Ponta do Sol: harbour, swim and the evening road

Ponta do Sol is the practical base on Santo Antão’s north coast. The harbour is small, the houses stack up the hill, and the road east toward Paúl is the one you will drive more than once.

A simple day

Walk the waterfront in the morning before the aluguers leave for the valleys. Swim only if the sea is flat; the pebbles and the surge are not a resort beach. Lunch is grilled fish if a boat came in, otherwise rice and tuna. In the late afternoon walk toward Fontainhas and turn back when the light goes.

Staying

Rooms face the sea or the hill. Ask which, because the road is louder than it looks. The ferry lands in Porto Novo, an hour of mountain road away. Do not plan to catch the last boat the same evening you hike Cova.