Sao Tome is a tiny island on the equator, in the Gulf of Guinea, and for over a century it was one of the biggest cocoa and coffee producers in the world. Monte Cafe, in the hills above the capital at about six hundred metres, was one of the great plantations, called rocas, that covered much of the island. The Portuguese began planting coffee here in the nineteenth century, and the estate grew to include a processing yard, drying terraces, a hospital, a church and rows of workers' housing, all in a cool, cloudy valley under thick forest. The roca system, built on forced and poorly paid labour, was harsh, and the buildings remain as a monument to both the island's wealth and its suffering.
Since independence in 1975, the rocas have declined, and many are now half-ruined, with trees growing through the roofs and families living in the old barracks. Monte Cafe has found a new life as a place that welcomes visitors, with a small museum of coffee and a working roasting operation, where you can taste coffee grown on the island, which is small-batch, aromatic and smooth. The surroundings are lush, with plantation shade trees, banana plants and flowering shrubs, and the air is fresh and damp.
The ride up from Sao Tome city is a short climb of around ten kilometres, through villages and forest on a road that has been improved in places and is rough in others. Potholes are frequent, especially after the heavy rains, and tight bends mean that trucks and minibuses often come around on the wrong side, so go carefully. The wet season, with the heaviest rain from October to May, makes the road slippery, and the gravana, a cooler dry season between June and September, is more comfortable. The island has only a few hundred kilometres of road and the traffic is light, which makes a day of riding quite relaxed.
Sao Tome is the only town of any size, about fifty thousand people, and the nearest source of fuel and supplies, so fill up before heading into the hills. The island's food is a blend of Portuguese and African cooking, with grilled fish, breadfruit and calulu, a stew of vegetables and fish or chicken.