So so São Tomé v2

20 odd years after discovering a pair of islands in the middle of the Atlantic that ensured I would always win Geography trivia competitions, I finally had the opportunity to visit São Tomé and Príncipe in May 2018. After many facebook posts and messages, Trip Advisor look ups and random google searches and spreadsheets, my cousin and I set off of our adventure

Travellers: Two 30 something African queens
Dates: 12th-17th May 2019

Flight: TAP Portugal (ACC-TMS), $325 roundtrip per person
Tours by Navetur+Transfers+Resort Fee etc: 370 EUR
1 night stay at Pestana Equador (shared room): $270
AirBnB (whole apt): Domus Tomensis $23/night 

Day 1

Sao Tome International Airport

For something that should have been a short trip, we ended up arriving pretty tired. Fairly downcast with a bit of drizzle, the long queue at the airport did nothing to encourage our #nosleep agenda. Fortunately the immigration process was smooth and I was able to enter with my US visa (after spending weeks chasing the eVisa just in case). We changed some money (1 eur-25 Dobra), cousin bought a local SIM in the (shiniest) shop in town and we made our way to the AirBnB only to find that the lights were out. Tired to problem solve this, we decided to head straight for 1 of the spots on our list for much needed feeding. We got a lift to Pico Mocambo,  which for a Saturday night was disappointingly dry. Apparently the party don't start till much later and after an hour, we could see our age catching up with us :/ We made some fast friends, and no spoilers here, but despite the all blue party they told us about, we strolled home before the music was even turned up.
                              
Sample Expenses: 1 pizza, 2 shots, 2 cocktails- 690 Db
Definitely try: the house speciality flavoured liquors
Shout outs: Iyosaldo, Ronaldo and Pedro

Pico Mocambo

Menu @ Pico Mocambo

Day 2

PSA

The mosquito nets are not decorative, please use them

No surprise we had difficulty sleeping, waking up to a rainy morning didn't bode well for a big big tour plans but we had to eat so after learning that the corner store was closed #Sunday. I braved a trip to the Google maps famous bakery Padaria Moderna in the drizzle to get some Pao. Juice was a no, so we just kicked it on the balcony, thinking we had an hour to go but apparently STP switched from GMT to WAT and not everyone knew about it (us). So we jumped in the car and made our exciting way on the Eastern route featuring Boca do Inferno, the village of Rebeira Afonso, lunch at Roca do Sao Joao dos Angolares and a mad dash to catch the boat to Ilhue das Rolas.

Boca do Inferno

Padaria Moderna

calulu

Photo op with Chef João Carlos Silva

The most amusing bouche

Roca do Sao Joao is a must for foodies, with what seemed to be an endless number of sample platters ( we really couldn't stay till desert, we had a boat to catch) and surprise main course of calulu (rice and chicken vegetable stew) allegedly by popular (West African) demand. The trip to the islet was an improptu shower- high tide plus rain plus small boat= prayer. Check in to Pestna Equador was quick and we had nothing to do but wait for dinner. Apparently there was no mint on the island but the bartender offered to find me something similar, stepped out with a medium sized knife and 15 mins later I was sipping on rum and micoco leaves. #thelessyou know

Sample Expenses: 4 random pastries 22Db, Bottle of wine- 17Db










Day 3

Marcado do Equador

Good news, the sun came out!
What we thought would be a leisurely stroll around the island turned out to be a hike. A visit to marcado do equador (equator mark) is a must and FYI its up on a hill. A good morning work out made our pool/beach side lounging all the more enjoyable and we got into some self organised aqua zumba. 
The boat ride back to the main land wasn't as scary this time and we made it back home in time for dinner. Santa Helena (SH boutique hotel) is a hotel close to our AirBnb where we had the best calamari ever and finished it off with drinks at Leve leve-me. Again, no mint, so rum with leaves, this time lemon grass.
Sample Expenses: dinner 196 Db
Shout outs: Damas Portguesas, Aqua Zumba crew, 9ja massive

A mais deliciosa calamari

Leve leve-me

Day 4

Forte de São Sebastião

Think we're over sunshine now. Walking around the city goes better with a bit of cloud cover. Our first stop was Fort Sao Sebastiao which doubles as a museum (Museo Nacional do Sao Tome e Principe) and prime instagram photo-op location. Most if not all exhibits feature Sao Tome's colonial past with the heavy emphasis on life in the plantation, slave revolts and eventual independence. There are many antiques such as bronze coins, china from England and period furniture.
Next we visited the Cathedral (Se Catedral de nossa senhora da graca de Sao Tome) , walked through the market, which looks like every overcrowded over flowing market anywhere in Africa, sauntered across the independence square, declined a visit to the President in Palacio do Povo (he's probs too busy to chat) and ended with a hearty lunch at Filomar. Almost any 2nd floor window almost anywhere on the island will give you a good view of the ocean, but this one was particularly welcome (if not obstructed by reserved tables. We return home to find the lights out and need to go back to basics, ie buying candles, getting buckets of water... Thankfully WiFi was fairly reliable at home and surprisingly in most bars and restaurants so we were able to stroll to Cafe Camoes for a hearty meal- tasted Breadfruit for the first time, tasted gari in a 4th country. The search for live music remains elusive, so after a pass through Cafe Cesar, we head back to Pico for music, internet and drinks. 

Shout outs: JerryShock of the trip: AK47 gun fire and arrest of a possible fugitive

Café Camões

Day 5
We set off on our tour of the north and Lagoa Azul, featuring the plantation of Augustinho Neto- a eerily run down hospital and a curiously maintained chapel as well as other colonial era relics and the memorial to the fallen (Memorial dos Herois da Liberdade). After running into the same folks, 3 days in a row, we realise that almost every other tourist on the island is on the same plan albeit in a different order. So far we've ran into the same people at almost every stop.

Roca Augustinho Neto

Lagoa Azul

Heroes Memorial

 Lagoa Azul was amazing! glad I brought my goggles but would have loved a full on snorkeling adventure, so see more than the handful of fish and urchins. We had traditional lunch at Roca Monteforte- something of an eco lodge on a hill and housed the only cat I saw all trip. We got back into the city late and due to a mix up we didn't make it to the Claudio Corrallo Chocolate Factory in time for the tasting ( and they take their times very seriously) but we ended up buying some coffee and chocolate, and given that it's all been consumed at this point, I can confirm that it was delicious. We had dinner at Papa Figo and even thought I wasn't sure who would win the feeding battle (Octopus vs Human) the fact that it was already dead helped :) definitely a good spot to hit up when hungry. After ~2hrs at Club Kizomba, we made it back home for much needed rest.

Highlight of the day: Tanlines and Sea urchins

Papa Figo grilled fish

Papa figo grilled octopus

  

     Lunch at Roca Monteforte

Day 6

Pestana Sao Tome

Last Day already! most of which we spent  lounging at Pestana São Tomé's super cute and music video friendly infinity pool, aggressively doing laps  trying to work off the hard earned kilos. In retrospect, I spent more of the trip eating than doing anything else, so if you're on a weight gaining spree, a trip to STP is for you.
Either that or your bedtime isn't 10pm- I feel like we missed out on a lot because we simply couldn't stay up long enough! Always the nerd I spent a few hours visiting the main teaching hospital and learning about the healthcare system, but all too soon our island get away was winding down. 

View of the entrance to Hospital Ayres de Menezes

We checked in, finished our last Dobras at O Bigodes which really didn't meet expectations, had my umbrella seized from my carry on and after taking a seat next to a Boris Kodjoe look alike, we were on our way back to Accra.

Shout outs: Diogo (landlord) & o pai de Diogo, Luis for the hospital link up

View of the bay from O Bigodes

 All in all, it wasn't the raucous rager I somehow thought it would be, but as they say, leve leve. STP is good place to decompress. I never imagined being greeted with Akwaaba anywhere apart from Ghana (not sure we even do that here) but the laid back and easy going nature of people makes it the most comfortable (and safest) trip I've ever taken. Like much of the developing world, you won't be able to get around solely with google maps, there's no master list of events happening but Santomeans are super friendly and if getting to really know your destination is near the top of your list (as it should be), you won't have a hard time getting directions or company.


P.S. I KNEW I had typed up a summary of my trip to STP, but for the life of me I couldn't remember where! well, jokes it was in pages but since V1 was created not too afterwards, it's better at describing the experience, but V2 speaks more to the lasting memories...and has more pictures