Santa Maria
Santa Maria is the nearest town to the hotel, about 20 minutes walk along the beach. It was a small fishing town until the beginning of the 1990s, when the population boomed owing to the tourist industry and it is now the third largest town in Cape Verde. The streets are laid out in a grid system and the shops cater mainly for the tourists. There is still plenty of evidence of new building, although due to the present economic climate there are many half finished and abandoned sites. The main attraction of Santa Maria is the jetty, where every morning the fishermen unload their catch.
Building work, which is, unusually, still progressing
The boatyard adjacent to the jetty
A shop in the town centre
A street scene
The town square
A church
The jetty
A woman selling fish
The first fishing boat arrives.
The boat unloads its catch.
The catch is mainly red snapper.
They are taken to be descaled.
Another boat arrives with a marlin and tuna.
The marlin is taken away to be cleaned.
The work on the marlin starts immediately.
An angler on the jetty with Santa Maria in the background
The angler’s catch
Life at the end of the jetty
Maria Alice – Solna Tchada