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Sal

Santa Maria, Sal, Cabo Verde · October 2026

Stayed: Sol e Sal Meridiana, an Airbnb apartment, five nights
Paid with: Cash, $465 for five nights through Airbnb
Where: 16.60° N · 22.90° W

Coming first: the Air Senegal flight from Dakar.

Where I stayed · Sol e Sal Meridiana

A two-bedroom apartment on Airbnb for five nights, steps from the square and a short walk to the beach.

Inside

The hall, with wooden sea turtles over the sideboard

The living room

The kitchen and dining table

The bedrooms

The main bedroom

The second bedroom, with two single beds

Two bathrooms

One of the two bathrooms

The other bathroom

Its shower, and a washing machine

The balcony

The balcony view, with the beach at the end of the street

The balcony at night

Part one · Santa Maria

Around the apartment

The I ♥ Santa Maria sign, on the square outside

The cobbled street down to the beach

Salmon and avocado toast at Cape Fruit, a good breakfast spot around the corner

The beach

Too rocky for real swimming, but I got in the water briefly

A restaurant built out on the rocks

The beach in front of the houses

Looking down the shore

The sandy path out to the water

Part two · Around town

The streets

Cobblestones, paint and half-built buildings

Galeria Alagi Félice, under painted flags

A new building going up on the corner

Yellow and blue on a quiet street

Florença, at the end of the lane

Painted houses and a lone palm

Whiter buildings toward the edge of town

A green house with wooden balconies

The crossing by the Santa Maria police station

Turquoise and terracotta on a back street

A green apartment block on a cobbled corner

Bougainvillea spilling over a wall

A square with a playground and the post office

The plaza with the sign, late in the day

Cretcheu

Cretcheu, Kriolu for sweetheart, beside a portrait of Nha Mercedes

The promenade

Puddles along the palm-lined promenade

A rider on horseback past the bank

An excursions and souvenirs kiosk by the road

More of the coast

Rock and black stone more than sand

Tide pools under a silver sky

Rocks and turquoise water past town

A beach of smooth black stones

The same stones, back toward the hotels

The sand beach

Me, after a quick swim

The sand beach, where the swimming is better

Cranes working at the end of the beach

Sunset

Pink clouds over the water at sunset

Looking up the beach at dusk

Evening in town

The pedestrian street after dark

A small white church in town at dusk

A cat on a peeling blue wall at night

Eating in town

A ham and cheese pastry with Pedras sparkling water

Grilled chicken with a side salad

A mixed grill with rice and fries

Coming next: more of Sal.