Cabo Verde’s Sal makes a comeback: the tide is turning as its diaspora returns to the island
Cabo Verde has won over many hearts with its brave showing at the Fifa World Cup, but there’s a lot more to this West African archipelago and former Portuguese colony
“Just remember, the sharks can touch you, but you can’t touch them,” warns João, raising his hand with the tip of his middle finger curled away, a mock amputation delivered with such casual theatre that, for a moment, I believe the island really did claim it. He produces a pair of Crocs bleached thin by salt and sun and adds, “Oh, and no open blisters on your feet, either. That tends to excite them, too.”
João is part of a quiet reversal happening across Cabo Verde, an archipelagic country off the coast of West Africa that was, until 1975, a Portuguese colony. After decades defined by departure, Cabo Verde is experiencing return.
The guide had planned to stay in Lisbon, Portugal, for five years. He stayed for 12. Hotel maintenance in Bairro Alto paid well, the work was steady and like hundreds of thousands of Cabo Verdeans before him, he’d followed his grandparents away from his island – in this case, Sal – towards somewhere with more possibilities than salt, sand and sea could offer.
Then, three years ago, he came back to guide tourists into these shallow Atlantic waters where lemon sharks learn to hunt.
“They always come back,” he says, nodding towards the pale blue of Shark Bay. “The young ones. This is where they learn.” He smiles. “A bit like us.”
Although the Cabo Verdean diaspora still outnumbers the domestic population of just over 500,000, net migration has narrowed significantly in recent years.