With the Explorer in Africa.

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There was a great array of fresh fruit and veggies onlong with spices-

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Inside there was greater variety but boy was it hot-

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and the hard sell was apparent-

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The fish was all dried-

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The meat was outside and most was heavily salted-

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There were some recognisable treats-

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But this obviously tasted good-

The area though was quite dirty.The people in this taxi were probably going to get an earful-

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One of the problems is that many of the simple products are imported.Sao Tome is one of the poorest countries in Africa-

With a wine cask on her head this lady will probably sleep well-

We were then off to a gift store with Sao Tome chocolate.Passed churches on the way-

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I walked up to the old Portugese fort which appears well maintained.They still have the large Portugese statues outside.This in itself is interesting as the Portugese had a terrible reputation here.In the early 1900s Sao Tome was the world's largest producer of Cacao.In 1908 both Britain and Germany both banned the import of Cacao from Sao Tome because of the slave like treatment of the workers.

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An interesting use of old cannon.Perfect frame for the Explorer-

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On the way back to the ship I noticed this-

Interesting because when Sao Tome got it's Independence the President who had been educated in East Germany became yet another Communist dictator.However he stepped down in 1991-there had been a couple of attempted coups.Russia imploded so the new government turned to the West.The soviet radar system was replaced by US equipment etc.In 2009 the old dictator was re elcted President.But now he seems much more comfortable with the West with the Taiwanese putting there money here rather than the mainland Chinese.

But then I was once again impressed with the lovely nature of our Expedition staff.

So in summary Sao Tome feels like the Carribean before tourism.People are lovely and happy.Facilities are obviously a bit basic but for those with a sense of adventure it should be on your radar.Would help if you spoke Portugese.

 

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Today it is Bom Bom island at the northern tip of Principe Island.There were 3 options for the day-relax at the resort,go on a birding trip or walk from the resort to Principe's main town.In the briefing it was described as being a few kilometres,mainly sealed road and a gentle incline.
So I opted for the walk which turned out to be 7 KM,5 of which were unsealed and muddy,with the incline being at least moderate in parts and lasting for 5 of the 7KM.Did I also mention it was very hot with very high humidity?Thank goodness I am a masochis_!

On the day the seas were a little rough so the plan to unload the zodiacs at the jetty was changed to a wet landing on the beach.

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So we got a little wet.On the other side of Bom bom was this beach-

The resort was picturesque and already I was having doubts as to the wisdom of my choice-

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But I made myself a little challenge-to see more birds than the birders-

Seeing the resort up close I seriously considered changing my option-

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And why did they need a cannon at the entrance-

 

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Then my first view of the road.True at this point the incline was slight.However I soon got dropped by the peloton-

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The images of nature gave me comfort-

Another thing we were told was that you would pass through local villages.However the first is about 4 KM from the resort.I have never been good uphill and with my suspect knee I was being passed by everyone.An older Swiss woman passed me and I said Good morning.Her brusque reply was dont talk you need the energy.However my progress was obviously noted and for the first 5 KM to the airport I was accompanied by a local from the resort.
So my occasional pictures along the way-

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Once again the children are just delightful.The 2 young girls were playing outside-one rushed inside and brought out their brothers so they could have their picture taken.They giggle when shown their picture.
Soon after this three young women I think propositioned me.Fortunately I only now know 2 words of the language.I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.My minder laughed his head off.
You reach the airport as the road flattens out and from there it is sealed.The view from there is spectacular-

Though I doubt that this gives passengers a feeling of reassurance-

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And the terminal and runway-

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More views from the airport-

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And an interesting cantina-

And the only person at the terminal was this young fellow-

Just past the old terminal they are slowly building a new terminal.Goodness knows why.I asked several people and the best estimate of the number of flights was 4 per week.
At the terminal my minder changed-he hopped into an SUV back to the resort and I got a fillipino who worked at the resort.He was a man of few words for me but many for the locals who all knew him.
Just past the airport the road started downhill.Now downhill I am much better and even went past a few.The fellow in the green shirt in front of me in this shot was my minder-

Going down hill I was reinvigorated and started noticing things like the fruit on the cacao trees-

A large land snail-

A woman with half a pig on her head-

And then my first glimpse of Principe's main town,San Antonio-

Past the new and old wharves-

 

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And now getting a better look at the town-

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Some of it looked a little down at heel-

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Others showed a little love-

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The view made up for a lot-

And this memorial.The fellow was a famous singer in angola but came from here-

But there were signs it was a fishing town with a drinking problem-

 

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The town was well set out with little squares-

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I was basically exhausted when I reached San antonio so just got another bottle of water which I dispatched quite quickly and then hopped on the minibus which took you back to the airport where you changed to 4WDs to get back to the resort.I was stuck in the luggage compartment of one with Roddy from the Expedition team.I just wanted to get back to the ship and have a nice cold shower.

Meanwhile back at the resort Mrsdrron was taking it easy watching the crew swimming-

And discovering a pleasant little lagoon-

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As well as enjoying the views-

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and finding some unusual life-

Although Mrsdrron wanted to stay on we went back to the Zodiac loading point.A young ray was swimming around in circles there keeping us amused until the zodiac arrived.
So a nice shower,lunch and then I slept for 4 hours.
Next-Cameroon.

 

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After I woke it was time for the recap and briefing.When I had got back to the ship my shoes were covered in mud.I had just taken them off,then showered had lunch and went to sleep.When I came back after the briefing our butler had them clean.I like this sort of service on SS.
We had breakfast in our suite as it was a reasonably early start and we were in the first group off.We were to drive through the town of Kribi to the Lobe river and then be paddled up river to a pygmy(bushmen) village.

We were boarded on to a brand new bus still with the plastic on the seats.We were told not to take photos in Kribi.I asked the local guide why and he said it was a new regulation but hinted if a politician were involved it could be waived.
On the way to the river the road was not in the best condition especially when we came to the numerous bridges.Then this happened-

So it was all out of the bus whilst some improvements were made to the road.So we were a little late to the river.Our canoes were waiting-

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The pots were baited to catch shrimp-we were probably taking the craft away from normal duties-

We were soon on our way and it was very peaceful and a deal cooler on the river-

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The bridge was sprouting a decoration-

The paddle up the river was relaxing-

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We saw many birds,a monkey and kids doing what kids do-

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There were quite a few rocks in one section of the river.We negotiated these successfully-

But then our paddler tried to take a short cut.We got stuck.He hopped out and pulled us out.All I had to do was hold his mobile phone whilst watching a canoe pass us on the deeper side of the river-

After about 30 minutes we arrive at our destination-

The view upriver-

Fortunately there are fellows there to help us out of the canoe-

And I must say here that the Expedition crew go out of there way to organise help.There was a quite frail older woman on the cruise yet she got to do this excursion.one of the locals carried her from the bus to the canoe and another did the same through the jungle.And the path through the jungle was not easy.This is one of the better sections-

Yes that is Mrsdrron in front.I got a foot caught in a vine and got a nasty cut above my ankle.I decided on western first aid rather than pygmy traditional treatments.For most of the journey through the jungle we could here drums.Finally we came out of the jungle and into the village.The dancing was well under way-

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The men were providing the music-

 

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From first impressions it appears the group is doing well-

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However it actually was a little confronting being here.We are in a way spectators in the slow death of an ancient culture.The major problem is land clearing.Even national parks here are being bulldozed(If you wish to read this is one example in Cameroon-
http://www.irinnews.org/report/97051...oil-plantation)
As well the Government is trying to force the pygmys into better organised villages-for their own good as our guide said.

However whether we visit or not it will not make a difference to the eventual outcome.

The living quarters are basic-

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Traditionally the pygmies would move around frequently as they are hunters.Looking at the roof of a hut suggests these have been here a while.We were told a tale that this group sold their nets which are their way of trapping animals-then finished off with poison tipped arrows.Certainly evidence that they now are more gatherers with this lady preparing the palm oil seeds-

Then we were taken to a presentation of their traditional medicine.The healer and his assistant and some of the ingredients-

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And the healer performing the ceremony to assure the potency-

 

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Then we went for another walk through the jungle crossing a little stream several times.We then saw more evidence that the pygmies way of life is changing-slash and burn agriculture-

We then noticed this structure-

That turned out to be the school.The children were not overly happy as it is a saturday and normally they wouldn't be at school-

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Silverseas donated goods to the village and as passengers we had been asked to bring along school necessities such as pencils,exercise books etc.These were then pooled and divided up amongst the schools visited in Africa.
Near the school was a more substantial building I guessed may have been the teachers.A glance in the window suggested I would not be comfortable with the sleeping arrangements-

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It was then a short walk back to the river along a better pathway.We passed another village-

Now the canoes were meant to drop their passengers a little downstream and then come a little way further to pick up the departing people-we had been divided into 4 groups.This canoe though arrived still with all it's passengers.So we had to wait-

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A much easier and faster trip with the current back to the bridge where we noticed a large bird's nest-

At the bridge a sign announcing some works at the nearby Lobe falls-not quite the way we would advertise it-

Then a short bus trip to the beach.We had to walk a couple of hundred metres to a hotel for lunch.There was a group of men playing cards where we got of the bus.They called out to me-"Papa,how you hurt your knee?"I told them an old Futbol injury.So they asked if I played in the Pan African cup.I said no,I played in Australia.They took that to mean I played in the Australia soccer team.I let that one stand.
On the way to the hotel we saw this colourful fellow-

Lunch was at a "resort"hotel.The setting was nice-

and that little speck in the distance is the Explorer-

Lunch was salads,some very tough pork,chicken and fish.I was one of several who had a not so good 24 hours after this meal.At least I had a good selection of drinks-

After lunch it was a walk along the beach to see Lobe Falls-

At the point there was a yacht in an unusual position.It was obvious it wasn't going anywhere-

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Around the point and I got the first sight of the falls.Interesting as they go straight into the Atlantic ocean-

 

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First past the local fishing vessels-

And then into a zodiac for a close up look-

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This shot is due to our zodiac drivers.They get in very close to the falls-

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A last couple of shots of the falls-

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Birds cruised overhead-

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While this fellow was surprisingly unpeturbed by my presence-

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We had a different guide on our bus back to the ship and when I asked again if I could take photos she said I dont see why not.So here are a few-

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That lot were part of a wedding procession.they were supplying the music.just look at those smiles.

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The beach front looked nice.In places there were lots of people out having a saturday picnic.

And the President had a little place in case he wanted a break in Kribi-

 

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Sunday and we awoke just before the sun was to make an appearance.We were off the city of Limbe-

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As it got lighter we could make out some impressive buildings-

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But Mt.Cameroon,an active volcano,dominated-

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So some more pictures offshore from Limbe-

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Also near to where we anchored offshore drilling platforms were anchored ready to be deployed-

 

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But we decided to concentrate on the natural scenery-

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And then this came past our windows so we knew more adventure was at hand-

For half of the passengers the first stop was a former zoo now a primate rescue centre.For one of the Australian guests it had extra meaning-her son worked here for several years when it first became a rescue centre.

Some signs had a little humour-

But this one was serious-

The gorillas have learnt how to lob stones over the fence and reputedly they are pretty accurate.
We were all starting to check out the gorillas-

And they were checking out us-

But this fellow just couldn't be bothered-

But next our plans are thrown into disarray.

 

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Suddenly the emergency alarm went off and we were all told to evacuate the centre.A chimpanzee had escaped from his enclosure.We were told later that he has done this a few times.He has learnt how to trip the electricity supply so that he can climb over the fence.
We all went and sat in the bus outside.After a while it was decided that we would have a change of plans and drive to the site of the last lava flow from Mt.Cameroon.This occurred in 1999.Passed a nice looking restaurant-

When we got to the lava flow people were selling rocks of all sizes,shells,bits of coral,bones from a whale that had washed up on the beach a few years ago-

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And a little fellow was taking an interest in these bottles.We were told it was whale oil from the dead whale-

The stairs up to the lava flow were not in the best condition-

But I made it up-

We passed this little hut where there was a family living-

And a nice view of the volcano-

 

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We were then driven to a resort beach.The life guards chair didn't inspire confidence-

The rules were strict-

A fellow there wanted us to pay to go on the beach.He was out of luck.Certainly it appeared nice-

But you had a nice view of the oil terminal-

Here is the "resort"-

And it's view-

We then got the word the chimp was safely behind bars again so it was back to the wildlife centre.They have a breeding troop of Mandrills as only 3000 still exist in the wild mainly in Cameroon.Hopefully some can be released back to the jungle-

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There are quite a few youngsters-

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Then there are the chimpanzees-

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This couple seem close-

But he got his marching orders as only enough banana for one-

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This fellow appears sad-

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There was also an enclosure with several different monkey species-

You can read about the little one here-
Cameroon – Limbe Wildlife Centre