Today was an unexpected adventure in São Tomé, but with all things travel, you must go with the flow, and Mother Nature always has the upper hand.
Upon arriving in São Tomé, our beautiful luxury hotel, the Regent Seven Seas Splendor, was anchored about 30 minutes from the port, so the tenders busily transported everyone across to land. During our tender trip, the sun was shining, and as we approached the shore, the skies had turned a moody grey and opened up!
Fortunately, we are all waterproof and enjoyed our second shower of the day, which resulted in new hairstyles, too! But why miss an opportunity to explore a new destination?
Our African Art & Lunch walking tour around town was to be reshaped, and buses were soon arranged to deliver us to the city hotspots!
Our first stop was the São Sebastião Museum, a historical fort built in 1575 that first housed the colonial maritime defence command.
The fort was primarily open air, but there were a few rooms throughout the house to tour and provide some reprieve from the torrential downpour; we quickly captured the artefacts and intriguing sacred catholic art statues and voodoo practices.
We then skipped on the rooftop tour and were back on the bus; unbeknownst to us, we had joined another tour group, but no dramas as we were all heading to the local art gallery Casa das Artes Criação Ambiente e Utopias for lunch.
The art gallery in this small town was incredible. The pieces were mesmerising and full of tales. We loved perusing the art and then enjoyed a local lunch accompanied by a local musician. We were super excited to try all the banana delights they had on offer, too!
Once everyone's bellies were full, we all opted to walk back to the ship to glimpse more of São Tomé. However, the roads had other plans for us after the day's rainfall. They were impossible to cross by foot as they were all flooded, so we were all picked up by buses and deposited back at the port.
Our tenders were waiting to ferry us back home. Kudos to the pilots; the waters were definitely challenging. Despite the rollercoaster-like journey, we all stumbled aboard the ship to settle our bellies and felt grateful for their expertise and the stable ground again.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an African island nation near the equator part of a volcanic chain known for its striking rock and coral formations, lush rainforests, and pristine beaches. Our visit took us to São Tomé, the larger island, home to the capital and a population of just over 200,000. Notably, São Tomé and Príncipe is Africa's second-smallest and second-least populous sovereign states after Seychelles.
It was a short and sweet visit to São Tomé, our 88th country, but one that remains with us due to the fun and unexpected adventure. Hopefully, next time, we will explore further afield, visit the magical beaches and lagoons, and understand more about this part of the world.
Going with the flow… and new hairstyles. 👍