The tiny plane that left Libreville 40 minutes ago has just landed on a thin grey strip surrounded by a lush forest and a few villages. The other passengers are heading further to the sister island of Sao Tomé. I am the only one getting off here in Principe, happily walking towards the Playmobil-like yellow airport building. Behind his tired wooden desk, Joao from the immigration service is surprised to see me. He was not expecting any foreign visitor today. He kindly asks me for a bit of patience as he takes my passport and rides home on his motorbike to fetch the immigration entry stamp that he left there somewhere in the kitchen. 15 minutes on the island, and I am feeling good.
On Principe, there are 11,000 inhabitants, around 40 tourists daily, not more than 40 cars, and the longest stretch of road is 16 km. The wild, difficult to access Southern half of the island is classified as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. For five days in this little corner of the world, I’ll watch it spinning, gently out of time.
Though both islands form a country and share the same motto “Leve, leve” (take it easy, easy), the vibe on Principe feels surprisingly different than on Sao Tomé. My guide tells me that the people of Principe are hard-working and proud, and tend to see the people of Sao Tomé as party people who do not make the most out of the beautiful land they live on. Indeed, as I roam around the island on motorbike taxis or by foot in the sleepy town of Santo Antonio, I see people at work, clean streets and roads (Principe has recently passed a law banning plastic bags), wooden houses and exotic fruit gardens that are well taken care of. There is no apparent misery or sadness here, no rampant alcoholism. It all seems to modestly work in a certain harmony.
Hikes in the forest, hearing and trying to spot kingfishers, grey Gabonese (!) parrots – the talkative ones with their spectacular red tail – and quite a few endemic birds. Boat rides, hopping from on spectacular virgin beach to the other. Roça visits, remains from colonial times when local cocoa and coffee were exported all around the world, some of which a couple of millionaires from abroad are trying to revive today. Lazy fish lunches in tiny canteens in Santo Antonio, gourmet dinners in restaurants between the walls of restored colonial mansions.
And I was lucky enough to be around for the Carnaval celebrations, which made for a fun and colorful afternoon as I got caught in the swirl.
Principe was so good to me! I am sort of lost for more words.
T-T
Tanad stories from Gabon 