2020-03-01_Wanderlust

138 wanderlust.co.ukMarch 2020

ofthoseworkersstillliveinthe

crumblingbuildingsatÁguaIzé.

Thisplantationisafarcryfrom

visionsofScarlettO’Hara-styleDeep

Southglamour,thoughit’savibrant

communitywithcornershops,bars,

aschoolandchurch.Wetrundled

alongbrokenstoneroadspast

vestigialrailwaytracks–theremains

ofa50kmnetwork–toparkunder

abreadfruittreeoutsideabuilding

thatexudedaruefulairoferoded

grandeur:theplantationhospital,

onceamongthebestinWestAfrica.

Fromthereweroamedthe

residentialdistrict,amonggiggling

children,chickensscratchinginthe

dustandsnoozingdogs.Tired,

paint-peelinghomesstandin

tight-packedrowslikeback-to-backs

inanorthernmilltown,albeitone

steamingin27°Cheat,withcacao

beansandfishdryingonthecobbles.

Continuingdowntothebeachbelow,

westrolledamongdongodugout

canoeshauledoutonthesandafter

pre-dawnfishingmissionsby

Angolares,descendants–according

tolegend–ofAngolanslaveswho

escapeda16th-centuryshipwreck

andfoundedquilombos(Maroon

settlements)inthejunglysouth.

Intothejungle

Continuingsouth,theroadbecame

increasinglywinding,thetrees

denser,themountainsspikieraswe

traversedtherainforestofObô

NationalPark.Avast,phallicoutcrop

loomedfromthemistknownlocally

asleitedevoador(flyingfishmilk);the

386m-tallphonolitictowerofPico

CãoGrande,themostprominentof

thevolcanicpinnaclesthatscrape

theskyinthesouthofbothislands.

Tsetsefliesdive-bombedme

coffeeandthencacaowere

introducedacoupleofcenturieslater.”

Afterslaverywasabolishedin1869,

plantationownersrecruitedcontract

workers(serviçais)–essentiallyslaves

inallbutname–fromAngola,

Mozambiqueand,particularly,Cape

Verde;manywerestrandedhereafter

promisedticketshomefailedto

materialise.Theircommunitieslined

ourrouteintotheruralsouth.

Yellowminibusesbuzzedpastusas

wedrovebeneathblazingflametrees,

dodgingyounggirlsluggingbottlesof

palmwineandboysridinghomemade

woodenscooters.Blackkiteswheeled

abovetheshoreline,scoutingforfish

andrats,whilepigssnu¦edfree-range

throughtheroadsidescrub.

JustbeyondtheAbadeRiver,where

womenspreadakaleidoscopic

patchworkofdryinglaundryonthe

rocks,wearrivedatRoçaÁguaIzé.

Oneoftheislands’largestcacao

plantations(roças),spanningaround

2,600 sq km, by the early 20th century

it was worked by some 2,500 serviçais

overseen by a handful of Europeans.

At its peak, the country was the

world’s largest exporter of cacao,

but after independence from the

Portuguese in 1975, the industry

withered. Perhaps 1,000 descendants

Sights & sounds
(clockwise from right)
Pico Cão Grande is the
most prominent of the
volcanic peaks on the
islands; a local boy; cocoa
drying; a sign in the
national park; a beach near
Água Izé on São Tomé;
a band member warms up;
ish is left in the sun to dry;
a Moros horn blower, ruins
at Riberia Izé; (below) the
old hospital at Água Izé

‘AtObôNationalPark, aphallic

outcrop loomed out from the mist

known locally as fl ying fi sh milk’

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