Once we docked at Porto Novo on the island of Santo Antão in Cabo Verde, we called our little hotel which had arranged for us to ride in a taxi-van, or an alugar, to Ribeira Grande. Our driver was a very popular driver.

Picture this: a jampacked alugar with people sitting on wooden seats, no seatbelts, and a bouncy, winding road ahead of us through the fresh island air. We had to sit separately, both sitting next to strangers. It felt both stuffy and incredibly freeing. 

Our itinerary for the next day was to hike the long, steep descent through Paúl Valley, located in the northwestern part of Santo Antão. The hike starts high in the mountains and curves through rocky outcrops, banana farms, and little towns down to the ocean at a town of the same name. 

Hike Paúl Valley 

There are a couple of options for hiking Paúl Valley: out-and-back or a one-way hike, where you get dropped off or picked up at the trailhead. I recommend doing just the one-way hike – the valley is incredibly steep, and it’s difficult enough walking up or down it, let alone both. 

• Take an alugar or private taxi up the mountain to the trailhead, which you can arrange through your lodging. This is especially important if it will be a hot day so you can get started early and avoid waiting too long. 
• When you end in Paul town on the water, either pick up an alugar or, depending on where you are staying, you could continue walking. We took an alugar back to Ribeira Grande – to be honest, the roads are not very safe for walking a long distance. 

Experience 

We got an alugar up the mountain and started at Cova de Paúl, a giant volcanic crater that is now a beautiful farm. There were workers in the valley, and a forceful mist streaming over the peaks and dissipating as it reached the ground. At the northern tip, veer to the left so you can start climbing up and out of the crater. 

Cresting over the rim, we were greeted by a cold wind and more fog, but it was clearing out. Below us, a steep, winding dirt path where we could see the beginning of Paúl Valley far below. There were a few other trekkers making their way down, although we passed at least one couple hiking up.  

Step by step, the fog and clouds cleared. They revealed sharp, craggy peaks to our right side, and terrace upon terrace with cows, donkeys, and banana plantations. Walking down, we often passed right by peoples’ front yards that opened onto the dirt path. 

There was a point where we hit the main cobblestone road, where we turned left and continued down through narrow houses and alugars passing by.  

Eventually, we came to O Curral restaurant which had a great selection of food, including vegetarian dishes. I ordered a Stela beer, and we gazed out the open windows and rested our feet. 

Continuing on along the road, we passed a church and several abandoned properties, including one that looked like it was once magnificent – from a bygone era, it seems. At another crosspoint we veered left onto Estrada para o interior do Paúl, which is the road that continues down to the ocean. 

Rural valley turned into small town and then, finally, we hit the busy coastal road. Once we reached Paul, tired from our trek downhill, we found a small cafe near the crashing waves, ordered a local drink, and looked back up the valley where we had come, as the sun was starting to set behind the palm trees.