São Tomé and Principe, São Tomé island - Day 3 - January 2004

I had decided to take a bus and then a boat across to Ilhéu das Rolas, which lies directly on the Equator, but the strong tropical morning showers delayed such an "adventure", as the agency wasn't sure if they would be able to make it across in such weather, though we ended up leaving later as in accordance with the previous plan, when the weather cleared a bit.


The roads that took us up to the quay were tortuous and somewhere dangerous, but we were fortunately in the hands of a local driver who knew how to avoid the narrow turns and the multiple holes on the way.

Most of those going on the bus were heading to the luxurious resort that occupies a huge area of the islet, whilst I seemed to be the only one simply going to  set my foot on the Equator line.

There was not doubt about the luxury of the resort from the little I managed to see from the outside, though one of the ladies showed me into her bedroom, so that I could see its decoration, which together with the resort bar, where we were offered a welcoming drink, were filled with local handicraft.

The young Santomean I had met on the bus and I made our way up to the Equator line under heavy tropical rain, which I had only experienced in Angola. Once we reached it it was like having had the consciousness of having hardly made it, as I would soon have to "climb down" in the heavy muddy trails to catch the last boat leaving the islet, though I still had time to take a few photographs from the magnificent view, which clearly reinforced the idea conveyed in a guide book - despite  the beach resort Rolas islet still had something "wild" and genuine about it.

 

Back in the capital city I still strolled along the bay and on the upper town so as to take the last photos of the day.

 

I went to bed fairly early looking forward to the next day, as I would be driving to another side of the island with a guide/driver my colleague back in Lisbon had advised me to contact.