São Tomé Island & Ilhéu das Rolas

São Tomé, July 2025

Here I am again, always trying to keep a balance between airplanes and places and also between the present and past trips/layovers since I resumed posting regularly on this blog. This was my third time in São Tomé, this time a little bit longer layover which allowed me to explore more of the island.

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Arrival at
Aeroporto Nuno Xavier

After a night flight direct from Lisbon to São Tomé, we arrived early in the morning. Aircraft flown was the A321LR named "Zeca Afonso". Parked nearby was the Boeing 737 MAX, tail number ET-BBB, of ASKY Airlines...

...and a view from my balcony:

This first day, I just slept a few hours in the morning, went to the hotel pool and had dinner at "Dona Tété" restaurant where we could savour an assortment of fresh fish with an amazing seasoning by Dona Tété herself. She doesn't have a website but you can find her in Tripadvisor.

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Foz do Rio Abade

The second day we went to explore the island towards south. During our three-day layover we were accompanied by a young guide, Anderson Martins, who was an invaluable help during our trip. You can reach him via his Instagram account: Anderson Tours.

Our first stop was at Foz do Rio Abade (river mouth) where we witnessed the magic of lavandaria artesanal (hand washing laundry).

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Miradouro do
Pico Cão Grande

Second stop to check the views of Pico Cão Grande mountain at Pico Cão Grande View Point. Pico Cão Grande is a volcanic plug (or neck), agulha vulcânica in Portuguese. I tried to do a little research on how these structures are formed and it seems they are hardened magma inside a volcano vent which is more resistant to erosion and collapse than the volcanic cone itself. In this case the cone disappeared over time and only what was inside it prevailed, forming this extraordinary vertical and almost perfect 90º structure. It has a height of 370 meters and it stands 663 meters above sea level.

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Ilhéu das Rolas

Believe me, the road to the south is a really rough and sinuous one. It took more than two hours to reach Porto Alegre where we took a small boat to Ilhéu das Rolas. I was lucky to spot two well sized turtles swimming side by side but I didn't take any photo, just appreciated that moment with my eyes only. At Ilhéu das Rolas we had lunch - another meal of fresh fish.

After lunch we climbed to the top of this small island to see Marco do Equador a monument/landmark marking the location of the equator line. It's a pity that this monument seems to be abandoned to the effects of being exposed to the elements and clearly needs some restoration works.

The views of São Tomé island are amazing.

The line of the equator, drawn on the map made of small tiles:

We also went to check on Praia Bateria, a beautiful small beach in Ilhéu das Rolas.

Going back to the hotel, we had dinner at Papa-Figo restaurant which is already well known for me. I opted for stone bass rice. Also we went to "Pico Mocambo" bar - in the city of São Tomé - and tasted the famous "Gravaninha" cocktail.

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Lagoa Azul

On the third day we went northbound. First stop was Lagoa Azul beach which also features a small lighthouse. We also found some baobab trees, the type of tree that is mentioned on Saint-Exupéry's "Le Petit Prince" masterpiece.

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Túnel de

Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina's tunnel is also a very famous landmark in São Tomé. The rocks above it seem to reveal the layers of different eruptions over time.

Motorcycles are the preferred way of the locals to move around the island:

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Padrão dos Descobrimentos

This monument to the discoveries in Monforte marks the exact place where the Portuguese navigators set foot on the island for the first time.

After this last spot we went to the hotel for a much needed rest before another night flight, this time with a stop in Accra. One last photo before leaving the hotel: