Worth to know

• Language: Portuguese is the official language. Creol is spoken by the majority of inhabitants.

• Religion: Catholic and minority of Protestants.

• Electricity: 220 V, 50Hz.

• Documents nessery to enter the country: PASSPORT to be valid a min 6 months; VISA: Obligatory, you can obtain it by paying 25 euros at the airport of Cape Verde.

• International travel: The local national airline is TACV (Transportes Aereos of Cape Verde). An other company that operates in Cape Verde regularly is the Portuguese one - TAP. Flight time: Las Palmas to Praia 2:10 h.; Boston to Praia 6:30 h.; London, Paris, Rome, Munich, Amsterdam, Warsaw to Sal, approx. 5 and 6 h.; Lisboa to Sal 4:00 h. International airports: Sal, Praia, Boa Vista.

• Holidays: 1st of January, New Year's Eve; 20th of January, National Heroes; 1st of May, Labor Day; 5th of July, Independence Day; 15th of August, Assumption; 1st of November, Saints Day; 25th of December, Christmas.

• Credit Cards: In the capital, Praia, Visa and MasterCard’s are accepted.

Geography

Cape Verde is situated on the Atlantic Ocean, 600 km northwest of Senegal. It consists of ten volcanic islands and five islets that form two groups: Barlovento and Sotavento. The group of Barlovento is formed by the islands: Sao Vicente, Santo Antao, Sao Nicolau, Santa Lucia, Sal and Boavista and the tiny islands of Branco and Raso. The Sotavento group is composed of the islands Sao Tiago, Maio, Fogo and Brava, together with Rei and Rombo.

The majority of them possess mountain crests. The highest is Pico do Cano, the active volcano on Fogo. Generally, the islands are rocky that is why no agricultural land could be cultivated however, you can see the plantation of sweet corn, bananas, sugar and coffee. The only islands that are totally covered with sandy beaches are Boa Vista and Maio.

Climate and temperature

Given the current situation, the climate of the archipelago is a tropical dry one however, this changed due to the wind and the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Normally, rainfall is low and it is divided heterogeneously into all islands during the months of August and October.

Two seasons can be distinguished, the dry one that starts in November and lasts until July and the rainy one between August and October. The temperature is steady, the average between 20 and 26 degrees. The coldest month is February with the hottest one being September.

Maio

• Group:
   Sotavento

• Coordinate details::
   15° 06' y 15° 20' N / 23° 05' y 23° 14' W

• Surface:
   265 km2

• Maximum height:
   436 m. - Monte Penoso

• The main town:
   Vila do Maio (knows as Porto Ingles).

• Population:
   aprox. 7.500 inhabitants.