Principe, for when one of the world's least visited and most difficult to reach islands wasn't quite enough off a challenge for you!
Reaching Sao Tome is limited enough with TAP Portugal being the only major long distance option. To reach Principe from here though you only have two options a
very small and limited luggage flight or the weekly ferry from Sao Tome mostly reserved for food, fuel and vehicle transit. But boy does it make for a journey.
With accommodation options largely limited to repurposed slave owner plantations and almost no road infrastructure getting around is mainly in the back of a
pickup truck or by quad bike. Another point we found funny was that due to the small size of Sao Tome airport that in order for them to deal with COVID-19
formalities they had to build a new part to the terminal.
With Principe being an African coast island only having 230,000 people living there most of the island is untouched with dense forest, gorgeous beaches, plenty
of hiking opportunities and history to explore. With a place so remote and such limited visitor numbers you do have to be prepared though for slower service
and different interpretations of luxury. With that being said the Belo Monte Hotel where we stayed would drive lunch down to the beach front in a 4x4 for you
and offer free lifts back up when needed, there was air conditioning and dinner albeit it at set times was of moderately good quality.
From the moment we were collected at the airport in an open top 4x4 we realised we were in for an experience. Winding through the hills,
cutting through the forest, precariously avoiding mud-slips and steep ravine drops we drove for 40 minutes on mud tracks till seemingly out of nowhere the yellow
castle like frontier of our hotel plantation appeared. The hotel almost seemed like an oasis in the middle of the wilderness with a pool, multiple buildings,
air-conditioning, outdoor seating and what must certainly be one of the world's best beaches a 15 minute walk downhill.
The beach itself had been well made and kept a rustic feel while still having sun beds and shelters made out of rustic local materials. The inclusion of a somewhat
limited beach bar irregularly staffed also helped with the experience. It was also possible to walk to a couple of neighbouring coves from here. Our only downside
to our trip to Principe was the limited amount of time we'd have to spend on the beach here as we'd wanted to experience as much of the island as we could.
For our first activity in Principe we took a 4x4 drive to the entrance point of the Obo National Park
from here we'd hike for a couple of hours to the Oquê Pipi waterfall. We are relatively fit and able but the heat along with
the jungle humidity made this a tough hike and it was mostly up hill. By the time we reached the waterfall we were desperately in need
of a swim to cool off. Thankfully the waterfall relieved all or our clamminess and where else in the world would you have such
a large and accessible waterfall to yourselves to bath as you please. The only sounds here where those of the water cascading down
the rocks and the birds, jungle fauna and wildlife.
Unfortunately after enjoying the falls we had to hike back to the 4x4, while it may have been downhill this didn't stop us getting
hot in the midday heat deep in the jungle. This is however Africa though and the open top 4x4 journey back to the hotel allowed us
to air out again.
For videos of the waterfall, see below:
This activity is not for the faint of heart. Principe island is flooded with crabs during the night, especially in the lower coastal areas.
As a result the drive down in 4x4's to see the turtles was accompanied by the sound of crabs cracking and exploding under the weight of the vehicles. Perhaps
thankfully the dogs around here were having an easy meal from the injured crabs. Either way it was a strange and surreal experience especially seeing dogs trying
to eat crabs as they snap at their faces.
From where the 4x4's stopped we had to walk along the beaches and this meant dodging waves and waves of crabs darting up the beach for shelter for the night from the
sea. Once we finally arrived at the Turtle sanctuary we were given education from the staff here who document and survey the turtles, movements and birthrates. Due to
the sensitive nature of the turtles you should only every use a low red light to look near them to avoid disturbing them. While we'd seen Tortoises at sanctuaries
previously and swam with turtles a few times this was another unique experience to see them up close.
Perhaps our favourite activity on Principe was saved for last. It would also be one of our most tiring
and intense experiences. These are not your usual quad bikes there are much more work horses and tough to both ride & steer.
Nevertheless I would thoroughly recommend doing them as you really get to experience the island in a more connected way stopping
at lots of the main sights on the island. We ended up being on the quad bikes for around 4 to 5 hours exploring the island.
During out time out on the quad bikes we visited Roca Sundy which was previously a cocoa plantation learning about the history
of the island. Roca Sundy was also the place that Einstein's theory of relatively was first proven in 1919 by British astronomer
Arthur Eddington. From here we headed onto to the Terreiro Velho Chocolate factory where they still make local chocolate and we
could purchase some supporting the local communities post plantation ownership. We also visited the town of Santo Antonio,
a view point, traversed jungle mud tracks and the abandoned building of Roça Porto Real which provided an eerie walk through for us.
While at Roça Porto Real we were joined by a group of local children who spoke with us and walked through the ruins with us.
When we left they proceeded to run with us until we got up too much pace. This was risky and a bit hectic but a memorable experience
we'll not soon forget.
By the time we made it back to hotel we were in need of a good beach break to ease our muscles off before our flight back to Sao Tome
the next day. Riding the quad's all day had given us a sore ass, legs from the side of the motor and hands from the feedback through
the steering and holding a thumb driven throttle. But it had all been so much worth it and this had been a fitting end to the magical
Principe.
For videos of the quad bike tour, see below:
Sao Tome like the busy cousin to Principe. If Principe had been chilled out Sao Tome was a much closer return to African life.
When booking this trip the party who had suggested we visit here had suggested due to us only having one week that we should focus our time solely on
Sao Tome. If we had down this I think we might have been severly dissappointed with the costs & difficulty involved with getting here. While Sao Tome
also has a lot to offer, booking activites and getting around a much larger island can be very difficult. Even getting transport to and from the airport
can be a challenge. Hotel options are limited here and while we may have chosen one of the furthest hotels from the airport this was mainly because we
had wanted some function of beach life.
Food here however was buffet, limited and of edidble quality. Lots of the items were repeated and the accommodation was fan only and given the heat and
humidity this made keeping cool tough. Basic beach shacks would be the simplest way to describe it. Us having arrived late at night did not help either
with there being some confusion as to where our rooms were. Due to a supposedly recent storm the Wi-Fi was also not working here for most of our stay
which also did not help with us planning and doing things while we were here.
Despite everything here though we did manage to have a good day or two walking the surrounding beaches, hiking through jungle, visiting mangrove forests,
turtle nests and enjoying interacting with locals who assisted with fetching coconuts and beers we enjoyed on rustic wooden stools & tables. The beach in
front of the hotel was also an awesome place to cool off in the calm cove waters. Finally as we left the hotel on route to the airport we did also finally
have an island tour taking in the major sights on the way back up to the airport. This included blow holes, the tallest peak on the island, local waterfalls
and beaches.
While the beaches on Sao Tome weren't quite as jaw-dropping as those in Principe they were still rustic and finding each of them was
fun along the jungle trails. We managed to drop into some stunning locations and coves and even managed to find some of our best souveiners of recent which
had been hand crafted and painted by a local book & arts store.
During our time here we also befriended a local dog who joined our long hike back along the cliff edge with us to our hotel. In fact were it not for the difficulty
getting service at our hotel or the limited food and lack of any real tour options we would have had just a good time here as we had in Principe. Thankfully for
us we always carry a copy of the card game BackPacker to keep things interesting for long nights without TV or Wi-Fi.
As was becoming the standard for Sao Tome our transport to the airport had not arrived at the time we'd booked despite us checking the day before hand. After it not arriving for some time a very old Toyota Land Cruiser arrived with a driver who had seemingly just been called back off a date whom he dropped off at the hotel. While dilapidated we knew if any car this old could actually make it to the airport it'd be a Land Cruiser. With all the hills on the route to the airport the old car struggled up them with wind down windows and such a large frame though it was a semi comfortable journey despite the obvious lack of air conditioning in a car this old. Having said all this though our driver was great, we made it through all the island sights we had hoped too and still managed to have diner near the airport at a nice restaurant where we freshened up a bit and got changed before heading to the small airport for our long distance flight home via Portugal leaving Sao Tome on a positive vibe.
While Sao Tome hadn't quite lived up to the high standard set by Principe it had still turned out to be the trip we needed to ease our worries and forget about a bad start we'd had to the year. We also knew that this might be the last holiday we'd have for a while and the technological disconnect might have been a good thing for us all. Would I recommend coming here? Definitely, although I would suggest you spend most your time on Principe and perhaps book a tour to explore Sao Tome's numerous locations moving around a bit more to different hotels on different sides of the island to ease the long journey times.
