Saharan dunes meet the Atlantic — the Cape Verde island that time forgot
Boa Vista is the flattest, sunniest, and most Saharan island in Cape Verde — a place of sweeping sand dunes that spill into the ocean, deserted beaches stretching for kilometres, and a population spread across a few small fishing villages. The main town of Sal Rei has a distinctly end-of-the-world atmosphere: a waterfront of colonial-era buildings, a wreck visible from the beach, and the feel of a place that the tourist wave hasn't quite reached yet. Loggerhead sea turtles nest here in the thousands from July to October — one of the most important nesting sites in the world.
Boa Vista (Portuguese for 'good view') was one of the first Cape Verdean islands visited by Portuguese explorers in 1460, but it was never heavily colonised — the island's lack of fresh water and its extreme arid conditions made sustained settlement difficult. The Saharan-origin sand that covers much of the island arrived on the trade winds from the African continent, the same winds that fill the sails of kitesurfers today. During the Atlantic slave trade the island served as a waystation; the ruins of a slave market survive near Sal Rei. The island's loggerhead turtle nesting has been studie…