ATW Day 83 - After Sao Tome

It's day 83 of the ATW and we are cruising in the Gulf of Guinea after our visit to Sao Tome.  Sao Tome and Principe is a very small country consisting of 2 main islands off of the west coast of Africa and it's another former Portuguese colony.  Sailing in we saw many small fishing boats which seems to be a big "industry" there.

It was a tender port and we opted for an afternoon excursion - Highlights of Sao Tome.  After lunch, we took the tender into the port and walked around a bit before our tour.  We walked up to the old fort which is now a museum.  We quickly saw that this was not going to be the more modern city that we had hoped for.

The excursion took us first to the National Museum Caucau.  We had heard that Sao Tome has a reputation for good chocolate so we hoped that there would be some history and chocolate to taste at the museum.  No such luck.  But it was an event space that had some very interesting local art.

The next stop was at the San Tome Cathedral.  The cathedral is next to the presidential palace which we were told that we were forbidden to take pictures of.  When there's a will, there's a way!

The cathedral had some typical Portuguese ceramic art.

You may have noticed the cat in the previous photo.  We saw many stray dogs in Sao Tome but not many cats.  Our guide told us that the reason for this is that the local people eat cats! At one time, people were selling cats as rabbit meat. Now the rabbits have to be sold with their heads intact. I guess that cat was seeking refuge in the cathedral!

We then went to Independence Square where we saw a folkloric dance taking place.  These dances apparently tell a story of history and can go on for hours.

We were then driven through a market area where they were selling a vast amount of used clothing.  Our guide told us that the clothing comes from donations in Europe, I guess like Goodwill in the U.S.  She told us that she sometimes buys things there because some of it is new with the tags still on.

We then were taken to the Pantufo fishing village where we watched another folkloric dance outside of the church.

Our last stop was at a chocolate shop where we had hoped to buy some good local chocolate.  It was a disappointment.  The chocolate was not great and the prices were outrageous.  

So it was another interesting visit to a west African country, our third.  I have to say that the first, Namibia, was the best so far.  An interesting desert and nice, clean cities.  Luanda, Angola and San Tome were a different story with much poverty and a "third world" vibe.  I guess that it's too easy to be judgmental about the way people in these parts of the world live.   Our guide offered an interesting take on the difference between Angola and San Tome.  She said that all of the races get along in San Tome because the Portuguese insisted on mixed marriages.  In contrast, she said that the black people in Angola hate the white people as there was no mixing of the races.

The tender ride back was at sunset with a near full moon.

For our sea day today, they have planned a special dinner.  Various dishes from around the world will be presented in the restaurants on Deck 12 - the buffet restaurant, the grill and the healthy restaurant.  We saw the local grouper that they purchased, although we're a bit disappointed that they were not able to get the huge marlin the chef had told us about.

I'll be sure to take photos to share with you in my next post.

Until then, eat healthy and enjoy your good life!

Linda and Larry

ATW Day 80 - Luanda, Angola

When we docked in Luanda, Angola yesterday morning we were quite impressed with the wildlife that greeted us.

Okay, they were just pigeons.

We took an excursion - Luanda Past & Present.  We were driven along the waterfront, the Marginal, and then taken first to the San Miguel Fort which houses the National Military History Museum.

As we are not real military history buffs, the tour inside was just okay but we did get to see the Big 5!

And another woman carrying goods on her head.

The views from the fort:

Next was the Mausoleum where the first president of Angola rests in peace (no photos are allowed inside the memorial).

We then climbed up to the outdoor viewing area.  You might recognize the trees from Namibia.

The next stop was the Slave Museum which provides the history of the people taken from Angola.

There were many youth there, apparently on a field trip which provided a nice break from the serious stuff.

From there it was a short walk to the Benfica Market.  Eh, just another market at which we bought nothing.

Then it was back to the ship.  For us I have to say that the most interesting part of the excursion was driving through the city and observing life there.  Luanda is a city of 10 million people in which the poverty was obvious.  Our guide told us that the unemployment rate is about 60%.  Would it have been safe going out there alone?  I'll just point out that a police car escorted the tour buses the whole way.  

As we rode through the city, we saw many people seemingly doing nothing, sometimes selling goods on the street, and more women with goods on their heads.

We also saw many areas that looked like favelas, often adjacent to or behind a nice building.

And a good assortment of vehicles.

Interestingly, we observed that outside of many banks there were long lines of people waiting to get in.  Our guide said that the reason for the lines is that the people who work in the banks are just slow, in no hurry to get things done.  What business all of these people, many of whom are unemployed, have inside a bank is a mystery.

On the way back to the ship, we were taken through the better part of town and back along the Marginal.  What a contrast.  And there were traffic jams.  I guess with 10 million people, even if very few own cars, there will be many cars around.

So, in summary, I have to say that our visit to Luanda was interesting and enlightening.  Especially when you consider that Luanda was known as the "Paris of Africa" in the 1970's and 1980's.  That ended after years of civil war.  We're glad that we had the chance to visit Angola but see no need to ever go back.

Today, we are at sea as we sail to Sao Tome and Principe for tomorrow's port of call.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry