The crew meeting hour to depart and discover the island was scheduled for 9am, but the short stroll around the hotel the night before made me realize that it would be worth exploring its surroundings before leaving to the south of the island. I decided not to close the curtains of the bedroom and wake up to the natural light, which in Ecuador is invariably around 6:30am. I descended with my camera from my bungallow towards the pool of Club Santana, which in turn was next to the beach. The bay was full of small boats, mostly sailing, carrying men looking for fish, something very easy to get in the waters of São Tomé. In a short distance we could see the islet of Santana, name of the region the hotel was, a few quilometers away from the capital.

At the time my feet touched the golden sands of the beach and the warm waters of the Gulf of Guinea, many of them were ending their hunting, returning to land, helped by others, who I never understood if were already back or if they never left. The women washed their clothes in freshwater streams and exposed them to the sun wherever they could, giving a touch of color to that green beach!

At all times I felt welcome, so are the people of this island that stoled in my heart!

 .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.