03.03.2023
Flying to one of the least visited countries of the world
My tour of Angola with YPT had concluded last night. An exceptionally remarkable tour it had been. YPT had offered a tour extension to São Tomé and I had long contemplated if I should pay the hefty price for that plus airfares … but then … when would ever come again the chance to visit one of the least visited countries in the world … which was not more than a litte speck on the map and who did not know where to look for it, had a hard time finding it …
São Tomé e Príncipe – officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe – is a Portuguese-speaking island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of 2 archipelagos around the 2 main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 150 km apart and about 250 and 225 km off the coast of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. With a population of approx 202 000 São Tomé e Príncipe is the second-smallest and second-least populous African sovereign state after Seychelles. The island of São Tomé was named after Saint Thomas while Príncipe was the Island of the Prince.
Depending on which list is consulted, it is the 3rd least visited country in the world, the 8th or 9th … or anything in between … there is some lists that do not even include it … Not that I was bothered with it, I just wanted to go there. One reason it had been sort of on the fringes of my radar, was a postcard I received from my godfather in 1983. He had been a Captain at Sea until the 1990s and had been sailing the route between East Germany and the Western coast of Africa down to Angola regularly in the 1980s. I collected all those postcards he sent and when I met him at my Dad’s 87th birthday this January, he still had stories to tell!
I had just decided to do this tour a few weeks before. My uncle asked me to send him a postcard in return when I get there. Looking at the dates of the tour I realized it was a weekend … but I had to get to the post office … and only 2.5 days on the island seemed really short considering the hefty tour and flight prices … I knew I would regret it if I did not extend my stay. Looking at the flight schedule TAP Portugal was really the only option and they were only flying 3 times a week. So the decision was made quickly … I would stay an extra 3 days after the tour to catch the next available flight to Europe. If I had have more time I might even have stayed a few more days, but work was calling loud and clear …
Anyway, this morning we were still in Luanda and I woke up early to pack. I had already checked in online for the weekly TAAG Angola flight to São Tomé. I knew I did not need a visa – a stay of less than 15 days was visa free for EU citizens. However, the Foreign Ministry of Germany still stated that besides the mandatory Yellow Fever and COVID vaccination certificates a COVID Antigen Test was necessary. Tulip from the Netherlands who was the other female in the tour group said the same about the Dutch authorities … The Tall Guy from YPT and his local contacts knew of nothing however and the TAAG Angola website very clearly stated such a thing was not needed anymore. We hoped they were correct.
Breakfast was at 07:00 in the upper floor restaurant of Hotel Tivoli Luanda. It was a good buffet and I had fruits and yoghurt, scrambled egg with very good bread and juice. By 07:30 we had to check out for departure. The flight to São Tomé had to be booked by each of us – 5 from the Angola tour and I plus one extra guy flew with the Tall Guy – individually. But there was only this one option from Luanda and it was the only flight for a week. São Tomé International Airport was certainly one of the least busy in the world … 1 flight per week to/from Luanda, 3 flights to/from Gabon and 3 flights to/from Lisbon via Ghana … It was hard to get there … No wonder this country was not visited more …
Our flight was at 10:30 this morning and we sure hoped it would be on time. The experiences with the TAAG domestic flights in the last few days had been … challenging … and we all hoped international TAAG flights would be more reliable. The ride to the airport was organized by Pure and Authentic Angola and took a good 45 min in the morning traffic. We waved farewell to our local guides and drivers who mostly had been with us the last 10 days.
The airport was relatively busy. However, there were not really many flights going at all. While we all had done the online check in, we still had to line up for the bag drop which took quite a while. I suppose mainly, because all TAAG flights were being handled by only 3 or 4 agents … Indeed, they did not want to see any COVID related papers – not even the vax cert – they were only interested in the Yellow Fever certificate …
Security check went fairly quick, as well as the immigration stamp. In transit the Aussi, the Tulip and me spent my really last Kwanza on a G & T … Well, it was 5 o’clock somewhere … who was going to judge … The Traveller and the French had no check-in luggage and passed security well before us. They had explored the transit area and when they saw us mentioned that there were several souvenir shops around the corner behind the bar area. Off I went to have a look. They had lots of souvenirs, but nothing that jumped at me. But a small Angolan flag I found and bought it for € 5.
Then it was already time to line up for the gate. Again they double checked boarding pass, visa eligibility and Yellow Fever certificate … The last lady was super thorough and not friendly at all … She even wanted to see the printed ticket which allegedly had to be stamped by the check-in person as well … What? … She let me pass eventually looking rather annoyed with me or her job or her colleagues …
While waiting we noticed the official French government airplane – like a French Airforce One – sitting on the tarmac. Later that evening we saw on São Tomé TV that President Macron was visiting Angola. We had just missed him.
Boarding was only slightly delayed by 10:15 and if we had thought we would go on the fancy TAAG jumbo jet outside the gate we had been mistaking … It was a long bus ride across the airport evidently to the domestic terminal past rows and rows of small planes and large helicopters to one of the regular TAAG planes.
The plane was only almost full, but I lucked out with an empty seat next to me sharing the row with Fin. The rest of the group was all around at the back of the plan as well – those had been the only available seats yesterday for web check in. I had a window seat F and had a great view of the airport and Luanda as we finally took off.
Adeus Luanda! Adeus Angola! It has been a blast!
It was a relatively short flight of only 2 hrs from Luanda to São Tomé. They did serve a snack and the Aussie – who sat behind me – and I tremendously enjoyed a cup of red wine! They even would have given us a second one … unfortunately sitting in the back rows of the plane also meant their supply was finished by the time they reached us … they literally squeezed the bottle and got the left over from business class to give us half a cup each more.
The flight was uneventful and soon enough they started the descent and soon enough turquoise coastal waters came in sight below with the small Ilhéu das Cabras – the Island of Goats – an uninhabited islet located approx 2 km off the northeast coast of the island of São Tomé. It is geologically the oldest part of São Tomé and was mentioned as Mooro Caebres in the 1665 map by Johannes Vingboons. The 17 ha island is pinched down the middle into 2 more or less equal halves. A tidal beach is located right at the middle and a colonial era lighthouse dating to 1890 sits atop a small hill on the northern half.
And before I knew it the lush green of the island jungle came into view as the plane banked over the north coast of the main island and a magnificent view of the island opened up. The 2 islands that make up what is called São Tomé e Príncipe were formed 30 mio years ago due to volcanic activity beneath deep water along the Cameroon Line. The volcanic soils of basalts and phonolites, dating to 3 mio years, have been used for plantation crops since colonial times. The islands are part of the Cameroon volcanic mountain line, which also includes the islands of Annobón to the southwest, Bioko to the northeast – both part of Equatorial Guinea – and Mount Cameroon on the coast of Gulf of Guinea. São Tomé itself is 50 km long and 30 km wide and the more mountainous of the 2 islands. Its peaks reach 2024 m with Pico de São Tomé. Swift streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland to the sea cross both islands.
The islands of São Tomé e Príncipe were uninhabited until their discovery by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century. Gradually colonized and settled throughout the 16th century, they collectively served as a vital commercial and trade centre for the Atlantic slave trade.
Approaching São Tomé International Airport from the southwest, it was a hard break on the 2.2 km long runway with the sea on both sides. But of course I had no doubt we would make it. We landed 11:45 local time with was one hour behind Angola and Germany and the same time zone as Lisbon. A historical fact about the airport – during the 1967-70 secession war from Nigeria – Nigerian Civil War – the airport served as the major base of operations for the Biafran airlift. The airlift was an international humanitarian relief effort – said to be the largest civilian airlift to date – that transported food and medicine to eastern Nigeria. It was estimated to have saved more than a million lives.
Disembarking was quick as they opened the back door. The airport was so small that we just walked to the terminal in the mid day heat. It seemed even hotter than it had been in Angola … The first line up was for immigration and the procedure was rather quick … Why are you coming here? – Tourist! – How long are you staying? – 6 days! – Where are you staying? – Ahhh … Hotel Avenida! … clack … Boa Viagem! … No Yellow Fever or COVID certification checks … nothing …
The luggage hall was crowded to the max. There was only one belt and it was not turning yet. I suppose they would do the luggage by hand. I tried to position myself somewhere in the back with a view of the belt so not to be squeezed like in a sardine can and shoved around by people and luggage carts. Already before passport control I had logged onto the well working airport WIFI and quickly updated my tracker and posted some photos so the family back home would be in peace. Luggage took a while, but it arrived and I elbowed my way through the crowd heading after the Tall Guy who was the only one I could see sticking out as tall as he was with his red Angola cap on. Outside the terminal we met the rest of the group at the parking lot. It all had not taken too long – by 12:30 we were all piled into 2 cars and voted against stopping for lunch but going straight for our sightseeing program. After all the rest of the lot had only 2.5 days to see São Tomé …
Our local guide was Simpson … 28 years old and supposedly named after The Simpson Family. That fact led to a lively discussion if that could even be possible … Had The Simpson run that long? … Well, I would not know, I never watch it … but I looked it up and it indeed premiered in December 1989 and is still running … So it could well be possible that our Simpson was named after Bart! And the funny fact was that he was studying German and was only too happy to chat with me to practice!
Coffee and Choclate Heaven in the interior
First we drove to São Tomé – the capital and largest city of the country and named after Saint Thomas. It is one of Africa’s oldest colonial cities. Álvaro Caminha founded it in 1493. The Portuguese came to São Tomé in search of land to grow sugarcane. The island was totally uninhabited before the arrival of the Portuguese sometime around 1470. São Tomé, situated about 40 km north of the equator, had a climate wet enough to grow sugarcane in wild abundance. 2000 Jewish children, 8 years old and under, were taken from the Iberian peninsula for work on the sugar plantations. The nearby African Kingdom of Kongo eventually became a source of slave labor as well. São Tomé was the main center of sugar production in the 16th century – it was however overtaken by Brazil by 1600.
The city of São Tomé was centered around a 16th-century cathedral, that was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It served as the capital of the Portuguese colony of São Tomé and Príncipe and from 1975 as capital of the sovereign nation. Important as a port, São Tomé is located on Ana Chaves Bay in the northeast of the island and is also the centre of the island’s road and bus networks. Bright yellow taxis were abundant everywhere – mostly Toyota sedans and minibuses of varying ages and sizes.
As we reached town it turned out the second car had to leave for some reason or another. Therefore they jammed all the luggage in the minivan and the Traveller and French had to cram in with the rest of us. Which was not so bad – effectively there were enough seats … just not really for a sightseeing tour. But since all of us were very seasoned travelers it was not really a problem. That accomplished we headed out of the capital on the National Road 3 inland in southwesterly direction towards Monte Café to visit the Museu Do Cafe. The road wound its way up to the historic town of Trinidade and into the heart of the island.
High up in the mountains we turned off the main road towards the village of Monte Café – literally translating to Coffee Mountain – with a population of approx 700. Situated in a mountainous terrain at 670 m elevation very suitable for the cultivation of coffee, it is the site of one of the oldest plantations of São Tomé, established in 1858. There were 2 white-washed stone pillars marking the entrance to the Roça that used to produce most of the island’s coffee before independence. Founded by pioneer planter Manuel da Costa Pedreira from Brazil, Monte Café once had 10 dependencies and employed thousands of workers. The great plantation mansion had been in ruins and had to be demolished in 2017, but the bell that marked the labourers’ work day was still there. It used to ring every morning at 05:30 and then again for the 06:00 line-up.
We first went to see the Directorate-of-Tourism-run Coffee Museum which had been inaugurated in 2013 in the former administrative building. The museum’s English-speaking guide gave us a thorough tour of the facilities and passionately discussed the full process of coffee manufacturing – from harvest to final product. There were photographs depicting the slave trade and also some of the colonial coffee processing machinery was on display.
From the porch there was a quite amazing view over the northern coast towards the International Airport and Ilhéu das Cabras offshore. Huge flowering trees which looked like Delonix Regia – in many tropical parts of the world grown as an ornamental tree and given the name Royal Poinciana, Flamboyant, Phoenix Flower, Flame of the Forest or Flame Tree – were rising above the lush greeen of the surroundings. Those were noted for fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer and I had spotten many of them on my roadtrip through Timore Leste.
Entrance fee for the Coffee Museum was Db 75 … € 3 … per person and it was included in our tour. The guide’s evocative explanation revealed that the inhabitants of São Tomé were originally hesitant to work on the coffee plantation because they were still haunted by traumatic recollections of their previous experiences in sugar fields. But, with persuasion and the promise of better salary and working conditions, they were progressively brought into the process. As a result, as the number of plantation workers increased, so did the amount of coffee produced.
Delving deep into the colonial history, he explained how the local farmers used to bring their produce to the collection point, where it was weighed and they were paid at a fixed rate by the cooperative per kilogram. After that, the seeds were fed into the processing machines to sort them by size and then subjected to multiple rounds of skin removal, later separated by color hues before being roasted. The largest and therefore best beans were – not surprisingly – saved for the Portuguese owners’ consumption only. The entire process of weighing a day’s crop through roasting took about a week. According to a salary register in the museum, over 1300 workers were pressed into action at one time. The register listed their names, which were neatly scribbled in black ink, as well as the amount due and paid to each employee. The average monthly wage was around 8000 escudos – some €9.
At the end of the museum visit, we were treated to a cup of strong, delicious Saotomean Arabica coffee and some very sweet coconut snack. Funnily enough, to make the expresso like coffee, they had to turn on the noisy generator outside first and close the window shutters against the noise. This is Africa, after all. Roça Monte was still producing coffee on a small scale today. Unfortunately, they did not have any for sale at the moment as coffee season was only just approaching and they were out of stock.
According to all accounts, Monte Café was one of the few successful plantations that benefited Sao Tome’s farmers. The plantation was nationalized after São Tomé gained independence in 1975. However, it lost its industrial capacity and the entire complex quickly fell into disrepair. Many other nationalized plantations were in the same boat since the fledgling government lacked the technological and material resources to maintain the pre-independence infrastructure. Serveral dilapidated structures that had formerly held the colonial masters’ dwelling quarters, a hospital and a large coffee processing building were still surviving, though.
Since we wanted to buy some coffee now that we tasted it, we walked across to Restaurante Efraim of the Firma Efraim, a producer and seller of 100% organic Arabica and Robusta coffee here in Monte Café. The lady behind the counter was truly overwhelmed by such a relatively large group of customers. None of us had the local currency Dobra yet, but prices were quoted in Euro anyway. Only, she did not have any change of any kind … I was lucky I had a € 5 note and grabbed the last small package of ground Arrabica for € 3. She gave me change in Dobra. Somehow the others managed either to pitch together or borrow cash from Simpson until we had the chance to change money.
In their garden we spotted several interesting features. There was a huge Golden Orbweb Spider. Found on São Tomé e Príncipe, those spiders were originally described as a new species, but were later recognized as an introduced species more commonly found in North and South America – Trichonephila Clavipes – commonly known as the Golden Silk Spider or Banana Spider which inhabits forests and wooded areas.
And we spotted the first Cocoa Tree of this trip! Theobroma Cacao is a small 6-12 m tall evergreen tree. Its seeds – Cocoa Beans – are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. This one here had a single fruit and looked rather sad. But I was sure I would see more Cocoa Trees around the island. I had visited Cocoa Plantations before – most recently on a trip to Ghana in 2018.
Something I had never seen before was the Averrhoa Bilimbi – commonly known as Bilimbi, Cucumber Tree or Tree Sorrel – a fruit-bearing tree believed to be originally native to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia but common throughout Southeast Asia and the tropics. It bears edible extremely sour fruits – thus Simpson called it a Lemon Tree! We smelled it, it did not smell lemony … It is a close relative of the Carambola Tree, by the way.
Returning to the capital we stopped to have a look at a special monument. The Batepá Massacre occurred on 03.02.1953 in São Tomé when hundreds of native Atlantic Creoles – an array of people from Angola and Central Africa with cultural or ethnic ties to Africa, Europe and sometimes the Caribbean with often Portuguese names and sometimes of mixed race – were massacred by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. 59 years after this massacre the village of Batepá, where the 1953 massacre began, had been honored by the construction of a memorial that immortalized the suffering. The survivors considered that the youth must not forget the sufferings by the inhabitants of Batepá, so that the country could be free and independent.
The memorial built by the district council of Mé-Zochi in the center of Batepá, catches the attention of any visitor – it certainly had caught mine on our way up already. It is the symbol of the resistance of the inhabitants of the village against colonial domination and dignifies the survivors of the massacre taking young people to meet their identity history. Batepá is located in the heart of the Mé-Zochi district. The massacre that began here in 1953 spread to António Soares and other neighboring towns, but also descended to Trindade, the capital of Mé Zochi.
The determination of the inhabitants of Batepá in the protest against colonial domination makes the village a historical reference in the country. It is not in vain that every year in the celebrations of the day of national independence, the Flame of the Fatherland departs from Batepá to reach the square of independence in the capital São Tomé at midnight on the 11.07..
The 1953 massacre awoke the conscience of the natives in search for paths to independence. History indicates that the lands of Mé-Zochi were also where the biggest slave revolt took place under the leadership of Amador Vieira – best known as Rei Amador – who was a slave who avoided slavery and mobilized all the Angolares along with other Africans and led a famous slave rebellion that took place in 1595 with its epicenter in the district of Mé-Zochi.
People believe that Mé-Zochi is the number 1 district in the history of São Tomé and Príncipe – the first district that rose in the struggle for the liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe, for independence and democracy. But the district is also the main source of water that feeds almost the entire country and it is the origin of most of the current inhabitants of the city of São Tomé.
Our next point of interest this first afternoon was the Museu National in the Forte de São Sebastião located on a small headland just off the harbour. On the way we passed a statue of Rei Amador paying tribute to the heroes of freedom – Homenagem Aos Herios da Liberdade. Amador Vieira – also called Rei Amador or Amador dos Angolares – lived from 1550 to 1596 and was an anti-slavery and anti-colonial leader responsible for the biggest revolt against Portuguese rule on the island of São Tomé, before the 20th century process of national independence. He became king of the first independent national entity on the island of São Tomé – the Kingdom of Angolares – which numbered around 5000 men – more than half of the slaves on the island.
Soon the fortress came into view. São Sebastião National Museum is housed in the 16th-century Forte de São Sebastião – the fortress in the city of São Tomé – erected by Portuguese forces in 1575 in the northeastern part of the city centre – at the southeastern end of Ana Chaves Bay – Baía de Ana Chaves – the bay stretching from the Ponta Oque del Rei in the north to Ponta São Sebastião in the south.
We were to visit the museum and were greeted by 3 huge statues to the discoverers of São Tomé. The islands of São Tomé e Príncipe were uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived sometime around 1470. The first Europeans to put ashore were João de Santarém – on the left – and Pêro Escobar – with the Prince Ironheart haircut on the right – and in the middle stood the island’s first administrator (1485-90), nobelman João de Praia. Portuguese navigators explored the islands and decided that they would be good locations for bases to trade with the mainland. These statues were removed from the squares and gardens of São Tomé shortly after independence and placed here in the Museu Nacional. Why the statues of Escobar and Praya had lost their noses … is unknown.
Also in the front court of the fortress was a bust of Rei Amador – Amador Vieira – who became king of the first independent national entity on the island of São Tomé – the Kingdom of Angolares. The Angolars inhabited the south of the island of São Tomé. It is not known for certain how they originally came to dwell on the island – there are at least 3 competing explanations.
The first story on the origin of the Angolars is that they were African slaves taken from the mainland, likely Angola, and survived a shipwreck about a few miles off the south coast of São Tomé Island.
Another version is that the Angolars were African slaves who evaded their owners around 1470, when the Portuguese discovered the islands. They created their own free nation within the islands called Kilombo or Quilombo. The name Kilombo or Quilombo derives from Kimbundu – one of the most spoken languages in Angola – it can mean a settlement kingdom, population and union. Kilombo was an independent nation made by African slaves, who fought against slavery and once they fled, built their independent state. The Kilombos, in general were localized in its regions densely forested, far from the plantations.
A third version is that the Angolars were Africans who immigrated from the mainland to the islands long before the arrivals of the Portuguese.
Whatever their origin, the story of the Angolars and their reign in São Tomé e Príncipe is part of a history of self-determination and independence carried out by Rei Amador.
On 9 July 1595, Rei Amador and his people allied with other enslaved Africans of the plantations, marched into the interior woods and battled against the Portuguese. It is said that day, Rei Amador and his followers raised a flag in front of the settlers and proclaimed Rei Amador as king of São Tomé, making himself Rei Amador, liberator of all the black people. Between 1595 and 1596, the island of São Tomé was ruled by the Angolars, under the command of Rei Amador. On 4 January 1596, he was captured, sent to prison and was later executed by the Portuguese. Still today, he is remembered fondly and considered a national hero of the islands. January 4 was declared a holiday in his honour, first celebrated in 2005. A football club known as UDRA is named after him. And Rei Amador is depicted on the new 200 Dobras note since 2021.
Since 1975 the Museu Nacional has been housed in the striking yellow coloured Fort of São Sebastião occupying the strategic Ponta São Sebastião. The fortress was built in 1566 by the Portuguese in order to protect the port and city of São Tomé against not only pirate attacks, but also frequent French and Dutch attacks on the island. It was the first building with a defensive character erected in São Tomé, being later rebuilt and enlarged. The fortress was restored at the end of the 1950s, because it had been chosen by the Portuguese government as the headquarters of the Provincial Maritime Defense Command in 1960. Nowadays it is in a good state of conservation, reclassified and hosting the National Museum of São Tomé e Príncipe. In the center court was a life-size reproduction of a Leatherback Sea Turtle – Dermochelys Coriacea – displayed.
We got a tour of the museum in Portuguese which was translated by our Simpson. I very soon blended the narrative out and shortly after I snug away and wandered around on my own. I was not a museum person anyway … I rather walked around on my own than listening to endless explanations. Most displays spoke for themselves, in my opinion.
In addition to the colonial fort itself, all aspects of the country’s history and culture were taken into account. There was religious art and numerous colonial-era artifacts, slavery and daily life on the cocoa and coffee plantations, the archipelago’s economic base, was documented as well. The continued presence of the church during the centuries of decline between the sugarcane cycle in the 16th century and the beginning of the coffee/cocoa cycle in the 19th century was well presented.
There was also an impressive collection of dark-wood furniture in Indo-Portuguese style. A huge grand room dinner table with the best porcelain of the plantation owners with a earthenware water dispenser from Germany was set up in another room.
The fort had a quadrangular plan with pentagonal bastions at the vertices, in Vauban style. It had 2 sides facing the sea, another towards the beach and the last one towards the land side, where the Weapons Gate opened. Around its embankment, sheltered by the walls, service buildings rose.
Of course, I walked up to the upper platform of the fort to enjoy the view. The Farol de São Sebastião was established in the fortress in 1866 – it was rebuilt in 1928, restored in 1994 and most recently refurbished in 2020. I climbed the ladder and the view was fantastic. To the south was the coastline with the statues of the discoverers below.
To the West was the Port of São Tomé – built at the end of the 1950s on reclaimed land that extended some 300 m north of Ponta São Sebastião. There is a 200 m quay at its north end with a depth of 3 m alongside. It is the main port of the country for solid goods. The small port of Neves is the main point of entry for liquid fuels. The Ana Chaves Bay is generally shallow, offering anchorage for small vessels in depths of less than 5 m. Larger cargo ships had to stay offshore at anchorage and goods and containers were transferred by smaller vessels.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.
Mark Twain
The motto of the country is living life Leve-Leve which roughly translates to Slowly Slowly and means something like Take it easy, everything will be fine … and is usually the answer to pretty much everything concerning live … It is an expression unique to the islands of São Tomé e Príncipe meaning that one is simultaneously patient, peaceful and carefree. In its essence, Leve-Leve defines the pace and spirit of the land and is at the heart of the tropical islands’ appeal … perhaps it is the only way to live in an isolated place … life in São Tomé e Príncipe always goes a little slower. And even though we had only arrived a few hours ago, I was already feeling this motto … I had to get out of the museum … it was too hot and stuffy and I was in desperate need of a cold drink … any cold drink … I would have done with a cold water … but a beer would have been perfect … I had seen a food truck outside the fort shaded by a huge tree when we arrived … I was sure they would have something. So I weaseled out of the fort and went straight for the roulote outside. And happy I was! They had cold beer … OK … cold Portuguese beer … and it was Db 30 which I luckily had received as change when buying the coffee earlier … Jeez, that went down beautifully.
Once the group came out we continued our tour to the city center. It was only a short hop along the bay shore to Palácio Presidencial – the Presidential Palace – also known as Palácio do Povo – People’s Palace – and the official residence of the President of the Republic of São Tomé e Príncipe. The 19th century Portuguese colonial style structure formerly served as the residence of the Governor of Portuguese São Tomé e Príncipe. The Pink Palace is a large, L-shaped mansion surrounded by a large garden. The rose-pink façade shows simple neoclassical elements. It is surrounded by pink concrete columns and a high iron fence with a closely guarded entrance. Photos were not allowed, but I tried my luck to take an unnoticed snap as we passed by to park near the cathedral.
Of course we had to have a look at Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Graça – Our Lady of Grace Cathedral – the Cathedral of São Tomé – said to be one of sub-Saharan Africa’s oldest cathedrals. Construction of the first church of Our Lady of Grace started at the end of the 15th century under Captain Álvaro de Caminha, the island’s 3rd feudal lord. This church was situated near the present cathedral and became the seat of a diocese in 1534. The building was reconstructed from 1576 onwards. The end of the 16th century also saw the beginning of the legends that have attached themselves to the cathedrale over the years, one of which stating that if the cathedral was ever finished, the island would sink below the sea … In 1814 the roof fell in and was rebuilt at the initiative of the local population. The last modification was made in 1956, when the church was remodeled in an eclectic revival style, with a neo-romanesque main façade.
The spacious interior has a beautiful frieze of simple blue and white tiles from 1970 and more of those Portuguese tiles form a large fresco of the Holy Trinity above the main altar. It is said, that under the altar lay the bones of Ana de Chaves, a local noblewoman who died in 1566, giving her name to the bay just out front.
After all this driving around and sitting in the airplane all morning, we now opted to take a walk through the center. We all needed to change money or find an ATM machine. The streets were lined with old colonial buildings with carved wooden balconies and balustrades in various states of preservation. São Tomé was established around the wide sweep of Ana Chaves Bay in 1493 and became the capital of the island when, according to legend, the Portuguese left their first settlement Anambó, 30 km further north.
We strolled to Praça de Amizade e Solidariedade entre os Provos – the Friendship and Solidarity Square of the People – were most of the moneychangers were hanging around. Immediately we were surrounded by a cloud of those Cambistas … Money changing was tolerated and the rate was better than in the bank. Simpson told us, they were selling the local Dobras for € 1 = Db 25 and then sold the Euros for Db 26 or 27 to foreigners like ship crewmen or such. The official rate was usually slightly below Db 25. I had brought enough Euro cash and changed directly € 100. After all I was going to stay 6 days. The others changed less as they were leaving in 2 days. But I figured I would need much more than that … I was sure I was going to see the Cambistas again.
While most of my fellow travellers changed money which took some time, I had one of the fruit-selling Amigas on the sqaure talk me into buying a bag of Maracuja Passion Fruit for Db 50. Then some of the others were hoping for a working ATM as well. So we wandered a couple of blocks to Praça da Independência – Independence Square – where in 1975 the country’s independence was proclaimed. Every year n July the square is the focus of the Independence Day celebrations when on the eve of 12th July a torch lit parade arrives all the way from Batepá and the president holds a glowing speech at midnight.
We had passed several ATMs on our walk, but were told by all sources that Banco Internacional de São Tomé e Príncipe was the best bet for an international VISA card to work. I did not even try. I had been lucky enough that in Angola my German VISA card had worked beautifully and I had not touched my cash stash so far. That meant I was all fluid here and did not need an ATM. In the end nobody got cash from the ATMs … none worked for international cards …
Returning back towards the Cathedral we took another street and some veered off into Intermar minimarket, but I was more interested in getting a SIM card to be online on the go. Is it not awful how dependent we have become of the internet? I mean … How was it when I was hitchhiking Canada and Alaska back in 1993/94 … I had an AT&T calling card and the deal to call home from a card phone – when I found one – every 2 weeks – give or take a couple of days … And I had to sent a postcard from every stop I made – alternating between my parents and my grandparents as they would relay messages. I only had a rough plan of travel and nobody was overly worried – I think.
Nowadays, if my polarsteps did not synchronize directly – because I was offline – everybody at home got worried. If I did not post photos on facebook before German bedtime … I could be sure the phone would be pinging with messages asking what happened to the photos today … So, since I stayed 6 days on the island I sure could invest in a SIM card. The Tall Guy needed one as well to stay connected with business, but everybody else was not bothered if there was decent WIFI in the hotel.
Luckily, the CST shop was right behind the Cathedral and while the others waited, The Tall Guy and I quickly went in. Unfortunately, it was really busy this time of the afternoon just after 16:00 and we had an appointment with the chocolate guru at 16:30 … So we decided to come back later. Simpson assured us, the shop is open until 19:00 … that should sure work out. I just wanted to get it before the weekend. It was Friday today and if the shop closed for the weekend …
Back to the van it was not far, we just had to cross the garden behind the Cathedral. There I spotted a big Crescentia Cujete – commonly known as the Calabash Tree – an approx 8 to 10 m high tree with a short, straight trunk. The few spreading branches form a wide and open crown. The many-seeded, smooth fruits – branchberries – are roundish to eliptical and can reach a diameter of 20 to over 30 cm – truly basketball-sized fruits. Crescentia Cujete is not a typical fruit tree because the fruits are not edible, but they are still some of the most useful fruits in this world. I find those trees rather cool and will always remember the first time I saw one in Ghana.
We had an appointment for a guided Chocolate Tasting at the Claudio Corallo Chocolate Factory at 16:30. We were good in time and had to wait outside some 15 min for the previous group to finish their visit. It was time to take in the street atmosphere of the seafront Marginal 12 de Julho – the promenade skirting Baía de Ana Chaves. Out in the bay, it was difficult to tell which of the ships were picturesque wrecks left to crumble and which were tug boats out on harbour business. On the street school kids in their smart uniforms were on their way home and traffic was just crazy anyway.
It was not too long until a group of happy tourists with shopping bags full of chocolate came out and we were let into the garden and around the main house into the workshop. It was shoes off before entering, though. Barefeet in a chocolate workshop … well … TIA … This is Africa … I guess. We all had to obey, even though at least one world traveller was worried a spider or ants would crawl into his boots since they had to stay outside on the porch … It was not me! But I did put my shows up on the available shelf …
The workshop – or laboratory as the Chocolate Guru calls it – was relatively small, but had everything an in-depth guided tasting needed. I had never heard of Claudio Corallo Chocolate before, but apparently it is the best chocolate in the world …. Claudio Corallo has almost 50 years of experience in producing coffee and chocolate, working mainly in Africa and for shorter periods also in Bolivia.
In 1974 he moved to Zaïre – now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo – and after several years of working in the coffee trade, he acquired his own plantations in the center of the country. When the political situation in Zaïre turned grimmer and grimmer in the 1990’s, Claudio moved to work in São Tomé und Príncipe. His objective was to use his extensive knowledge of coffee production for the production of cacao. His greatest challenge was the bitterness of the cacao bean. Claudio did not accept this – we learnt he saw it as a defect of the bean. To discover the origins of the bitterness and develop a cacao without this defect, he started a laboratory.
Chocolate is a living matter,
it has its own inner language.
Only when it feels the object of intimate attention
and only then,
does it cease to bewitch the throat
and begin to dialogue with the senses.
Alexander Von Humboldt
Only by experimenting with making chocolate himself he succeeded in really understanding cacao and chocolate and in making a bean that is not bitter by removing the minuscule bitter stem from each cocoa bean by hand. The final result is the chocolate absolutely unique in the world – not only because it is the only real bean-to-bar, but also because it is the purest chocolate available. And we got to taste it from bean to bar.
The slight, grey-haired Italian Claudio is very passionate about his chocolate, about the exact calibration of the ingredients and new flavours. He as passionately condemns industrial chocolate, where beans are roasted to cinders and buyers are brainwashed into believing good chocolate has to be black and bitter. He did talk about the history and working of his plantations and chocolate factory and directly started a very generous tasting. We started with raw and roasted Cocoa Beans which do taste great already.
I have to confess … the first set of pure 100% chocolate was absolutely not for me. He did explain that we had to taste the exact same chocolate 4 times … one piece after another … so the taste buds got used to it and only after the final piece we would be able to indulge in the full blown best taste … I did skip the 3rd piece … and I do admit later on the taste indeed got better … Thereafter we tasted all kinds of different chocolates with all sorts of flavours – Coffee, Orange, Ginger … and all were absolutely delectable.
Chocolate is not something you can take or leave,
something you like only moderately.
You don’t like chocolate.
You don’t even love chocolate.
Chocolate is something you have an affair with.
Geneen Roth
We got to try probably a dozen different chocolates and in each the attention for the product itself – working with the best ingredients and a careful production process, which is done entirely by hand – was evident. They are the only chocolate makers to produce their own beans and the Cacao Trees on their plantation Roça Terreiro Velho on Principe Island are descendants from the first cacao plants to arrive in Africa in 1819. With absolute care the trees are tended in order to produce the best quality beans possible. Every step of the process is scrupulously controlled. This way they transform the cacao beans into the purest form of chocolate which offers the fresh and intense aromas of newly picked cacao, according to him.
I do not remember all the chocolates we did taste, but set in my taste memory are 3 sets – one were the roasted coffee beans – 3 different varieties of Arabica cultivated in their plantation Nova Moca on São Tomé – covered with 55% chocolate. He said that the average weight of the coffee bean in this chocolate is 0.1 g – which equals 1/80 of the coffee necessary to make an espresso of 8 g … They differentiated in nº1 CAT – The moment you bite in the chocolate your mouth and nose are filled with the taste of the coffee, but it disappears quickly. What remains is the taste of the chocolate …When he said that, I thought … yeah, right … but it was absolutely true. Then nº 2 BB – This combination of chocolate and coffee is exactly the opposite of the CAT. You taste the chocolate first and very slowly you discover the delicate taste of the BB which after a minute or so completely overtakes the taste of the chocolate. Absolutely surprising and delicious! Finally nº 3 NM – Probably this is the most complete of the 3. From start to finish the taste and the strength of this coffee is completely in balance with the chocolate … damn right …
My absolutely favourite however was the Chocolate Pimenta & Flor de Sal – Chocolate with Pepper and Seasalt – when we walked in and I noticed it on the shelf I knew I was going to buy some of it in the end. I am a sucker for chocolate with salt, pepper and/or chili … Here it was hand-gathered sea salt crystals – Fleur de Sel – Flower of Salt – distinct tastes of the Cocoa and white Pepper. The pepper is grown on their plantation at Terreiro Velho on Principe along with the Cocoa and a little over 1% is enough to give this fine chocolate its distinctive taste. Damn, this one was outstandingly good! It needed an acquired taste, though.
And then there was what they call UBRIC 1 – a Chocolate 70% with raisins macerated in cacaopulp distillate and most probably the only chocolate in the world flavored with cacaopulp distillate. Not wanting to waste anything of the cocoa fruit, they pressed the pulp into juice and then destill it directly on the plantation and in this distillate – pure as it comes from the still – they macerate the raisins. After about 2 months of maceration, the raisins are drained and gently mixed with 70% chocolate. It is a true delicacy … I loved it … not only because it had alcohol in it … I would have loved to buy the cocoapulp brandy as well. Unfortunately, they did not sell it as it has apparently some 83% alcohol … fruit brandy to soak fruits in … Claudio did have a spray to have a taste … it was really strong … really strong … I only had a bit on my hand and licked some off … The Tall Guy had a burst into his mouth … it must have gone straight into his blood stream it was so strong …
In the end I bought some of the Pepper & Salt Chocolate and the Ubric as well. It was not cheap, but considering it was all made by hand it was not expensive either. And it just tasted divine. Looking at the online shop, it was really cheap … online it is more than double the price. But still worth it! Definitely the best dark chocolate I have ever tasted … for sure the first ever chocolate tasting I did … I think everybody walked after the almost 1.5 hrs event out with some chocolate to take home … hoping we would have mini fridges in the hotel rooms to hide it from the scorching heat of the island.
It was only a few minutes drive to our Hotel Avenida. With delight I noticed that the CST Phone shop was less than a block away. Simpson helped the lot with check-in – which was delightfully less complicated than in Angola – and the Tall Guy and I ran to get a SIM card. We were so lucky that it was not busy shortly before closing and getting a SIM card was absolutely easy. I chose the 6 GB data pack and paid Db 80 for the SIM plus Db 330 for the data … € 16 in total. The lady activated it and set my phone which once more was not recognizing the data link automatically but had to be set manually. I only had a theoretical idea how to do this and always let the phone shop people do it for me. It was no problem and immediately I was online again and it worked perfectly all over the island.
The sun was already setting and there was a beautiful purple sky over the Cathedral as we returned to the hotel. Even though we had only been gone 10 min the check-in of the others was done and dusted … to our surprise. But ours was as quick. In no time I had my room key. The Tall Guy had already warned me that my room and his room were having the AC fixed still. No problem. I was again having a single although I had not paid the single supplement but only the shared room. However, the Dutch Tulip had paid the single and since I was the only other female … I got a single, too! Thank you YPT! Remembering when I book with the German operator I travel with sometimes, I always have to pay the single supplement if there is no other female to share, I was happy. When I found my room, the AC repairman was just finishing and it did blow cool air. It was still hot in the room because obviously the AC had been off. Hopefully it would cool down soon. The room itself was spacious and clean.
In the mean time I quickly went to the bar and got a double G&T plus a local Beer Nacional for a total of DB 275. I needed that now. In the room I put the chocolate, the fruits I had bought earlier and the beer in the mini fridge, quickly changed and then beamed some photos. Before I knew it, it was time to meet for dinner at 19:30. While we waited at the very cooled reception we saw on São Tomé TV that the French President Macron was visiting Angola today – we had seen the French Airforce One this morning at Luanda Airport.
For dinner we drove a few minutes north towards the airport to Restaurante Filomar. There was a long, steep staircase leading up to the open porch. During the day there must be a wonderful view over the bay towards the airport. Now it was pitch black dark … we did see the airport, though, and the TAP plane leaving for Accra and Lisbon on time this evening.
Dinner was included tonight and it was a pre-ordered set menu of Fish and rice. It was actually very good. The restaurant was run by a Cabo Verdean and was a popular choice with expats and tour groups. It was quite busy tonight as well. Beer National was served in the plain, labelless bottle I had already noticed. The Tall Guy sponsored the beer this evening … Thank you very much!
We returned to the hotel around 21:30 and my room was not really cold yet. In the next days figured that it was the flat tin roof that soaked up all the heat and the flimsy AC unit could not fight against it. So it was relatively hot even in the night. Oh well … whatever … I quickly took a shower and posted some photos before I fell asleep early. So many impressions today again … I was exhausted.
04.03.2023
75 km along the East Coast to the end of National Road 2
Nevertheless, I did not sleep well. It was just too hot and stuffy in the basically windowless room and I woke up early. Getting ready for a full day of exploring was a quick affair. By 07:30 I went for breakfast which was surprisingly good. They had good fruits, fresh juice and yoghurt, cold cuts and cheese along with nice bread. Some of the group were here already, but I did not linger long.
Time was flying and I had to find a place to stay for tomorrow. The group would be leaving tomorrow evening and I would be staying another 3 nights. I was really looking forward to exploring on my own again … Initially I had planned to just extend my stay at the Hotel Avenida. However, after the first night I already knew, I had to move. There must be better places. Having done some research, I had come up with 3 options in the center of town and wanted to go and have a look-see. Since our tour would only start at 08:45 this morning, I had some time to spare.
Looking for an affordable room with a view and preferably a balcony, I headed straight for my first choice which was Hotel Central only a couple of blocks away right in the center of town. It looked good from the outside and as I walked in I was pleasantly surprised – it was unpretentious from the outside, but had a beautiful colonial style and amazing art inside.
There was no real reception, but the lady welcoming me was a very friendly person. She did not speak any English … or German … or French … and my Portuguese is literally non-existent … it was absolutely limited to Bom dia, duas cervejas por favor! and Obrigada! … Still we understood each other perfectly fine … thanks to google translate and sign language. I asked for the room on the corner on the top floor with a side view of the ocean. To my absolute delight this room would be available from tomorrow and for € 40 including breakfast I did not have to think about it twice and I did not even bother with looking for another option … I took it. The lady jotted down my request of 3 nights from tomorrow and took a photocopy of my passport. I did not have to pay a deposit and it was no problem to bring my luggage in the morning. As it would be a Sunday I was to inquire at the adjacent coffee shop Pastelaria about the key.
Happy to have this sorted, I sauntered back to Hotel Avenida and met up with the rest of the gang for today’s adventure. Everybody was ready and we left on time at 08:45 … today in a minivan which fit all of us … heading out of town in south-easterly direction on National Road 2. The end of the road was our destination today.
A few kilometers south of the capital we passed the São Tomé transmitter station – a large-scale broadcasting facility of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) to supply large parts of West and Central Africa with the Voice of America program – in a blink. Established in 1942, it is a state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America – in fact, the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster producing digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages. Its targeted and primary audience is non-American. The original transmission system was built by the Portuguese colonialists during the colonial period. After the island state gained independence from the colonial power of Portugal in 1975, the system became increasingly dilapidated due to a lack of maintenance and shortly afterwards it finally ceased broadcasting. The recommissioning was a consequence of the beginning of the civil war in Liberia in 1990 and the destruction of the VOA station there as a result of it. In the search for an alternative location, IBB employees also came to São Tomé and were greeted on the island with the question why their Portuguese broadcasts could no longer be heard. Immediately the old, no longer used transmission station from the colonial era was suggested to them. The conditions on the eastern tip of the island seemed ideal. The old station was reactivated. A system of 18 masts is now used for the shortwave broadcasts.
That was by far not the most compelling we would see along the road today, though, just an interesting tit bit. The road was well maintained in this section, but was not following the coast directly. It was lined with dense jungle, settlements and plantations of various kinds. We rode through Santana with some 10 000 inhabitants and shortly after crossed Rio Abade. The small river arose from spring streams in the central mountain massif of the island on the western slope of the 885 m high Monte de Dentro and ran southeast in deep gorges and finally flows into the Atlantic at Santo António just north of Água Izé. On a Saturday it seemed to be washing day … of course we had to take a photo stop.
It was an amazing sight … the river banks were lined with women washing all kinds of colourful textiles and putting them out to dry in the sun on rocks and bushes, young men were cleaning their bicycles or … in the best case … their motorbike … and used the opportunity to rinse their clothes in preparation for Saturday night as well, children were having the day splashing in the cool mountain stream and were excitedly waving to the tourists …
To be continued …
