A visit to the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

An ex Portugese colony it was a world leader in the Cacau trade for hundreds of years. It still dominates the island economy. However 7 years ago an effort was made to increase tourism. Flights are only from Angola, Ghana (through from Lisbon) and Equatorial Guinea.

It became independent in 1975 along with the other ex Portugese colonies but without the bloodshed.

I call it the Laos of Africa in the sense it is so chilled out.

It used to supply Cadbury until early 1900s when Cadbury, a quaker and anti slavery man, sent an investigator to see if the Portuguese were still using slavery. Seems they were but with various tricks.

I found a cool abandoned nightclub by the airport – it was made from planes… luckily the owner just happened to turn up and I got the story – the planes were ex Canadian Arctic Tourist planes that somehow ended up being used in the Biafra war (a separatist war in eastern Nigeria in the 1960s which briefly created a new state). The planes were abandoned in the Sao Tome Jungle and found by two brothers. They converted the planes into a nightclub and wedding venue which was shut down by regulation. If anyone knows historian on Biafra and can explain how these planes got here please let me know.

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