The island of Maio (Ilha do Maio) is situated in the archipelago of Cape Verde, south of Boa Vista and east of the island of Santiago, capital city of Praia. One of the “Sotavento“, or Leeward, islands of Cape Verde, it is renowned for its gorgeous sandy beaches, a lush and lovely forest and for an air of sleepy and calm tranquility.
Maio island (Djarmai) wants you to experience leaving your footprints in its beautiful peaceful white sandy beaches.
For anyone looking for peace and quiet in lovely surroundings, Maio (or "May" in English) is a great place to be. There are several quiet and traditional towns dotted around all over the island, all with colorful buildings and a sense of the Portuguese colonial days, and all are a little sleepy. Time seems to stand still here.
The capital of the Island is Vila do Maio, also known as Porto Inglês, and the town is a little more lively and is located right on the oceanfront in the southwest of the island. In the center of town, the Praça Fina is the popular meeting place of the locals in the evenings and a fun place to be. The town offers a selection of restaurants and bars and a fair amount of shops.
As for beaches, traveling west from Vila do Maio, it is worth visiting Praia da Vila and going eastward, Praia Ponta Preta is an excellent swimming beach.
Exploring the forested area in the west of Maio, Morrinho and Calheta are two small towns worth seeing. While Morrinho is pretty much a ghost town but still interesting to view, Calheta is pretty, with colorful houses and homes lining the streets.
Nearby, visit Morro, a town nestled within a grove of coconut palms and offering a beautiful swimming beach. Take care during the summer months, as this beach is also popular with the turtles, which lay their eggs around that time. Tourists are asked to please keep their distance from the nests, as the turtles can easily become upset and desert their eggs.
Among other landscapes on Maio, there are hilly scenes, an almost desert terrain, limestone valleys and salt marshes. There are also flourishing acacia forests which form the largest continuous woodland region of the whole of the Cape Verde archipelago.
The island is particularly popular with birders, who will see a variety of different species, including ospreys, bar-tailed larks, sea swallows, waders, cream-colored coursers and more.
The only drawback with this quiet and lovely place is the fact that Maio is not all that easy to get to. The island only has air connections with Praia, capital of Santiago, and flights are not available on a regular basis. Also, while the harbor can handle ships, there are not that many boat connections for visitors to the island. Suffice to say, if you are planning to visit Maio during your Cape Verde vacation, plan well to avoid disappointment.
The Cabo Verde Phenomenon
Most visitors come to Cape Verde with the idea of sharing the Cape Verde phenomenon. The usual manner of participation is the search for retirement and business properties.Due to international airports and a government emphasis on their development, Sal, Santiago and most recently Boa Vista has monopolised foreign investment to the exclusion of the small island of Maio. Maio has always taken a back seat to the other islands because of it‘s remoteness and it’s inability to showcase itself to the world. It is often viewed by other islanders as a quaint but insignificant part of the country. Yet incredibly it is only 18miles away from Praia (10 minutes by plane) and 2 plus hours by boat.Also hampering Maio development is its inadequate transportation system. There is no scheduled bus or designated taxi system nor adequate boat connections. This may be enough to discourage many from living on Maio. This small island has many negative aspects, but it’s pluses are significant and numerous:fabulous white sand beaches and a clear blue sea (30% of Cape Verde’s white sand beaches)
perfect weather, sun all year round and little rain
no pollution
no serious crime
land prices at a fraction of the other islands and building costs 30% under those of Santiago
small pleasant population (c 6,500)
desalination plant
friendly local government (Câmara) ready to assist foreigners in every aspect of land purchase and commerce
most trees in the country
a new hospital
internet and cable TV
a picturesque mountainous interior
no snakes or dangerous wild animals
Maio is waiting in the wings to surge ahead of the pack to be the featured player in Cape Verde development!
Don’t Miss Maio!The three most important factors in buying property anywhere is, as we all know :
LOCATION… LOCATION… LOCATION!