São Tomé and Príncipe

Sao Tome and Principe is a new country for us so we took an excursion. It's the second smallest country in Africa and consists of two islands, São Tomé and Príncipe, and a number of smaller islands.

From the late 1400s, Portugal began settling convicts on Sao Tome and establishing sugar and cocoa plantations with the help of slaves from the mainland. Hence, the language spoken here is Portuguese. São Tomé doesn’t really have a lot of tourists yet; only three or four small cruise ships visit each year. That said, our guide was terrific.

Our tour took us to a fort that is now a museum, a village, a church (of course), Independence Square and the market. Following the tour, Brad and I stayed in town and explored a bit but it was too hot for us - 29 and very humid. We’re almost at the equator.

In fact, we crossed the equator in the afternoon and the traditional ceremony took place on the pool deck. Brad and I have crossed the equator a number of times so we’re “shellbacks.” You can read more about it here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/behind-th…

We’ll now be at sea for three days.Read more