Divin Art — Restaurant in Santo Antão

My friend and i stayed on the island of Sao Vicente for a few days and decided to go on a day trip to Santo Antao using the ferry which departs conveniently from the port of Mindelo in the morning. We had heard about Helder, the manager of Divin Art, from an other guest at Villa St Aubyn where we stayed. This guest told us that in addition to running the restaurant Divin Art (which also offers accommodation), Helder also offers private tours of the island with his pick-up truck. We called Helder a couple of days in advance and arranged for a guided tour with a break for lunch at his restaurant. We were very happy with our decision: Helder was waiting for us in Porto Novo, where the ferry docked. He is a very nice guy, speaks French and also some English, and right away he drove us to a beautiful spot with great views over the crater, where we had our packed breakfast. Then he dropped us off on top of the crater from which my friend and I hiked down to the village, which was a really amazing hike. The views down to the sea are stunning, and the entire crater and valley below are very green and lush. Hiking shoes are a good idea, although we wore sneakers and we still managed. When we arrived in the bottom, Helder was waiting for us. From there we drove to a Grog distillery where we learned the ins and outs of how they prepare their famous rum made from Sugar Cane. After this we drove through the inside of the island, where we had some candid insights into the every day island life, and at one moment we got stuck in a large crowd of young students in uniforms leaving school. Once in Ribeira Grande, we were served a delicious chicken dish and we met Sarah, Helders wife, who speaks excellent English and who joined us for the rest of the tour. After lunch we explored some of the smaller towns in the north east of the island and eventually we took the new seaside highway back to the Port. ||Helder was instrumental in making our one day trip to Santo Antao unforgettable and we very highly recommend him to anyone who wants to explore the island for one ore...

Das Divin Art liegt etwas außerhalb in Ribeira Grande an der Straße Richtung Cruzinha.||Die Landschaft ist einfach nur ein Traum. Bis in das Zentrum, wo es auch kleine Lebensmittelläden gab, lief man ca. 20 Minuten.||||Der Besitzer Helder und die Mitarbeiter waren sehr nett. Helder sprach etwas Englisch, aber viel besser französisch. Die Mitarbeiter sprachen leider kein Englisch, was die Kommunikation etwas erschwerte.||||Im "Keller" befindet sich ein Restaurant mit Außenterrasse. Die Speisekarte gab es nur auf portugiesisch. Zum Glück war immer jemand in der Nähe, der uns trotz ÜbersetzungsApp noch etwas dazu sagen konnte. Das Essen war gut. Insbesondere die Spaghetti mit Gemüse waren interessant zubereitet und die Portion riesig. ||||Wir verbrachten 4 Nächte im Divin Art, um von dort aus eine Tagestouren (Wanderungen) zu unternehmen.||Zunächst bezogen wir ein Zimmer zur Straße raus, bekamen aber direkt die Info, dass wir für die nächsten 3 Nächte in ein anderes Zimmer ziehen würden. ||Die Straße bestand aus Kopfsteinpflaster, es war Samstag Nacht und entsprechend war sehr viel Verkehr, da sich in einem der Nachbardörfer eine Diskothek befand. Die ganz Nacht über hörte man die Autos fahren. ||Die anderen 3 Nächte war es deutlich ruhiger. Zwar übernachteten wir dann mit Fenster in Richtung Außenterrassse, aber irgendwann waren alle satt und es kehrte Ruhe ein. Wie es an einem Freitag Abend ist (denn freitags ist immer Party) können wir nicht sagen. Vermutlich bleibt einem dann nur: mitmachen!||||Frühstück war gut und ausreichend. Es gab jeden Tag ein anderes Brot. Dazu Wurst, Käse, Marmelade, Joghurt, Obst, Kuchen. Serviert wurde dieses ab 7:30 Uhr. Am Tag unserer Weiterreise konnten wir auf Nachfrage auch schon um 7 Uhr...

We had expected more, as this place has very good ratings. The room was very basic, the bed was really not comfortable at all, even a bit painfull for people with back problems. We only had one towel for 2 people. We didnt get any explanations upon arrival, nor the next day at breakfast nothing was said or asked. We had booked 3 nights but we ended up cancelling it. Luckily that was not an issue for the owner, so...