Charity De Souza

Cape Verde is a remote destination, home to ten volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa. For years, it was mostly popular with windsurfers, divers, and travelers looking for an off-the-radar beach escape and a place to get away from it all.

At Beach.com, we don’t just celebrate the world’s best beaches; we’re committed to protecting them. For the second year running, we brought together volunteers, local organizations, and passionate beachgoers to mark World Ocean Day with a nationwide series of beach cleanups. In 2026, we went bigger: more events, more states, and more coastline covered than ever before.

When George Mattson met Ed Bastian in the late 1990s, he couldn’t have predicted their relationship would eventually help shape how millions of people travel around the world. At the time, Mattson was a young banker at Goldman Sachs. He’d just taken on responsibility for major client relationships in the Southeast, including Delta Air Lines. Bastian, who’d recently joined Delta from PepsiCo, was then the airline’s controller.