Why this ride
107 km from São Tomé to São Tomé, about 2 h 32 of riding. The stops in between: Diogo Vaz and back through Diogo Vaz. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Agua Izé and The Roças of Sao Tome and Principe: Coloni · 244 km from São Tomé
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 107 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 32
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Agua Izé
Agua Izé was once the grandest of São Tomé's roças, the great plantation estates that made this tiny island, just north of the equator, one of the world's leading cocoa producers in the early twentieth century. It lies on the southeast coast, about thirteen kilometres from the capital, and the buildings tell the story: a big administrative house, long workers' quarters, a hospital, storehouses and drying platforms, all now peeling and softened by tropical growth. Walls are flaking yellow and ochre, and roofs sag, but the scale is unmistakable.
Read the complete Agua Izé write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Agua Izé is where the day begins. Next is Diogo Vaz.
2. Diogo Vaz
Diogo Vaz is a roça, one of the old plantation estates that once covered most of São Tomé, the small island in the Gulf of Guinea that straddles the equator. The Portuguese found the island uninhabited in the fifteenth century, settled it with enslaved labour from the mainland and grew sugar, and later, in the nineteenth century, built an economy on cocoa and coffee. By the early twentieth century São Tomé was among the world's leading cocoa producers, and the roças, each with a manor house, a hospital, a drying yard and a village of workers, were small worlds of their own.
Read the complete Diogo Vaz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Diogo Vaz comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Roças of Sao Tome and Principe: Coloni.
3. back through Diogo Vaz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Diogo Vaz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Diogo Vaz, late in the day. Next is Agua Izé.
4. Agua Izé
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Agua Izé write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Agua Izé. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Agua Izé to Diogo Vaz
Agua Izé → Diogo Vaz is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Diogo Vaz to back through Diogo Vaz
Diogo Vaz → back through Diogo Vaz is 1 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Diogo Vaz to Agua Izé
back through Diogo Vaz → Agua Izé is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.