I had been told that there was only one shared taxi leaving to the Southern city of Porte Alegre per day and that it would leave at 4am, so I got there at 3.30 am only to hear that the taxi had just left.
Great I though as I was sitting on the roadside tired, hungry and swarmed with mosquitos. One of the taxi drivers said that he would be going to Riviera Alfonso at 6am and that I could just sleep in his car in the meantime so I did.
Waking up at his destination around sunrise I was more rested and ready to start the day, so I started walking South with my thumb stuck out looking for a ride. It didnt take long before a police picked me up and took me to Sao Jao where I again stood only for a few minutes before some portuguese tourists picked me up.
The tourists had rented a car with a driver to explore Ilheu Dos Rolas and the Southern beaches and said that I could join them for free! We went straight down to Praia Llame where a boat was waiting for us and took us to the island.
There wasnt much to see once we were there, but the main sight was the equator monument on the top where we also got a nice view of Sao Tomé. After having seen the stuff for sale at the souvenier shops and a quick visit to the beach we headed back to the mainland.
Praia Jalé in the South West
On the way back to the capital we stopped at some of the beaches in the South and spent a couple of hours at the Santana resort where we could hang out for free around the infinity pool. Having bad luck with the taxi in the morning turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me!
Having a dip at the Santana Resort