What a wonderful start to 2016!  The beginning of January is an awesome time for a holiday & we’ve just come back from a week in Cape Verde.Cape Verde is a group of ten small islands off of the west coast of Africa.  Originally discovered by the Portuguese, there is a vibrant mixture of African, Portuguese and Brazilian influences.  We stayed on the island on Sal; at it’s widest point it’s only 12km & on our drive from the airport to our hotel on some of the narrower points we could see right across the island from east to west!

Now I have to put my hand up & admit that this wasn’t a great trip of cultural discovery, nor was it intended as a photographic journey, this was all about some R&R, recovering from an immensely busy 2015 & preparing for the year ahead!  We spent most of our time on the beach, by the pool, reading, eating, drinking & napping…

But hey, we’re photographers, & although we left our pro-kit at home, we carry cameras everywhere we go…  Shot on a Fuji XE-2 & iPhones, here are just a few of our favourite photos from the week…

Watching sunrise over the pool, definitely reason to get up early!  (AJ took this whilst Ally was on an early morning run along the beach!) Our favourite bar was a little beachside place, the perfect spot to watch the spectacular sunsets!  A glass of champagne in one hand, camera in the other, each evening it was different – some nights there wasn’t a cloud in the sky just the golden sun, other evening clouds brought the sky alive.  And the colours, oh the colours… Said run along the beach!Santa Maria is a small, brightly coloured fishing town on the island of Sal.  A true little tourist hub it’s main streets are lined with cafes bars & souvenir shops.

One morning we caught the hotel shuttle into town with great ambitions of exploring & experiencing a little Cape Verdean culture.  Within about ten minutes we were struggling, with no breeze & little shade it was super hot… The bright sunshine produced some amazing shadows, I love the pattens created The sky really was this blue! We quickly abandoned our exploration plans in Santa Maria for the breeze of the sea front, and oh, what an amazing beach!My swimming pool for the day! Before heading back to our favourite bar to catch another stunning sunset!