São Tomé and Príncipe

We woke early to witness the actual crossing of the equator... and unsurprisingly, nothing happened! But we did witness the ship's tenders being unloaded and the first sights of São Tomé and Príncipe.

São Tomé and Príncipe is a small nation composed of two islands - São Tomé and Príncipe - located in the Gulf of Guinea. Both islands are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range, and it is the second-smallest African country (after The Seychelles). São Tomé Island, where we are landing, is the larger of the two at 50 km long and 30 km wide.

This is our only anchor port of the cruise, which means we anchor offshore and are transferred to shore by tender (approximately 60 at a time).

We have an afternoon excursion booked, so we caught an early tender in and walked around town for a while. This time we were dropped in the centre of town (there are no shopping malls in ST), so we had easy access to the local shops and could really experience the beat of the city. The downside is that there were a lot of street children begging for money (although some resident adults admonished them, obviously aware of the reputation this gives the country). But all in all, a fabulous day.

I was feeling peckish mid-morning and noticed the street coconut seller doing a roaring trade, so I changed some money with a money changer and made a purchase. For 10 dobra (70 cents) he lopped the top off and gave me a straw to drink the coconut water. Then you hand it back to the vendor, and he chops it in half and chops a piece of the shell off to use as a scoop to eat the flesh.

Lunch consisted of a couple of bananas as we walked around town, before our afternoon city tour of the fort, a chocolate outlet, the cathedral, local produce market, and a nearby fishing village for a display of local dance.

Early dinner tonight in the Italian restaurant, then a theatre show of Broadway musical songs by the onboard singers... before we lose an hour as we change time zone again.Read more