Africa's Costa Rica....Sao Tome!!!

The good stuff first…I spent Easter on probably one of the world’s best kept secrets….Sao Tome!!

It is Africa’s smallest island, located in the Gulf of Guinea, which is basically on the west coast of Africa, in between Angola and Cameroun. The people, the food, the drinks, the water, the beaches, the resort….everything was AMAZING!!!! I have been to many beaches, in many countries, on many continents, and this was really one of my best trips…. EVER! Not quite sure exactly why, but really after being in Africa, traveling in very overpopulated countries, it was just nice to be in a small country, with a very small population (120,000) and all the people were just so nice. It is also a country that gets not quite 120 visitors…a year! Pretty incredible, but they are trying to become a tourist resort of sorts, so while I hope it achieves this, I also hope it remains a little piece of undiscovered paradise, with very few visitors. A few crazy things about the island…well not so much the island, but about what it made me think…Now that my plans for moving to New York are seemingly falling apart, I am thinking, why not just stay in Nigeria for another year, buy a house in Sao Tome, and then when I do go, rent it out to the tourists or oil companies that will eventually end up there! It only takes 5 hours to get to flying (literally I left my house in Abuja at 6am, and was sitting on the beach with a pina colada by 11am in Sao Tome!)…not bad…although, it is not the easiest place to get to. The only international flights, besides the monthly flight from Nigeria, is via Lisbon, Portugal or Libreville, Gabon, but the place is just so amazing that I would learn to deal with it! And, I am sure many people would want to come visit…although it’s in Africa, it really feels like you are on an island so far removed from society…no cell phones, televisions or noise. Just the fresh smell of flowers, fruit and ocean in the air!

Enough of all that, as I am sure you are all a little upset with me now! It is now rainy season in west Africa…finally, after 7 months of no rain, the heavens have opened up and we are getting rain like you would not believe. So, while this is good for disease like measles and other airborne diseases, it is horrible for polio…so it just means we will see a huge increase in the number of polio cases. We are doing well in the north, with 40% fewer cases this year up there compared to this time last year, however, in the south, where polio has been a non issue for years, we now have a 60% increase in cases, with some states reporting actual cases, when they have not had any in 20 years…so one step forwards, and many, many back! This is our make or break year, so if it continues its trend, we will be out of funding by mid next year! So, lots of pressure to produce results!

A funny story to end this entry….i came home late Sunday night (From my amazing Sao Tome weekend), and I hear these noises in my kitchen! I turn on the light, and what do I find…………..FROG!!!! And not just small ones, but pretty big ones (bigger than my fist)! 4 of them just sitting there looking back at me, like “What do you want…”, I do a quick search around the house and find at least 6 more! I have no problems with frogs, so I just picked them up and put them outside, thinking that is the end to that….but sure enough, they came back….My (very pregnant) house girl Mary came over the next day and I told her about it, and I think she thought I was crazy, but she started to do some stuff around the house (I am not cruel, I told her to go on maternity leave, but she refuses until the baby actually comes out)…so she is sweeping and sure enough she finds more frogs! We think they are coming up the drain, as I am on the ground floor they are probably just looking for a dry place from the rain, and with all the mosquitos and cockroaches in my place, they can eat for years! I think I have fixed the problem, by taping all the drains, and so far, 24 hours and no frogs!!

That’s it for now….I will give more of an update on the upcoming job prospects in the next entry….but I will be home for a few days in early June, and then again in July, so hopefully I will see many of you then. If not, I will expect to see you at my new home that I hope to buy in Sao Tome!!