Cape Verde

Cape Verde /ˌkeɪp ˈvɜːrd/ or Cabo Verde /kɑːboʊ ˈvɜːrdeɪ/, /kæ-/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. Located 570 kilometres (350 mi) off the coast of Western Africa, the islands cover a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi).

The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for the Atlantic slave trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates. The end of slavery in the 19th century led to economic decline and emigration, although Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial center and stopover for shipping routes. Incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal in 1951, the islands continued to agitate for independence, which was peacefully achieved in 1975.

Santa Maria

Santa María (with diacritic over the "i") or Santa Maria may refer to:

People

Churches

Sal, Cape Verde

Sal (Portuguese for “salt” — from the mines at Pedra de Lume) is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento ("windwards"), and comprises a single administrative division, the Sal municipality. The island is home to Amílcar Cabral International Airport, the main airport of Cape Verde.

History

The island was discovered on December 3, 1460 and named Llana until salt deposits were found. Sal is the geologically oldest island in Cape Verde, formed 50 million years ago during the eruption of a volcano which is now inactive.

Geography

The island is 35 km long by 12 km wide. It is one of the three sandy eastern islands (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) of the archipelago, with white sandy beaches and fairly flat. The highest elevation of 408 m is at Monte Grande. Serra Negra has a height of 92 m.

Climate

Sal Island has on average 350 days of sunshine a year. Winds mainly blow from the northeast. However,some days do also have clouds, but they tend to be scattered and seldom bring rain. The 'rainy season' is from July to mid-October, although rainfall is still low.

Santa Maria, Cape Verde

Santa Maria (Portuguese for Saint Mary) is a fishing town situated in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. Santa Maria is located about 16 km south of the Amílcar Cabral International Airport, and km south of the island capital Espargos.

History

Santa Maria was founded in 1835 for the production of sea salt. Most of the product was exported to Brazil, which was halted in 1887 when Brazil imposed a high tax on imported salt to protect its own salt production. The town went into a deep decline, only to recover in 1920 when Portuguese and French investors resumed salt production. This lasted until 1984. More recently, tourism has become an important industry on the island. Many resorts and hotels, including the Riu hotels resorts Riu Garopa and Riu Funana, are situated near Santa Maria.

Climate

Historical population

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RIU Hotels

RIU Hotels & Resorts was founded in Mallorca, Spain, in 1953 as a small summer business for the Riu family, and is currently owned by TUI and run by the third generation of the family. The company's business is focused on the holiday hotel sector and over 70% of its establishments offer an all inclusive service.

With the opening of its first city hotel in 2010, RIU extended its range of products with its own line of city hotels called Riu Plaza. RIU Hotels & Resorts has 105 hotels in 19 countries, and employs 27,813 people. Last year (2014) its hotels welcomed a total of 4 million guests. Nowadays RIU is the 30th biggest hotel chain in the world, and one of the most important at the Caribbean and the third in Spain.

History

RIU Hotels & Resorts is a Spanish hotel chain founded by the Riu family as a small holiday firm in 1953, the first hotel being Riu San Francisco in Mallorca. The RIU Hotels & Resorts chain is still owned by the Riu family's third generation.

In 2010, RIU Hotels & Resorts launched their new line of Riu Plaza city hotels. These are located in the centre of large cities and cater for both business travellers and tourists. RIU has hotels in Spain, Portugal, Dominican Republic, United States, Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, Aruba, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Bulgaria, Germany, Costa Rica, Panama, Cape Verde, Mauritius, St. Martin and Sri Lanka (2016).