Africa Day

Today is Africa Day, and it brought a mixed bag in São Tomé. Celebrations began in the morning at the local school. Unfortunately, rain at lunch time halted proceedings before, and a fight broke out in town. My taxi driver assured me this was very rare (and I have otherwise felt completely safe), with island life running more usually to the local motto "léve léve".

So I léve léved the afternoon away, waiting for things to happen at their own pace. The photo was taken from the roof of the main market, whose busy hustle overflows into the surrounding streets. It's a great place to watch the world go by. The rain had cleared by evening. The Africa Day party restarted in the central park, popcorn began to flow, and everyone (now friends again) danced together - to some thumping bass and reassuringly cheesy disco lights.

The day was rounded off with a soirée at the Brazilian embassy. This honoured the simultaneous RAS expedition to Sobral, from where the 1919 eclipse was also visible.