This former Portuguese colony consists of two islands and is located 250 km off Gabon, on the western equatorial coast of Africa. It is the smallest of ten countries where Portuguese is the official language. I dived in Sao Tome in March 2007. The only dive center on the island is Escola de Mergulho Nautinforme, reached by a 2-hour private bus drive from the city and then a short boat trip to the Pestana Equador Island Resort in Ilhéu das Rolas; unfortunately they had regs and inflator leaking, no O₂ onboard and no ladder on the dive boat. Nevertheless, one of the things that made diving here unique is that we crossed the equator underwater while diving! The underwater geological formation was great too. Visibility was between 15 and 25 meters and water temperature was 28°C. I saw several species of Parrotfish, Surgeonfish, Butterflyfish and Snappers; saw also Yellowmouth moray, Honeycomb moray, Filefish, little Sponges, Cushion sea stars and regular Sea stars.

600-meter high Pico do Cão Grande on our way to the resort



Ilhéu das Rolas



Surface interval on two dive sites



Surface interval across the waterfall Ponta Faca



Pestana Equador Island Resort in Ilhéu das Rolas