João Galego Travel Guide

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During a tour of Boa Vista island in May 2011, we visited the cluster of three villages in the north east of the island, one of which is João Galego.

Our guidebook stated that these villages were located in the greenest part of the island, in an area known as "The Garden of Boa Vista". They didn't appear to be particularly green, but compared to the rest of the island (which consists of sandy beaches and a rocky, dusty interior) there was certainly more plant life here than elsewhere. There were trees lining some of the streets and bright pink and red bougainvillea on the front of many of the homes.

We passed through João Galego shortly after leaving the larger village of Fundos das Figueiras. The village consisted mainly of one straight road, lined on both sides with mostly low rise buildings. There were rows of colourful homes adorned with red bougainvillea. We spotted a small church and a grocery store. The map on www.boavistaexperience.com shows that the village also has a school, a cultural centre, a bar and even a disco. Like Cabeça dos Tarafes that we had passed through previously, João Galego appeared to be deserted as we drove through; we saw only one gentleman and he appeared to be walking away from the village!

The road between João Galego and the other two villages of Fundos das Figueiras and Cabeça dos Tarafes is of a reasonable standard compared to much of the rest of the island. It isn't a tarmac road, but it is at least a defined (if somewhat cobbled) road which can easily be navigated without the need for an off-road vehicle.