São Tomé and Príncipe > Flight to Príncipe

I slept wonderfully last night. In fact, I wake up before my 6:00 a.m. alarm, thanks to the time difference. After getting up, I pack my luggage once again. I carefully place the heavier items, such as my novel, into my backpack. Today we are flying to the island of Príncipe, where the baggage allowance is limited to fifteen kilograms. Yesterday at Schiphol, my suitcase weighed exactly 15.0 kilograms, so I have to be careful not to add anything extra to my checked luggage. At breakfast, I meet all my fellow travellers again. Everyone looks much more rested. The breakfast consists of slices of baguette, pieces of omelette, cheese, and cold cuts—a perfectly good start to the day. In daylight, the route to the airport seems even shorter than it did yesterday evening. We could easily have walked; I estimate the distance to be only a few hundred metres. At check-in, every suitcase is weighed individually. The scale does not look particularly accurate, but it shows my travel bag at 14.5 kilograms, comfortably within the limit. Boarding appears to begin at 8:45 a.m.—or so we think. It soon becomes clear that the announcement is for another flight. Most of the passengers in the departure lounge board that aircraft, leaving only our group and four other travellers behind.

São Tomé and Príncipe - The small aircraft for the flight to Principe

Once the first plane has departed, we are finally invited to board. A small nineteen-seat turboprop aircraft is waiting for us on the apron. As I climb aboard, the pilot greets me with a friendly wave through the open cockpit door. A few minutes later, we take off for the forty-minute flight to Príncipe. Arrival is just as informal as our departure. Inside the small terminal, everyone has to pay the tourist tax. Yesterday, we paid €25 on São Tomé, but here it is "only" €10. It seems rather odd to pay the tax separately on each island instead of once for the entire country. Outside the terminal, three four-wheel-drive vehicles are waiting. Some of us ride in the back of a pickup truck as we head towards our hotel in Santo António. Martin, our guide and driver, carefully avoids the countless potholes along the road. Our rooms are already available when we arrive, even though it is only 10:30 a.m. Around lunchtime, we drive the short distance—less than a kilometre—to the town centre. It is Sunday, and many people are neatly dressed, either on their way to church or returning from the service. We stop at a supermarket to buy bottled water, but they have already sold out. We decide to try our luck elsewhere later, although the selection in the local shops is generally quite limited. First, we head to a restaurant overlooking the bay of Santo António. Dark clouds hang above the sea and the surrounding mountains. In a tropical climate, heavy rain can arrive almost any day, but for now it remains dry.

São Tomé and Príncipe - The Igreja do Rosario church in Santo Antonio

I order a chicken sandwich and an iced tea on the terrace. There is no cola available. Service is slow, something we will become increasingly familiar with during this trip. After lunch, several fellow travellers and I stroll through Santo António. Boys are playing football in the streets, while young girls shyly wave at us. Everyone we meet is cheerful and welcoming. Back at the hotel, my room feels unbearably hot. The air conditioning does not seem to be working, making it warmer inside than outside. Using my phone, I translate a request into Portuguese asking whether the air conditioner can be repaired. The receptionist comes with me to the room, picks up the remote control, and first tries replacing the batteries. She looks disappointed when that does not solve the problem and says she will call a technician. Later that afternoon, we join Martin for an orientation walk around Santo António. As we leave, the repairman has just arrived to work on the air conditioning, so we leave the room open. The hotel grounds are fully enclosed, so this feels safe enough. Santo António is a small town. Martin points out the church, the police station, the school, and the locations of the local restaurants. In reality, there are only four restaurants he considers reliable. Two are closed because it is Sunday, while another has run out of supplies.

São Tomé and Príncipe - Having dinner at Restaurant Divino in Santo Antonio

As a result, we return to Divino, the same restaurant where we had lunch. This time, I order a Mediterranean pizza. At 8:00 p.m., we walk a short distance towards our hotel to a terrace with a large outdoor television screen. The World Cup match between the Netherlands and Japan has just kicked off. Strangely enough, no drinks are available. The terrace appears to belong to a supermarket, which is closed on Sundays. So, without a beer, we watch the Dutch team take the lead twice, only to surrender the advantage on both occasions. The final score of 2–2 is rather disappointing. The local people around us seem completely unconcerned by the result. Most of them are far more interested in their phones than in the football match. To them, it hardly matters who wins.