Cape Verde Total - the Santo Antao Traverse

Day 1: Porto Novo via Mesa and Pico da Cruz to Boca di Figueiral (301/108/101)

At the ferry terminal, a large number of traders and Aluguers await us, but we decide to take the footpath, so we follow the main road westwards for about 700m to the next major junction and turn right. The road leads north out of town. At the beginning there is a small shop with the island-typical manageable offer. Everything is somehow added up wildly in your head, and it is best to buy litres of water and some provisions here. We continue past simple cattle sheds and a western-style windmill that has seen better days. If you are unsure, ask for Pico da Cruz (or Mesa). After a while you will see the ruins of Mesa, which you can use as a guide. Pass Mesa on the right and at the next crossroads take the inconspicuous path on the left up the mountain - do not follow the wide path. The path runs parallel to the gorge and at some point turns into a paved shepherd's path. At one point the path seems closed by a stone wall, we climbed over this and continued. Gradually you gain height and enter the cultivation areas of Pico da Cruz - at one point we did not go down through a canyon, but turned right beforehand at a wooded hill. From here, you can already see the white church of the village, which is easy to find your way around.

In Pico da Cruz there is the possibility to get some food (biscuits, canned fish, coke) and we were also offered rooms - so if you can't go any further here, you won't have to sleep outside ;) You leave the road westwards and follow it to the first junction (marked S2). This path leads down towards Cha de Padre. In Cha de Fazenda you reach the road - keep slightly left here. Follow the road down the valley, then cross the passages to Lombo Comprido, everyone can give information here if you give the name of the accommodation.

Day 2: Cha de Manuel dos Santos via Cova de Paul to Xoxo (101/202)

As we have walked the first stretch three times by now, we take an aluguer up the road to the start of the 101 at "Cha de Manuel dos Santos" - costing us 700 escudos and saving about an hour. In a bend at the school, the path turns right up the hill. A really steep serpentine path follows to the edge of the crater. At the top, keeping to the right, we cross the Cova de Paul - a large plateau in the belly of a volcanic crater. We follow the road to the right through the small village (shop!) Here, later marked trail 202 leaves, first shady through a small forest area (our track shows a detour to a kind of radar station in front of a cow, you can also skip it - we were curious), then follows an extremely steep and partly exposed serpentine path through the Rabo Curto, past adventurous mountain settlements. At the end of the trail in Xoxo there is a renovated house, the Kasa Xoxo, here we descend and are lucky: warm shower, super food and rum, great people...those who are less lucky go a bit further to the road and take an aluguer to the next village.

Day 3: Xoxo via Ribeira Grande to Ponta do Sol (204/road)

After an outstanding breakfast with the best views over the valley, we set off again on the trail, following the tarmac road (there is only one) through Ribeira de Torre - a very rewarding walk. In Ribiera Grande, cross the roundabout, go up to the coastal road and follow it to Ponta do sol (watch out for traffic).

In retrospect, I would do the stage as follows: walk from Xoxo to Ribeira Grande, take the Aluguer to Ponta do sol and then, after a lunch at the promenade there, continue the tour to Cha de Igreja (this would bring you to 21km that day).

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This is the stage of the day where you are most likely to see familiar faces of other visitors. There is only one path and because it is so beautiful and inescapable, everyone who is here to hike takes it. You leave Ponta do Sol just above the harbour promenade and walk uphill past the cemetery on the right. There the path begins, self-explanatory, always along the coast. There is a good bar in the small village of Fontainhas, which is bizarrely built into the rocks. Shortly before reaching the village of Cruzinha, there is the opportunity to face the waves of the Atlantic Ocean at Praia da Ra Seca, a slag-black beach. We wash off sweat, cover ourselves instead with a film of microscopically fine volcanic sand and continue to Cha de Igreja. A little above the cemetery is Katia's lodge, we sleep in the tent, enjoy the total silence and blackness in the evening, listen to the surf and are happy.

Day 5: Boca de Ambas via Caibros, Meio Dia to Espongeiro (208/208b/207b/207)

As we had already walked parts of the way to Boca de Ambas and the day's stage ahead seemed hard enough, we boarded an aluguer bright and early to take us through the Garca mountain landscape to Boca de Ambas. We saved ourselves a climb over Mocho and that should have been the right decision. In Boca there is a crossroads where the track towards Caibros branches off from the asphalt road - we take this one. After about 3km a stone path branches off to the left of the track - it leads through Cha de Lobinhos and then steeply uphill. This is part 1 of the big climb for today! Behind the first hill we come to a small high valley with terraced gardens. We follow the Camin d'Camp further up and leave the branch to the bottom on the left. Step by step we push ourselves and our luggage up the steep shepherds' paths. As everywhere else, the terrain is not technically demanding but extremely steep in parts and very demanding in terms of fitness. Shortly before reaching the plateau of Lagoa, one can decide on the further course as follows:

At the junction (208/208b) near Meio Dia, take the path that branches off and leads back uphill for a short distance, then reach the plateau and walk relatively comfortably on tracks to Espongeiro or:

you take on the moral and physical challenge and choose the path straight ahead. This leads steeply down into the valley with the villages of Mato, Bento, Aguada, Ribeirinha de Morais and Borda des Agrioes. After the descent, we keep to the right, also on the right side of the river at the bottom of the valley, and start the second big climb. This leads from about 400m to 1100m over paths that sometimes seem like ladders towards the end. Shortly before the last settlement in Borda des Aggrioes, there is a bar where you can get a drink. You walk around the entire southern side of the valley, and the views are even more impressive than before. On the plateau, you meet the track towards Espongeiro in an easterly direction. Accommodation with Alain at Casa Espongeiro, small shop in the village. We meet Pitt Reitmaier (he and Lucete Fortes are the island cracks here and also publish the guidebook) and get one or two useful tips for our further journey.

Day 6: Espongeiro via Lagoa and Marocos to Alto Mira 3 (210/211/214/303)

From Espongeiro we follow the road west to Lagoa. In Lagoa, behind the school, we go uphill in the riverbed towards Cova de Goteira, keeping left at Berg at the last house. The right way through Lombo Gudo can be recognised by the electricity pylons. We follow the track until we reach a long cattle shed. Directly behind it we climb up and reach the track that leads past the mountains of Marocos. After a short while we pass a single farmstead on the right, on the left we can already see the first peak with the transmission masts and on the left, shortly after the farmstead, a narrow path leads off over the mountains of Marocos. You should plan about 2 hours for the path across this mountain landscape to the southernmost and highest point (the Gudo de Cavaleiro). You essentially climb over the first peak (1705m), down to the shoulder, up to the second (1784m), back down to the shoulder and a bit of a swing up the ridge to Gudo de  Cavaleiro (1810m). Our track is not perfect here and can only serve as a rough orientation, as we too lost the "way" again and again. You need good socks, preferably long trousers otherwise you will get scratches ;)

Back on the road, walk a little further and then turn left onto the parallel 214, easily recognisable by the stone walls on the left and right. From here, the trail goes uphill for a short while and then only downhill through the Salto Preto wall. Here we have to concentrate and gather our strength, because this descent is the most alpine we could find on our way. On the way, a young man in slippers with a cake tray on his head and a bucket of fish in his hand comes towards us and laughs at us.... It is very steep, partly exposed and without any boundaries. Often it goes down over bare rock, loose scree and new trail tracks due to landslides to the levadas of Alto Mira 2. You keep looking around and can't believe that you are just descending through this wall.

From Alto Mira 2 we go uphill again through the village and follow the road to alto Mira 3 to Amadeo's house. Asking helps, everyone knows. The settlement here is nice, seems somehow tidy and prosperous.

7th day: Alto Mira 3 via Cha de Morte and the Bordeira de Norte to Cha de Fejoual (302/309)

We leave Alto Mira 3 on the road heading south, on the left side comes the turnoff up (after the bridge). We always go up (302) through a kind of rock gate, then descend by sight until Cha de Morte through the canyon. In Cha de Morte, follow the main road past the school and turn left towards Bordeira. A steep ascent of over 1.5 hours follows to Bordeira. Passing a kind of altar, we descend through a riverbed to Cha de Fejoual. A little above the village square is a house with a small tower, the house of Alcindo Lima, he also runs the small village shop and gives travellers accommodation in his house. We sleep in a colourful bed in the family's living room, buckets of water are dragged in by his sons for showers, and until evening we sit together and watch Bollywood action films...here you become humble, it is really very simple, you should be prepared for that - in return you are received with hospitality.

Day 8: Climb Topo de Coroa

We get up at 5 a.m., sunrise is at shortly before 7. In fact, Alcindo's wife surprises us with coffee and bread, we feel guilty, it tastes good anyway. Alcindo gets up and shows us the beginning of the trail in flip-flops before he lets us out into the darkness. I think he's seriously worried about ever seeing us again...

The area is littered with paths and tracks, this is due to the herds of goats and as we can't yet get a good fix on the elevations in the darkness, we unfortunately miss the north-side bypass of Morro de Covaozinho recommended by Rittmaier. Instead, we pick our way up the direct route in the volcanic dust and continue slightly upwards on the southern slope to climb the slightly advanced unnamed secondary peak (1979m) - from here we have the best view down the almost 2km long western slope to the coast. After some puzzling, we realise that this is not the main summit - it lies opposite as the end of a crater rim. We descend without a trail through the spurge bushes and climb up to the rising rim. Blue dots and a trail lead us to the main summit of Tope de Coroa. My GPS stubbornly shows 1987m - must the maps be rewritten here ;) In the morning air, I find it particularly beautiful to see the top of Fogo, about 250km away, on which perhaps someone is standing at this moment and looking over at us. On the way down, we choose the straight route to the west, which soon leads us back to our track from the way there. About 5 hours later we are back at Alcindo, drinking hot coffee in copious quantities and packing our rucksacks for the long descent to Tarrafal.

Day 8: Cha de Fejoual to Tarrafal de Monte Trigo (312)

There is not much to say about the route. You follow the road S/SW to Tarrafal, just before Tarrafal you can leave the road and descend a serpentine path to the town. The path is long (approx. 24km), extremely dusty and barren and there is practically no shade. Jeeps with tourists thunder past us from time to time, maybe you wonder about the sense of this tour, but it just wouldn't feel right to cover the rest by car. It takes us a good 5.5 hours to cover the distance - we reach our destination in time for dinner.