Picos, Island of Santiago, Cabo Verde, Oct. 14, 2024 (Lusa) - A sign hanging from a tree by the side of the road indicates the exit to the Maravilha Waterfall in the Picos area inland from the island of Santiago in Cabo Verde, a seasonal oasis to make you forget the drought.

The waterfall only exists in years when there's enough rain, as there was in 2023 and as there is now, to make up for what happened before, a drought that lasted almost five years.

Cabo Verde is an arid archipelago; some islands are even deserted, but Santiago is one of those with mountains with springs that are renewed in the years when there is rain (between July and October).

Anilton Fortes, 39, has left his car on the dirt road and is standing alone, eyes closed and wearing swimming trunks, under the water that falls into the Maravilha Waterfall, set in a verdant valley, which in a few months will be back to its arid colours.

But for now, the landscape is lush, and all you can hear is the water falling and the birds singing, in a scene that makes Anilton ‘look forward’ to the rainy season every year so that he can enjoy ‘the luxury of having a waterfall’.

In the morning, at the right time, it's like having a private waterfall in the middle of nature, like now, when no one is around.

‘Every year, I look for a different waterfall. This is the first time I've been to this one,’ he told Lusa, explaining that once it's been recognised, it will be a new place for family get-togethers.

‘We have a two-month break to enjoy it. It's very short and this year [the rain] came later. The waterfall should last until December. If there's no more rain, it's over,’ he says, noting that rainfall after October is rare.

Anilton enjoys a ‘private’ waterfall, but as the day progresses, in Longueira, São Lourenço dos Órgãos, there is another, busier waterfall: island residents picnic under the tree, tourists equipped for hiking, and foreign workers enjoying a day off.

All the cars managed to beat the dirt track to the viewpoint, and, even more challenging, some descended on foot to the water on slippery clay.

‘This place is very fresh, green and peaceful. I came to enjoy my day off,’ explains Nikola Marousova, a 19-year-old Czech hairdresser in Praia - shocked to learn that the scenery only lasts a few months.

Éder Mendonça, 21, balances himself on the stones on the bank of the stream next to the waterfall: ‘There have been drier years, but last year was good and this year even better. If it keeps going like this, it'll be fine.’

In an arid country, ephemeral waterfalls are attractive whenever the weather allows them to appear between September and October.

‘Here, when there's no water, this isn't Cabo Verde, it's Cabo Castanho,’ explains Nilton Borges, 43, who has been guiding ecotourism trails since 2007 as an alternative to sun and beach tourism.

‘The water flows directly from the mountains, crystal clear and fresh. These waters are sacred to me. And rare because we don't always have them, and there have been years without water,’ he said, stopping by the Longueira waterfall during a walk with foreign tourists.

And agriculture, ‘will that be guaranteed?’ he asks, looking up at the sky, with clouds forming and forecasts pointing to more rain in the coming days.

‘After the waterfall, the water goes to the dam, for agriculture and to feed wells,’ explains Horácio Brito, 54, pointing down the slope, indicating the “sacred” route from the beginning of the mountain to the sea.

It will be possible to plant ‘a lot of things’, from potatoes and manioc to the unavoidable maize, so ‘there will be no shortage of cachupa. Neither will xerém’, corn-based recipes, which are part of Cabo Verde's gastronomic culture and reflect the climate and landscape.

Horácio Brito has his eye on the two children he takes to play at Cachoeira Maravilha ‘every day after school’. Every day, ‘as long as there is water’, he says optimistically, hoping for waterfalls by December or, perhaps, January.

Sunset is approaching, but in the north of the island of Santiago, the sky is already overcast at the Main Dam. The reservoir is filled, and the flood spillways create a new waterfall over the wall. The dam is in a closed valley and surrounded by the imposing mountains of the Serra Malagueta, which rise steeply towards the sky.

This is another point of worship and leisure while the waters last, but not today.

It's starting to rain, there's a storm on the way, and all that can be seen are peasants tidying up their gardens. Like the waterfall lovers, they'll be back tomorrow to take advantage of the rain.

LFO/ADB // ADB.

Lusa