Cape Verde...It's the Surreal Deal ; John Carter Finds Some Weird and Wonderful Reasons for Holidaying On a Remote Outcrop of Atlantic Islands Two Truck Tyres Were Checked in As Hand Luggage

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TAKING me on a sightseeing tour of Salt island, Romina Carneiro explained why the town near the airport is called Asparagus. 'Espargos is a small town but it is the biggest town we have,' she said. 'It is named after the asparagus that grows there. It is not real asparagus. It looks like asparagus but you will be very ill if you eat it. We call it the Devil's Asparagus.' It was rather a surreal introduction but the fascinating Cape Verde Islands are a surreal sort of place.

Just when you think you've got a handle on them, just as they begin to fall into place, reminding you, perhaps, of similar destinations, something weird crops up. Take Sal (Salt) island which, on first acquaintance, promised to be the most unappealing place I have ever visited.

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Cape Verde...It's the Surreal Deal ; John Carter Finds Some Weird and Wonderful Reasons for Holidaying On a Remote Outcrop of Atlantic Islands Two Truck Tyres Were Checked in As Hand Luggage

The flight from Lisbon, scheduled to arrive at ten minutes to midnight, was a little early. Romina met me and drove me to the hotel through what looked like an endless landfill site, promising to collect me next day for a proper look at the place.

I figured this would not take long. Sal island is about 19 miles long by eight miles at its widest. The ambitiously named Monte Grande is its highest point at 1,332ft.

It has no valleys, no vegetation and even the locally produced tourist pamphlets cannot avoid words ...

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