A lava cave open to the sky, where the midday sun comes through the roof and hits the water so the whole pool turns electric…A lava cave open to the sky, where the midday sun comes through the roof and hits the water so the whole pool turns electric blue from below. Around it, wave-cut lava pools, and offshore the reefs and wrecks that make Sal Cape Verde's dive base. Cape Verde is volcanic and young, and Sal's flat lava plains are riddled with tubes and collapses like this one. The islands were uninhabited until the Portuguese arrived in 1460 and became a salt and slaving entrepôt, Sal is named for its salt pans. Anchorage: Palmeira on Sal's west coast is the working anchorage; this stretch is exposed to the north-east trades. Hazards: Atlantic swell breaks straight into the outer pools and has killed swimmers here. Stay in the inner lagoon unless it is flat. Altro