São Tomé and Principe, São Tomé island - The last two days - January 2004

No having been able to fly to Principe island, I ended up spending the remaining two days in the capital city, wandering back and forth to PM  and "Lagarto" beaches, with one or two odd things in-between, amongst which I would highlight the book fair, which allowed me to buy a few interesting books (some of which in the French Language) on the islands, as well as meet some interesting people.

Some of the souvenirs I bought have a rather special meaning, as most of them are made from natural things and represent the traditional handicraft.

 

 

Some of one's memories as far as visiting a country may be strongly associated to people we meet and the extent of the knowledge they were able to impart. I personally don't think my trip to São Tomé would have been so interesting, had I not been given the opportunity to stay at Dina's, whose father despite being a silent presence in the house (we shared for the entire week) made it all possible for me walk in and out at any convenient or "inconvenient" time; the young people I met at the Book Fair, whose help in providing me with additional information was precious, as well as all the people I have mentioned before. I feel I will always be indebted to them.

On the last day as I was walking out of PM beach I came across a Santomean student I had taught Aeronautical English to at the Aviation Training school in Lisbon a few years back, who having spotted me stopped his car to say hello and introduce me to their children.

What a surprise it was ... and the last one as well, before flying back home to the cold and a different routine, which certainly didn't contemplate the introduction of the "leve-leve" attitude I felt I had so easily adapted to whilst in São Tomé territory.