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

When Mark was offered a great job on the small island of Principe, we jumped at the opportunity...

Lying off the west coast of Africa, Principe is the northern and smaller of the two major islands of the country of Sao Tome and Principe. It has an area of 136 square kms and a population of approximately 5,000. Wikipedia. The closest countries are Gabon and Angola.

Four weeks ago, Mark, Zachary and I touched down in Sao Tome. That day we had; woken up at 3 am, flown on three different flights and by arrival, were one suitcase, one Portuguese phrase book and a pram short. Zachary was understandably extremely tired and very hard to handle. After the experience of the incredibly slow, non-English processing at the sweltering Sao Tome airport (which was under MAJOR renovation) and a VERY angry, pram-less Zachary, all we wanted was to go to our O'Mali lodge room. After a short trip in the hotel minibus (without a car seat) we were welcomed with flowery drinks and cold clothes, though with Zachary being exhausted, and totally overstimulated, the glamour escaped me and I asked for the room keys instead. Making our exit to the room, Zachary darted for the pool edge and I tramped on a Dum Dum (said, Dun Dun) trying to save him. Eina is an understatement and this was like the cherry on top! A Dum Dum is some sort of biting, Driver ant and they are everywhere. It was more like the sting of a bee and I'm now very cautious to put our shoes on. We spent one night at Sao Tome and after a breakfast of delicious, unheard of, tropical fruits and little, sweet Portuguese rolls and Parma ham, we boarded the Africa's Connection Dornier 228 (18 seater) plane for the 45 minute flight to Principe. Zachary perspired, wriggled and cried most of the flight, but the bird's eye view of the islands and the humming little plane were a unique experience. Thankfully, Principe airport was wonderfully small, quick and friendly. I clumsily accepted a few Portuguese double, cheek kisses from some of Mark's work colleagues, our bags were hoisted into the waiting Prado, by the Bom Bom Island Resort driver, and we were off to the resort. The 15 minute drive along the bumpy, dirt road initiated me into the thick jungle covering most of the island and the pace of island travelling.

I haven't even mentioned the stress of packing up our house, the flight we nearly missed due to Zachary's last minute 'number two' or the hostility at the Luanda airport, but enough said, I'm sure you get the idea! I think it has taken us most of these nearly four weeks to recover from travelling through hot, African airports with an energetic toddler and adjust to our new, quite rustic environment. Perhaps that's why I'm only starting my blog now. Although all the photos look like an endless holiday, there have been incredible challenges which have often felt insurmountable. A toddler does not adjust to change easily. The simple loss of the pram and lack of a suitable cot were a real problem, as replacements are not easy to come by. Zachary did not react well to the stress and change and began having unbelievably prolonged, puking, yelling, running, kicking, fighting tantrums, nearly biting me a few times. Imagine all this in a formal restaurant for three meals a day. I am so grateful that these tantrum episodes have subsided as we've all settled in here. Mark and I did not realize at the time, the difficulty Zachary was having with all the upheaval and discomfort.

Bom Bom Island Resort will probably be our home for another two months, while our pre-fab home is being constructed near the airport. A guy came out last week, from South Africa, to assess the pre-fab units as they have been standing in their packaging for around two years near the military base on the island. The report came back that the units have water damage. The next step is for the parts for repairs to come from South Africa, along with a team to carry out the maintenance and erection. Two pre-fab homes will be constructed, one for Brian Brynard, Mark's colleague and one for us. The sites are being prepared so long, with French drains and other services. The planning and preparation for the units construction is quite a thing as if any parts are forgotten out when the team comes, they will have to be ordered and shipped from South Africa, further slowing down the process. They have a saying in Principe, 'leve leve' (of which I need to track down the spelling) which means, easy easy...an attitude which we are cultivating.