Sao Tome

December 18^th, 2024

It looked rather foggy this morning.

However, it did start clearing up,

And by the time the tenders had been launched, the weather was looking good.

Sao Tome was our first tender port. No waiting around for a tender ticket before we could head ashore on this ship!. As soon as the tenders were launched, we were able to go ashore on our tour of Sao Tome.

We had chosen a ship’s tour. Once at the dock we were directed to our bus. No large coach for us today – it was a small minibus. We climbed aboard and settled in. There was minimal leg room and narrow seats. Not the best, but the tour staff had warned us that the busses would not be the best.

Well, this mini bus could seat 6 people comfortably, 8 people at a push, but it was a challenge to get all 10 folks who had booked this tour squeezed inside. One couple decided that this wasn’t going to work, and they exited the bus.

So then there were 8. We managed to all settle in and off we went.

Our first stop was at Pantufo fishing village where we watched a traditional folkloric performance. Our guide explained to me what was going on, but I still found it a challenge to comprehend the theme of the dance.

We then drove through the fishing village

And we passed several rivers in which women were hard at work doing their laundry.

We headed towards the Roca Agua Ize cocoa plantation.

During the colonial era this was a thriving plantation with hospitals and schools, but it is now basically in ruins.

The buildings are falling down; however, the current workers reside there along with chickens and goats.

Although the whole place looked like it was ghost town, it is still functioning on a smaller scale.

First the cocoa is placed in fermentation vats and covered with banana leaves.

It is moved from vat to vat over the next couple of weeks, and when the fermentation process has finished, the drying process begins.

The fermented cocoa beans used to be dried in the large warehouses.

But now they are dried in the sun, with a plastic covering to increase the intensity of the sun and protect them from rain.

When they are dry, they are sorted

And placed in bags and moved to the chocolate factories. Alas, we didn’t get to go to a chocolate factory.

The plantation hospital is still standing – well barely! Our guide took us on a tour. It did feel a bit intrusive as there were clearly people living there in the ruins.

The whole place looked a bit unsafe, but there was a great view, and it was clearly a magnificent building in its prime.

We traveled along the coast to the blow hole known as Boca do Inferno, Hell’s Mouth. Apparently when it is blowing it is spectacular, but all it could manage today was a little spurt of water.

Still the surrounding coastline was very beautiful, and we were given coconuts to drink

And eat. So all in all this turned out to be a very good stop.

We continued along the coast to the Praia das Sete Ondas, the beach of 7 waves.

We could have gone swimming there, and we probably should have. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day in a wet bathing suit, but as it turned out there were a couple of beach bars there where I am sure we would have been able to change if we had bought a few beers. Well never mind, next time.

The beach was beautiful, a true tropical paradise,

and I made friends with a cute cat.

Then we left the coast and drove into the hills for lunch at the Roca Sao Joao restaurant.

We knew it was going to be something special just looking around

And admiring the view.

We started with an interesting combination of grated chocolate, grated ginger and whole peppercorns, washed down with Portuguese red wine. Now I was a bit skeptical about how this would work, especially as I don’t like red wine, but it was totally amazing. Very different flavors. A good start.

Then we all sat down for the meal. It is hard to describe it, all I can say is except for the rice and beans, each of the courses was a unique experience. All of the ingredients were so fresh and put together in interesting combinations. This was certainly one of the most exciting meals I have ever had. What a pleasure!

Before we left the restaurant, all of the ladies were presented with a beautiful flower.

Feeling very full, we squeezed ourselves back in the bus and drove back to town.

We stopped briefly in the downtown area

And watched another folkloric performance.

Time was fleeting, so we urged our guide to get us back to the pier so we could catch one of the last tenders back to the ship.

On our way back to the ship on the tender Brian took a photo of the yellow, 16th-century Forte de São Sebastião, which is now a museum with artefacts and art from colonial era. It had looked like it would be interesting, but we had no time to visit.

We had originally been scheduled to spend a beach day on nearby Bom Bom Island, but that port was cancelled due to “operational reasons”. I had been upset about it, I do love a beach day, but I must say, our day on Sao Tome really exceeded all of my expectations. I was so pleased with the itinerary change.

Back on board I decided to go for a swim. The weather was looking a bit threatening, but the rain held off.

The massage therapy ladies from the spa were doing free mini massages, so I took advantage of that. A massage is such a treat after a busy day sightseeing.

Initially there were a few other people in the pool, but as it got darker, I was left with the pool to myself.

Bliss. This is the best way to swim laps.

During dinner, at 8:00 PM, we crossed the equator. We will cross the equator 4 times on this cruise. Now we are in the Southern Hemisphere for the next few weeks, yay!

There was a comedian tonight who was very funny at times, but he was the sort of comedian who makes fun of people in the audience. I don’t like that. The man he was making fun of was clearly very uncomfortable and I hoped the comedian would stop, but he continued to harass him. He also told some jokes that we could see made others in the audience uncomfortable. I do love funny comedians, but I don’t like it if they are offensive towards audience members. Maybe that’s just me.

It’s clearly possible for a comedian to be edgy and very funny, but not offensive. The comedian who was on the ship earlier in the cruise, Steve Stevens, managed to do this very well. I really liked him.

Hopefully tomorrow’s entertainer will be better.