of volcanic origin. But don’t worry, it’s dead now. It’s a protected area inside the Parque Natural de Monte Gordo. While São Nicolau is quite a dry island, the areas higherContinue reading
Getting a SIM Card in Cabo Verde
Just looking for the steps on getting your SIM card in Cabo Verde? Click here to scroll down. Prices are up-to-date as of January 2019. By the way, the country code for Cabo Verde is +238 Why do I need a local SIM card in Cabo Verde? In many countries, it’s a good idea to get a local SIM card. This way you have internet on the go, and don’t pay outrageous prices on your foreign SIM. On 15th of January, I arrived in the Republic of Cabo Verde, an island group in the Atlantic Ocean and part of the African continent. HereContinue reading
How to get a 90-day visa for Cabo Verde: Part I
Disclaimer: This article on securing a 90-day visa Cabo Verde applies mostly to EU+ citizens. This new visa policy only applies to holders of EU, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, and UK passports. Passport holders of other nationalities can still apply to a Cabo Verdean visa at embassies and consulates the regular way. If you don’t want to read the backstory, read Part II and click The TL;DR or What to bring for a visa extension. The Escape After spending two winters in Maastricht, the Netherlands, I’m finally freed from that place. I did some courses, wrote a thesis, then fled to Lisbon, Portugal.Continue reading
Things to do in or from Campo de Ourique, Lisbon
From the 3rd till the 15th of January 2019, we stayed in the neighborhood named Campo de Ourique in Lisbon, Portugal. After Lisbon in winter, we traveled to Cabo Verde for 88 days to catch some of their abundant sunshine. Jonas worked from our cold but comfortable Airbnb and I finished my university thesis. These are some of the fun activities we did inside and from our cool neighborhood. To scroll down to the map, click here. To read some tips about staying in Campo de Ourique/Lisbon in winter, click here Mercado de Campo de Ourique Opening times: Sunday–Thursday 10:00–23:00.Continue reading
Arrábida Natural Park Scooter Trip + Learning Portuguese (the Hard Way)
These events happened on Tuesday the 8th of January, 2019. While staying almost two weeks in Campo do Ourique neighborhood in Lisbon, Portugal, we did many day trips. This trip to Parque Natural da Arrábida was the biggest one. Preparation + Travel to Setúbal Though I knew I wanted to visit Arrábida Natural Park with Jonas on this visit to Lisbon, the logistics were a bit of an issue. It’s not exactly around the corner from Lisbon and Jonas prefers not to drive in city traffic too much. It made much more sense to rent a scooter from Setúbal andContinue reading
Travel Movies I Can Watch Again and Again
Road movies, documentaries, biopics… the easiest way for me to get into the right mood to travel is by watching some films (with popcorn) and then get packing. Yes, travel movies often make everything look a little more pretty and a little less stinky than it was when it happened, but so does Instagram, or this blog to be honest. Nothing Personal directed by Urszula Antoniak A friend recommended me this movie because the main character somehow reminded him of me – and that’s not really a compliment. Anne is living in Amsterdam until she abandons all her belongings to hitchhike toContinue reading
Maastricht: Wholesome Activities in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter
You might already know that I’ve lived in Maastricht twice, both times as a student. To be precise: from summer 2010 till winter 2013. I returned to the city from January till December 2018 to finish my bachelor’s degree and write my thesis about hitchhiking. Especially the second time around, I focused my efforts to do more wholesome activities amid the fraternity noise and anxious binge-drinking students with quarter-life crises. Here are my suggestions for both residents and people on a short visit: How to Get Around Maastricht? The two best ways to visit Maastricht are on foot and byContinue reading