After we moved hotels, we went scuba diving. Or rather, we tried to go scuba diving. We were out on the boat, checking out diving location with the dive master. He cautioned us that it would be a waste of time and money to get in the water, so we took his word and headed back in. The water was just too murky. He did take us to a place where we went snorkeling. It was nice to get in the water, but he was right. The visibility was just awful. It was still a nice little boat trip, because we got to see a lot of the island.
On the way out to the dive site.
After we got back in to town, we spent the afternoon just wandering around the city. It was a wonderful afternoon, and we found a really delicious gelato place (right next to the market, for those planning on visiting).
I really like this picture
The next day, we rented a car and drove down the coast. We had planned on catching the bus down to a ferry to get to a hotel on a small island just off the southern coast, but we didn’t register in time. In hind sight, driving along the coast was much more pleasant. It gave us the freedom to stop and take pictures, and explore a little more.
Lauren walks along a Portuguese colonial road
Harley Davidson has nothing on these wooden bikes
There are many seaside villages along the coast. This ones at the most southern tip of Sao Tome.
Fishing nets out to dry
Driving to the southern tip of the island and back to Sao Tome took pretty all day. We got back with enough time to catch the sunset.
Sunset in Sao Tome city
We decided to keep the car for the next morning, and drive north-wards and see how far we could get before having to turn around to catch our flight back to Malabo. The day before it was all rainforest in very rugged terrain, so it was striking to see rolling hills that appeared pretty dry. Moreover, in the south, the road kept along the coast and the people seemed to be mostly fisherman. The road in the north ventured inland and there seemed to be more agricultural. Anyways, we were able to make it back to the place where we tried to go scuba diving, and could tell that the water was much clearer. So we stopped to do some snorkeling and take a few pictures. After that we turned around for the airport.
There was some nice coral, but also tiny jelly fish that were stinging us. They were not terribly harmful, but just enough to make you feel uncomfortable; like a pin prick.
The Blue Lagoon, apparently the best diving on the island (or should I say, off the island?)
Dos O'Dos 