The legend of the horseman and the blowhole

In the XIX century the Mouth of Hell (Boca do Inferno) was in the property of one of the most notorious characters from the colonial times in Sao Tome and Principe, the Baron of Agua-Ize. This man is responsible for the introduction of the cocoa that latter allowed Sao Tome and Principe to become the largest cocoa producer in the world.
Well, enough history, let’s get to what really matters, the legend … It is believed that the Baron mounted in his horse would occasionally, jump directly into the blowhole and would disappear… would reappear in Lisbon … and return from the hole in the rock in the middle of the waves and mist mounted on his horse. Well I have asked several of this story tellers if anyone had tried to use this magical gate and get a free ticket to Europe, but it looks like no one else has tried it just as yet.

The mouth of hell

I wonder about the origin of the name of this amazing blowhole, Boca do inferno - hell’s mouth. Well all around you will find basalt-octagons reminding huge teeth; with a little of imagination you will see a mouth shaped lave tube; and it does blow like hell.

There are several stories and myths about this place … check out tomorrows post.

Birth of Passion

The end of the trilogy for passion.

Passion flower

Passion is a fair name for this amazing flower; however you may know that the name does not refer to love. Have you seen the movie “Passion of Christ”, well to this flower were attributed symbols related to the crucifixion of Christ. Some of the characteristics of the passion flower and what it represents:

• 3 stigmas – 3 nails


• 5 lower anthers – 5 wounds


• 72 radial filaments (corona) – Crown of Thorns


• 10 petals and sepals – 10 of the apostles (Judas and Peter excluded)

Well I guess that if a 17th century Spanish priests we would see all that too.

A flower for passion

This wonderful plant continues to be one of my favorite hobbies. Even if its name, Passion Flower, does not refer to love (I will post on this tomorrow) it still evokes the blossom of an hard to contain passion.

Canoe skills

Really amazed by the landing skills of this fisherman.

Playing games

This couple of Pintailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) played hide and seek for several minutes showing pleasure on just being with each other. When I got too close the male performed a wonderful flight waiving is long tail in the air.

Orange all the way

In a survey conducted it was found that 50% of this blog voting readers would have orange juice at their breakfast. We do like it orange don’t we. Thanks for voting and let me know if you have some idea for the next poll.

Gigantic acacia

Just this afternoon on my way to visit a project … again a road block. The way through the gigantic Acacia trunk had just been sawed off and we could continue our trip, but what an amazing tree and how sad to see it down.

A dog has to do what a dog has to do

Lizard ears

This wall lizard has incredible hearing and sight, I was able to catch this one on profile and get the detail of the external ear opening. Several lizard species have some sort of third eye they use to regulate how much sun exposure they need … what amazing little bests.

Kalandula

I took this picture in Angola, province of Malange, about 6 years ago. This magical place is called the Waterfalls of Kalandula.

We are family

This family reminds me on how much I miss my own.

Road blockage

One per trip is already pretty unusual, and even if we were able to continue our trip .... two road blocks, come on ...

Butterfly luck

The ants took care of the burial. In a couple of hours there was nothing more than this out of a beautiful butterfly.

One more on the misplaced ship

Requested by one of this blog readers, here goes one more picture on the misplaced ship. This ship stopped by one of the most central avenues in the country, and has been laying there for over one year. Several ships came to die in the cost of Sao Tome and Principe. The captain and mates take the plane and leave the country leaving the boat behind saving on the dismantling of the ship but costing on the pollution (water contamination and visual) it causes to this small state.

The port should be around

Raining in Principe

Last year it rained every single day in October without interruption, ligado (connected) as they say in the island. In my last day in Principe, I had some hours of sunshine, but this may not be the best month to visit this paradise island if you’re looking for some sunny beach days.

Marketing strategy

LIFE COSTS, may not be the best name for a shop, but at least it’s honest. You're warned ... buying here it’s gonna cost ya.

The legend of the underwater woman

There was once a woman that lived in a house by the shore of the Papagaio River, in the mystical Island of Principe. One day surprisingly both woman and house had disappeared. The woman had taken her house and decided to live under the river. From that point on, any children, women or men that step into this single place in the river would disappear into the roof of this woman’s house never to be seen again.
The story tells that recently she moved away from this river, and went to live in a nearby beach, Praia Evora. She has been busy building a village of underwater people there.

The Island where the green takes over

The island where Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was experimentally proved successful has a luxurious vegetation. Santo Antonio, the Island capital has some beautiful buildings and monuments ….

… but look aside for some years and even in the center of the capital, Santo Antonio, nature will take over.

A taste of passion

This was the first passion fruit (called maracujá around here) of this plant and yes it is as big as it looks and had an incredible sweat taste. Well it does have a thick rind, but still ...

Hair art

This shoot has over 3 years, but the expertise put into this work still amazes me and, yes, it looked wonderful on her.