When there is no hair salon...

It's two and a half months since we arrived on Principe and I have been needing a haircut for a while now. A month ago, out of desperation, I attempted to cut my own hair but found the experience very tricky - anyone who has attempted the same will empathize! I managed my fringe and one underneath layer at the very back of my hair, but cutting the back was near impossible and I was scared off. Since then I have worn my hat a lot - thank goodness for the sunny weather - and my head band, but with renewed motivation- or desperation- yesterday I decided to google 'cutting your own hair' and surprisingly found quite a bit of information on the subject. I found one very helpful link about cutting curly hair into a bob style, which is sort of how my hair was when I arrived, http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2009/09/easy-way-to-cut-your-own-hair-in-a-curly-bob/ The description of 'self-cutting your hair' inspired me to try my scissors out again. Not much works quickly and easily on this island but I can say that this experiment certainly did! I managed to complete the task before my 22 month old fully woke up from his nap and he'd already started to mumble as I was beginning. It was very easy to cut my own hair and I am still so surprised it worked out! The long and the short of it is - pun intended - that you wet your hair, brush it carefully into a low pony tail, pull the elastic band down almost to the end of the pony and then blunt cut the hair off. Then you brush all your hair up into a pony at the top of your head - the article describes the position of the pony as if you were being hung from your pony in the circus - pull the elastic nearly to the end and then blunt cut the hair off again. This second pony cut gives you your layers so you can decide how much you want to cut off. This is a very brief explanation and if you are thinking about doing this yourself, have a look at the blog I mentioned earlier. It really was that easy and I am very satisfied that it will get me through to when I can access the next hair salon. All the articles I read said be very sure to use proper hair cutting scissors, but on this island there is zero hope of getting those. I had a sharp pair of fabric scissors which I had brought with me and they seemed to work fine. My mom is a hair stylist so I'm interested to hear what she says about it all...anyway this is the victory I needed this week as the order of groceries I am waiting for has been delayed by the boat blowing up!

A novice's birding on Principe

A map of the location of the island of Principe - Wikipedia.

Since moving to Principe I've taken up an interest in birding. The bird life is abundant and while staying at the Bom Bom Island Resort the beach is a stone's throw away from my door, as is the jungle. This provides so many opportunities for bird spotting. Yesterday my husband printed a copy of a checklist of the birds of Principe and I've just started to fill it out, including dates and the location of my observations. In the eight weeks we've been here, my most special observation has been a Principe Kingfisher catching a Ghost Crab late one afternoon, which he then beat against a beach recliner arm to kill it.The Principe Kingfisher is only around 10 cm in size and much smaller than the other resident Kingfisher, the Blue-breasted Kingfisher, which I haven't yet managed to spot. 

Principe Kingfisher

Ghost crab on Bom Bom Island Resort beach

Flocks of Grey Parrots flying home for the night are a common sight during the late afternoons at the resort. The resort also has its own hand reared African Grey named Chaplain, who was raised at the resort and flies around freely. Two months ago it was discovered that Chaplain is in fact a female having laid three eggs, though unfortunately none of them have since hatched. She seems quite melancholic as a result. 

Chaplain

Other ticks on my checklist include two Bronze Mannikins who have been nesting in a tree near my unit's deck for the past two weeks, the Principe Sunbird, Principe Golden Weaver, White Cattle Egret and Grey Western Reef Heron. I have a few other penciled in ticks on my list which still need someone a little more experience to confirm for me.

Portuguese progress...

Its nearly six weeks now since moving to Principe and with the help of Ale (said with soft emphasis on the 'e') and Google Translate, my Portuguese is coming along. Zachary and a little girl called Chael have a daily, morning play-date and Ale (Chael’s nanny) gives me a few Portuguese pointers in between the playing. My vocabulary is definitely improving, but making sentences is more difficult as the word order is quite different to English. Never the less, Ale and I are more able to understand each other now, as her English and my Portuguese vocabulary grow. Though many times we just laugh because neither of us can grasp the other’s meaning! Zachary has picked up a few Portuguese words and each morning when the cleaning ladies come to the room he tries to copy them and say, “Bom dia” (Good morning). This really charms them and he is very popular. Chael speaks a bit of both languages but is generally pretty shy and quiet, although squeals, “Bebe, Bebe, Bebe!”(baby) when she spots Zachary running around the resort.

Zachary’s favorite activity is pushing Chael in her stroller along the resort’s hedge-lined paths, while Ale guides the stroller to steer and prevent accidents. This can carry on for an hour, much to the amusement of onlookers and guests. He gets quite rosy-cheeked and his baby-fine hair sticks to his hot head. After this, he is exhausted from the heat and humidity and he’ll just lie on the floor in our room, with his head on a cushion, watching Ceebeebies for a while to recover. Zachary also has fun playing on the beach with Chael, where he loves drawing number “ones” in the sand with a stick or pushing his hand down crab holes. We have stopped the later as the crab holes are large, likely reflecting their inhabitants’ size.

Today Zachary is teething and has not yet had a day nap. It’s now 2.47pm and I am feeling the lack of my usual two hours of silence and relative freedom. He’s had a combination of Neurofen and Ponstan but to no obvious effect, poor little man and poor me...

Belo Monte

The weather was lovely today so we decided to head off to an early breakfast at the Bom Bom Island restaurant and then, along with Brian (Mark’s work colleague) and his wife Jeanette, we 'four by foured' our way to the Roca or plantation estate of Belo Monte. Principe is a surprising little island. Just as my boredom reaches a new level, I discovery a jewel like Belo Monte. The sky was so blue today and the clouds in such spectacular formation that it was the ideal day for photographing this Portuguese estate in renovation. The road leading up to the complex hosts the usual little wooden huts on stilts, potholes, chickens, the odd goat, some Bread Fruit trees, jungle, children in thread bare clothes, more potholes, more jungle and then when you think there is nothing else to this place, suddenly the grand, newly painted entrance archway which announces Belo Monte.

It's not one of the largest Roca’s on the island but its location and the potential which its restoration inspires make it well worth the trip. The manor house seems so out of context, with its classic proportion and ornate details.  It's uniqueness is enhanced by the decomposing Laterite blocks with which its constructed, which rust due to their high ferrous metal content. The estate also includes a large hospital building, slave quarters and the Cacao roasting houses, all in the typical quadrangle set-up with a large green lawn in between. It feels like time has slipped backwards at Belo Monte and an atmosphere of quiet rests over the place, although I know it was not always a place of peace and tranquility. Stories ruminate of how disobedient slaves were thrown over the elaborately walled, breath taking view point. Today the azure sky and the cottony clouds suggested only the potential for an exquisite, fine dining experience complete with a view to die for - hmm, perhaps not such a tasteful description. Plans are under way for one of the larger building’s transformation into a top notch restaurant, while several of the other buildings are ear-marked for boutique style accommodation. With its green lawns, white walls and opulent proportions, something of a Cape wine estate lingers about the place and it definitely lends itself to a tourist hot spot. Looking off the view point towards the beach way below, Praia Banana’s water is turquoise against the black, volcanic reef rock and it’s probably the most exquisite view I’ve seen. White-tailed tropicbirds circled in the endless sky as I snapped away at the view with my camera. Words don’t adequately capture the image of the vast, blue sky and unless you’ve seen something like it, it’s unimaginable. I think the place is going to be a unique tourist draw card when its completed and I’m disappointed that it probably won’t be done in the time we’re here.

Manor house

White tailed Tropicbird - Wikipedia

View from Belo Monte of Praia Banana

Postcard perfect