A bulletin of current news and island events. With this we can keep up-to-date on all of the important issues and happenings in Maio such as: the transportation problem, the new water plant, cable TV, the long wait for land sales, etc, etc...

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Cape Verde to be Entirely Wind-powered

Britain is to spend £26 million building a wind farm to power the entire Cape Verde, the isolated archipelago off the west coast of Africa.

With a population of 500,000 stretched over a 1,500 square mile chain of islands, Cape Verde needs a dramatic expansion of its electricity network to support a rapidly expanding tourism industry.

Cape Verde, which is hurricane blighted, has secured British funding for the construction of 40 wind turbines capable of generating 40 megawatts of electricity.

by Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Published: 7:22PM GMT 03 Mar 2010

Daily Telegraph: view article - click here

Maio municipal chamber offers theatre courses

"Life on the Stage" is the theme of a series of theatre workshops and ateliers being offered by the Maio municipal chamber between March 1 and 7 and aimed at the island's young population. During the course, a number of plays will also be presented.

The director of the Maio municipal chamber Department of Youth, Culture and Sports, Fernando Graça, told A Semana Online that the objective of the course is to bring a new dynamic to theatre on the island.

Graça also expressed his hopes that the initiative would serve as support and encouragement to the island's six theatre groups.

Original Article - ASemana Online - click here

Cape Verde licenses new Internet and cable television operator

Praia, Cape Verde, 21 Jan – The Cape Verdean National Communications Agency (ANAC) has granted a license to SGPM to be a new Internet and cable television operator, the PANA news agency reported Wednesday.

A source from ANAC, the communications sector regulator for the archipelago, said that Sociedade de Gestão e Promoção de Meios - SGPM Comunicações SA had been authorised to operate in those two areas, and had a deadline of 180 days to begin its activities.

The license covers a 10 –year period, and is renewable for a further 10 years at the request of the license-holder.

Telecommunications company Cabo Verde Telecom (fixed, mobile and internet communications) which is owned by Portuguese and Cape Verdean shareholders, was the first operator to provide Internet services to the archipelago in 1998.

There are currently five national Internet service providers: CV Multimédia, CVWiFi, CABOCOM, MB Investimentos and TELMAX.

According to recent figures, at the end of the first half of 2009 the number of Internet users in Cape Verde was 10,750 subscribers in a population of around 500,000 people.

Cable television was also launched by CV Telecom in June 2006.

CVXTV, a Chinese investment, launched its cable television activities in 2007, using DVB-T technology to broadcast a digital signal that can be captured by an antenna.

According to ANAC figures, the number of cable TV subscribers at the end of 2008 was 4,218.

Source: MacauHub - click here

Cape Verde Quiz, Maio Cape Verde

Have a go at the Cape Verde, how much do you really know about Cape Verde?

Cape Verde Quiz - click here

Casa Blanca Supermarket Update

A new advert has been added to the Free Adverts section. As with all adverts on the website they are Free, so if you have a business, service or something to sell please contact us.

Casa Blanca Supermarket - click here

Marine Princess Ferry Docked Indefinitely, Cape Verde, Maio

The hydrofoil Ferry Marine Princess remains docked at Praia sea port with no date in sight for the resumption of business. After news indicating that the vessel was paralysed due to the departure of its captain, several A Semana Online sources have revealed additional problems that have combined to keep the embarkation from going out to sea. This is the second time the Marine Princess has been forced to lay idle in the short time it has been operating in Cape Verde, thus dashing expectations that it would help resolve the problematic issue of connections among the country’s southern islands.

Sources close to the vessel's administration claim that, "Operations have been suspended" not only because the captain left for Angola, but also because, after "investing millions of escudos, administrators have been combating archaic procedures that, in addition to being costly, hinder or even render useless the company’s work," said the source.

As such, the administration of Cape Verde Navalis is waiting for a reaction to a memorandum submitted some time ago aimed at doing away with "parasitical" costs and "archaic and anti-economic procedures."

In addition to the lack of a captain, the company is hoping authorities will put an end to these "parasitical" costs that they claim make operations unreasonably expensive. Without mentioning to which authorities the memorandum was actually sent, A Semana Online's source says that the ship will remain docked until these issues are resolved.

The hydrofoil Marine Princess, which had been plying the waters along the Praia-Fogo, Brava route three times a week, is currently sitting at Praia sea port. Connections to the other Leeward Islands were expected to resume during the Christmas and New Year's holiday, but this will no longer happen.

The ships Praia d'Aguada, Sotavento and Sal Rei travel to the islands of Fogo and Brava twice a week, but even so are unable to meet the demand on the part of would-be travellers, who often take advantage of the holiday season to visit their native islands.

Source: ASemana Online - click here.

Hit and Run History on Maio - Day 2

Cape Verde - Day 6: Porto Ingles
by Hit and Run History: The Columbia Expedition, 31 photos

Our last day on Maio, we interview Joseph Brito, who's sailed all over the world. Then we catch the ferry back to Praia for our last evening in Cabo Verde.

Location: Porto Ingles, Isle of Maio, Cape Verde

Created yesterday

View Album - day 6

The Columbia Expedition Hits Maio Cape Verde

Day 5 - Maio
by Hit and Run History: The Columbia Expedition, 45 photos

Our first full day on Maio, we explore the capital of Porto Ingles. Their first stop in the Cape Verde archipelago, Columbia and Lady Washington took on livestock and the major product of this flat, dry island -- salt, for preserving.

We explore the harbour, and the old wharf, where countless slaves from West Africa were transferred to ships heading to Brazil, the Caribbean and North America.

Location: Porto Ingles, Isle of Maio, Cape Verde

Created on 04 December
View Album - day 5

Lonesome Cow in Cape Verde

iReport —
I recently visited Cape Verde and stayed on the small island of Maio. I visited the island for appx. 2 weeks. One day, while spending some time at one of the beaches there, I took this photo of a lonesome cow standing at the shoreline attempting to cool down. Cape Verde is a beautiful, sometimes barren and in many parts poverty stricken country. Though i was only able to visit 2 of the islands when i was there, it was a very humbling experience. The Cape Verdeans are beautiful, kind people and I will also remember this trip and this photo.

CNN - Lonesome Cow in Cape Verde

Unique Christmas Gift - Turtle SOS Cabo Verde

It's not too late to send your friends and family a unique gift from Sal.

Hatchlings will continue to be born during December so you can still adopt a turtle baby as a Christmas gift.

For a minimum donation of €10 the recipient receives a Christmas Certificate of Adoption as well as photos of their hatchling being released into the sea.

We also have t-shirts (adults/kids €15/€10), hoodies (€30), caps (€15) and environmentally friendly cotton bags (€10). All profits go directly towards protecting turtles in Cape Verde. For more information email info@turtlesos.org

Marine Princess Ferry Returns | Maio, Cape Verde

Yesterday I got the information that the Catamaran, Marine Princess, will continue the ferry service to Maio; every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Maio Ferry Timetable / Schedule - click here

The ship cargo vessel, Sotavento, will delivery cargo every Thursday at 8 o'clock in the morning and passengers can also use this service.

This is the best news we all could hope for!

TACV also flying to Maio on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Maio TACV Flight Timetable / Schedule - click here

New Photograph Gallery - Tropical Garden

A new photograph of the beautiful tropical garden at Pension Casita Verde. Many hours of toil and planting to create a beautiful oasis.

View Gallery - click here

Foreign Investment focus on Maio | Maio, Cape Verde

HNW individuals focus on Cape Verde island Maio as foreign investment in archipelago floods in

More countries opening up direct flights to Sal & Santiago.
Links to major oil producing nations to underpin upward spiral in islands’ prosperity.

Wealthy Cape Verdeans make Maio island of choice for property investment
Land and property bargains to be had now.

The island of Maio in the Cape Verde archipelago is becoming THE place to buy for property investors looking for exclusivity at a bargain price, says leading agent Noscasa.

And the fact that an increasing number of nations from around the globe are choosing to invest in Cape Verde is a clear indication that this island nation is rapidly growing in stature in the international business arena.

‘The island of Maio is now offering fantastic opportunities, with both land and property available at very attractive prices,’ said Noscasa MD Paul Akwei.

‘This is the island where wealthy Cape Verdeans are now looking to buy property because of its secluded beauty and close connections to capital city Praia which will allow easy connection to their business interests.

‘Cape Verde is already established as a paradise destination for tourists and holiday home investors but the level of international investment it is now attracting demonstrates that it is fast becoming much more than that. Now is the optimum time for serious investors to take advantage of this growth.’

An increasing number of countries are opening up routes to the international airports on Sal, Sao Vicente and the capital island Santiago, the latest being Delta Airlines which will start flying to Cape Verde from Atlanta in early 2010. This means that when the cross-island fast ferry service begins next year, Maio will be just a 35 minute journey away.

‘The new Delta service is a huge boost to the growing prosperity and international standing of Cape Verde,’ said Akwei.

Investment International - click here to view article

Cape film crew retraces global journey (Ilha do Maio)

By Patrick Cassidy
pcassidy@capecodonline.com
November 13, 2009

SOUTH YARMOUTH — When Cape Cod native John Kendrick left Boston Sept. 30, 1787, on the first American-based voyage around the world, his crew must have felt some trepidation. They were headed into still largely uncharted waters on a mission filled with unknown dangers.

But at least it was not Friday the 13th and the Columbia was not traveling into a known dengue fever outbreak, as is the case with the small Cape Cod film crew following in Kendrick's footsteps today.

The brainchild of 43-year-old Chatham author Andrew Buckley, "Hit and Run History" is a 13-part documentary that purposefully blurs the lines between the past and present.

Think the "flinty nephew" of Anthony Bourdain from the travel show "No Reservations" and the fishing crew from the "Deadliest Catch" with film cameras in hand, searching for history, Buckley said Tuesday during a pre-trip meeting at the Cape Cod Community Media Center on White's Path.

The crew comprises a film student, freelance videographers, an Emmy winner and Buckley, a shellfisherman and self-proclaimed "gumshoe historian."

"The whole concept of this is that our crew is our cast," Buckley said. Buckley and four other crew members board a plane tonight headed for the island nation of Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.

Cape Verde, the ancestral home of thousands of Cape Cod residents, was Kendrick's first stop on his three-year journey. The former privateer captained the Columbia, which gave its name to the Columbia River in Washington state.

The first 45-minute production of "Hit and Run History" chronicles Kendrick's life and other events that led up to the 1787 departure. It was completed earlier this year and has been screened across Southeastern Massachusetts as well as on local cable Channel 17.

Today, five members of the crew are scheduled to leave on a plane from Boston to Cape Verde to complete the bulk of filming on the next part of the journey, Buckley said.

The crew plans to document Kendrick's time in the country's capital city of Praia and action that took place on the nearby island of Maio, he said.

Perhaps appropriate for their Friday the 13th takeoff, the small country of nine inhabited islands off the coast of Senegal is in the throes of an outbreak of dengue fever, an infection common in the tropics but never before seen on Cape Verde.

Almost 14,000 people on the islands are now infected by the mosquito-borne disease and a half-dozen have died, according to A Semana newspaper. The cases of infection appear to be dropping, however, and none of the reported deaths occurred this week, according to the newspaper.

Still, for the Cape film crew, the dengue outbreak has changed their plans. A ticket meant for the group's Portuguese-speaking translator was donated to Luisa Schaeffer, an outreach worker at the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, who is returning to her native country to help with the crisis.

The group is also packing plenty of bug spray and medicine to use and will fly to the island of Fogo on Monday to document the ongoing epidemic, Buckley said.

"For the show it certainly is going to make things much more interesting and rich," he said.

At the crew meeting the prospect of dengue or other possible maladies elicited mostly laughter.

When it was suggested that taking vitamin B complex could help drive mosquitoes away because of the scent excreted through a person's pores, Jul3ia Astatkie, 23, of Marstons Mills suggested some high-flavor, pore-exuding food might also be good to have along.

"We're fearless individuals," Astatkie said. "If we are going to die, what cooler place?"

After a moment of thought Astatkie, who works at the media center and won an Emmy in May for a video she produced and starred in, decided it would be better to live at least long enough to get some good footage.

The inclusion of the experiences of the crew has been pivotal to the project's appeal with audiences, Buckley said.

The technique "doesn't just lift the curtain a little bit," he said. "It tears it away."

Cape film crew retraces global journey (Ilha do Maio)

More Rain

In the last article, "The Rains Have Come", we had almost given up on more rain this year.then the unexpected happened and the rains began anew with several downpours which has saved Maio's subsistent farmers for this year. Corn and beans are plentiful.

UPDATE: Marine Princess: Hydrofoil Fast-Ferry | Maio, Cape Verde

More news on the new Fast Ferry to Maio from Praia, the boat is called the Marine Princess, there is also a picture.

Marine Princess Fast Ferry - click here

New Property for sale | Maio, Cape Verde

A new house for sale in Calheta has been added to the Classified Adverts section.

Calheta House for sale - click here

Hydrofoil Ferry from Praia to Maio

Since the beginning of October 2009 a hydrofoil ferry has been departing Praia for Maio three times a week! A quick journey and fast ferry which only takes 50 minutes from Praia to Maio. A single ticket price is 1,500CVe.

The Rains Have Come and Gone

The rainy season which started out so brilliantly last month with two soaking rains came to an abrupt halt soon after. At first rain the local people here hurry to their small farm plots, plant their seed and pray for more rain. This is not an exact science sometime it works and sometimes it doesn't. If the rain does not come soon the one-meter-high corn and other vegetables will be used for food for the goats and cows. And the farmers will thank God for that and wait for next year.

Maio, Rain and a Green Island|Maio,Cape Verde

Elisabeth has created a new journal with photos of the GREEN island of Maio.

Maio, Rain & a GREEN Island - click here to view

Builders of Cape Verde Fast Ferry vessels visit Cape Verde

A delegation from Damen Shipyard, the Dutch company building the high-speed vessels company Cabo Verde Fast Ferry will soon bring to the country, began a four-day visit to Cape Verde this week for a series of meetings with port authorities and other entities involved in the Cabo Verde Fast Ferry project.

On Thursday, the Damen Shipyard engineers visited Vale dos Cavaleiros port on the island of Fogo and Furna port on the island of Brava to get a first-hand look at the conditions offered by the two infrastructures and to meet with Brava municipal chamber officials. In Praia, the delegation will meet with port authorities and with the Maritime and Port Institute to discuss what they saw.

The delegation is also scheduled to meet with officials from fuel companies Enacol and Shell. On Saturday, October 10, the engineers will visit the port on the island of Maio and meet with local municipal authorities, according to the web site caboverdeonline.

On Sunday, the delegation will head to the island of São Vicente, where it will visit the Cabnave shipyard and ship repair facilities and Mindelo sea port, and meet with local Maritime and Port Institute officials.

The Dutch company has regularly been sending specialists to Cape Verde to study various factors related to navigational conditions in the archipelago such as wind, sea currents and port facilities.

ASemana - click here

Maio welcomes 50 potential investors |Maio, Cape Verde

The Boa Vista and Maio Integrated Tourist Development Corporation (SDTIBM) will promote a meeting with some 50 Cape Verdean and foreign investors on October 15 in order to present tourist investment opportunities on the two islands. The meeting will take place on Boa Vista.

SDTIBM executive administrator José Carvalho explains that “environmental protection and preservation areas represent 46% of the total area” of tourist development zones on the two islands, and that “the remaining 54% is aimed at tourist enterprises.” Carvalho specifies that only 9% of this 54% is set aside for construction.

Of the lands projected for construction, 12.5% is located in Chave, 8% in Morro de Areia, Santa Mónica and to the south of Porto Inglês, 8.22% in Ribeira Dom João and 15% in Ponta de Pau Seco.

Source: ASemana

Halcyonair resumes regular flights

Private Cape Verdean airline Halcyonair has announced the resumption of regular inter-island flights beginning today, September 25. As a way of enticing passengers and making up for the complications caused during the period in which its aircraft was not flying, the company is offering special fares on its Sal-São Vicente and Praia-São Vicente route.

ASemana

Gallery Page Updated | Maio, Cape Verde

I have eventually got round to updating the Gallery Web page...

I think I've included all the galleries and journals that have so kindly been submitted. Please shout if any have been omitted.
It's starting to build into an informative collection, and I hope, proving useful to visitors and investors alike.

Thanks again for looking in,

Mark.

New, Journal 10 - Maio & Casita Verde| Maio, Cape Verde

Elisabeth has created a new journal with photos of Maio and the Casita Verde Pension.

Maio & Casita Verde - click here to view