Salines de Pedra de Lume

Sal Island, part of Cape Verde’s Barlavento group, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1460 but remained uninhabited until the late 18th century due to extreme drought. The island’s salt industry began in the late 1700s at Pedra de Lume, a volcanic crater 39 meters above sea level and 1.5 km from the sea. This crater, once connected to the ocean, holds over 50 million tons of natural salt formed through seawater evaporation.

The salt industry flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, exporting up to 30,000 tons annually. However, economic disparities between workers and management were prominent. While the industry declined after Brazil banned foreign salt imports in 1887, it experienced a revival in the 20th century under the French company Salins du Cabo Verde.

With an eigth hour stop over at the island of Sal we visited this salt basin area. The island itself seems like the least interesting of the ten islands of Cape Verde so our aim was really the other islands.

A taxi took us from the airport and we put our luggage in the ticket booth while we entered the volcano basin. A stroll across then an half circle along the shore took us back to the entrance area and the swim area. Of course we had to test swimming in this salty water. Swimming is practically impossible, but floating around is nice. 
There is a cafe present and a changing area with showers. The changing boots are free but a …

Amazing place. My husband and I visited this year in May (2012). It was included in a tour of Sal and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Swimming it was fantastic, some parts of the lake were really warm and other parts were really cold. Goes without saying you could not swim but really only float although doing that on your back was difficult. I would highly reccomend the lake and the spa.