Sāo Tomé and Principe Passage

Sāo Tomé and Principe Passage

The timetable for flights from Libreville (Gabon) to Sāo Tomé city, capital of Sāo Tomé and Principe is, to say the least, flexible. There is a morning and an afternoon flight but most of the time one of them is canceled, sometimes both. At last, after a lot of hassle to get tickets, we fly. It’s a small plane. In 40 minutes we fly to Sāo Tomé International Airport.

We are picked up and brought to the close-by Pestana Hotel. Here we have to wait for our driver. The friendly people of the hotel show us the place, especially the garden and the sea. After an hour or so our driver arrives. The trip to our resort starts.

The ride is interesting and roads are reasonable. When we are halfway, we stop abruptly. The road is blocked, due to heavy rainfall. Trees, rocks and debris for a few meters. We leave the car. Our luggage is transported over the debris. We have to clamber to reach the other side. With a fresh driver and another car we continue.

This driver drops us at Porto Alegre. From here a ferry will take us to a small island called Ilhéu das Rolas. First we have to wait, We are joined by some local children. Conversation is difficult because of the language barrier. They speak Portuguese here, a language we don’t speak. But we manage to make contact. We show them pictures from our tourist book about the country. And back and forth we practice words and exchange our names.

Finally the ferry arrives. It’s only a short trip to the island. The resort we stay is Pestana Equador. It’s large and very nice. Close to the beach also. There’re a lot of small villa’s, only very few occupied. So many palm trees with coconuts here that a warning is placed:

Next day we explore the island. First we visit the Equator Landmark. This small monument, erected in 1936, marks a geodesic point on the Equator. It is worth a visit due to its symbolism: with a foot on either side of this imaginary line, you are in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere at the same time.

Next to our resort is a tiny village. We stroll through it. Some small shops are really inviting. Nature is beautiful, raw so to say. A paradise place, with a lot of pretty birds. Because it is small island you see the ocean from most points. A nice view! Do I spot a whale in the distance?

You don’t need much time to look around because the island is only at about 3 km² in size. Few people live there. Not much land but a lot of water around the island! Wonderful area for snorkelling and diving. We saw various fishes and sea animals.

Late afternoon we board the ferry back to the island of Sāo Tomé. The trip to the capital is made with a bus this time. Amidst a lot of locals we drive a different road from last time. In the gathering darkness we pass a small village. There is no light at all here. In the headlights of the car we spot the people, the houses, the shops. We stay in the same hotel as when we arrived.

The following day we go to the airport. Like in some other African countries we have to pay some money before we leave. Because we didn’t confirm our flight a woman shouts that we will be the last to enter the plane – if there’s any room left for us. Luckily there is.

While driving to the airport we passed a bay with a nice beach. A lot of youth, teenagers are swimming, sunbathing and enjoying themselves. None of them spend any money on swimwear. They are all stark naked. Another reminder we are leaving a paradise…

Trip was made in 2009.

 africa culture island nature