Country Cape Verde Local time Tuesday 12:37 PM Civil parish Sal | Island Sal Municipality Sal | |
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Weather 24°C, Wind NE at 31 km/h, 61% Humidity | ||
Palmeira (Cape Verde Creole: Palméra) is a village in the northwestern part of the island of Sal, Cape Verde. Its 2010 population was 1,420, doubled in more than a decade from around 700. The village is situated on the west coast, about 4 km west of the island capital Espargos. Palmeira is home to the main port of the island of Sal which serves ferry services with the islands of São Nicolau and Boa Vista which connects to further islands of São Vicente and Santiago.
Map of Palmeira, Cape Verde
The settlement was the first in the island and was founded as a fishing and ranching settlement in the 16th century, it had about 100 people and until when Pedra de Lume was founded in 1799, it was the island's only settlement.
The village started to grow in around 1949 when Espargos was founded, and its first inhabitants mainly came from the island of São Nicolau. Its buildings' architecture are mainly modern; most of them were built in the last century. Its streets in the older part are in a grid pattern. It also has an industrial area in the northwest and the island's oil refinery supplying both the city and the airport. Further northwest, a few windmills were installed in the late 2000s, which provide some energy to the island; all electricity consumption on the island is renewable. In the late 2000s, the port underwent a small expansion.
The club GD Palmeira is no relation to the place but of the palm trees, it is based in the town of Santa Maria.
The village has some churches including the chapel of Saint Joseph (São José) and a Nazarene church. Its library though the most used is the Jorge Barbosa Municipal Library (Biblioteca Municipal Jorge Barbosa), named after one of the greatest Cape Verdean writers of all time, it is the only library in the village and also serves Espargos, Pedra de Lume and the north of the island.