Marooned in the Atlantic, several hundred miles west of Senegal, the Cape Verde islands are one of the world's most out of the way destinations. Yet, these fascinating, if ill-starred, islands make for a tremendously rewarding experience for anyone with an interest in the obscure. Unpopulated when the Portuguese discovered them in the 15th century, slaves were imported from Africa, and the islands became a major pivotal point in the North American slave trade. Another import - goats - succeeded in ridding much of the islands of the majority of their vegetation, and Darwin, who stopped here on his voyage on the Beagle, paid them the backhanded compliment of ...  Read the complete review