Voices of the Land | Women-Only Trip 50+ to São Tomé and Príncipe

Meet the Portuguese tour leader at Lisbon airport, who is with the group from check-in onwards, and fly direct to São Tomé. On arrival, you are met by our São Toméan guide, who stays with the group for the whole trip. Welcome dinner at Dona Teté's restaurant, one of the best-known figures in the island's cooking: grilled fish with breadfruit banana and the story of how she built her business from nothing. Overnight at a boutique hotel in São Tomé city.

A morning on foot along the waterfront and the bay that carries a woman's name: Ana Chaves Bay. Ana Chaves was a sixteenth-century landowner and political figure, influential enough to run the colony's affairs between governors, who in her final years gave up the slave trade and freed the people she had enslaved. She is said to have been an illegitimate daughter of King João III — the most widely accepted hypothesis, though never confirmed. In the afternoon, a walk through the city following the places linked to Alda do Espírito Santo, poet, teacher and resistance figure, author of the words of the national anthem, with a reading of her poems. Petiscos dinner at Vilma's, where she welcomes us and explains how Creole cooking passes from one generation to the next.

Up into the highlands and into Obô Natural Park, with a guided walk of gentle to moderate intensity to Lagoa Amélia — an old crater whose floor is now covered by a floating carpet of vegetation, and where oral tradition places the story of young Amélia, a governor's daughter said to have vanished there. Lunch at Roça Monte Café, with time alongside the women who dry and sort the arabica beans, the most patient work on the island. At the end of the day, a Creole tasting at Dona Antónia's restaurant, where old recipes are kept alive with fresh local produce.

A full day along the north coast, the driest and most photogenic on the island: Lagoa Azul, clear water over volcanic rock, and the route of the centuries-old baobabs standing alone in the landscape. In Neves, a fishing village against the sea, a visit to the community project led by Sister Lúcia — support for children, adult literacy for women and training for young people. Lunch by the sea with Neves spider crab, the best on the island. On the way back, stops to talk with the palaias, the women whose fruit, chilli and fish stalls line the São Toméan roadsides.

Inland to Roça Santa Luzia and a meeting with its owner, Maria de Jesus, who tells the story of restoring the agricultural and architectural heritage of the old cocoa buildings — and what it means, as a woman, to lead the shift towards sustainable production and agritourism. In the afternoon, the Cocoa Route: a walk among the cocoa trees and a taste of the white pulp of a freshly opened pod, picked by the women who work the plantation. Dinner and overnight at the roça itself, in the middle of the forest.

The most symbolic day of the trip. We head south, to the greenest part of the island, stopping at the viewpoint over Pico Cão Grande, the volcanic monolith rising 663 metres above the forest. Boat crossing to Ilhéu das Rolas and the climb to the Equator marker raised at Gago Coutinho's request: the exact point where you stand with one foot in each hemisphere. Afternoon on the islet's golden sand beaches. At the end of the day, check-in at Inhame Ecolodge and an International Women's Day celebration dinner with Luísa, who built one of the island's most admired retreats, employs women from the neighbouring fishing community and works on sea turtle protection.

A slow day in the south. The morning between Praia Inhame, at the lodge's door, and Praia Piscina, with its natural warm-water pools between the rocks that fill and empty with the tide. A boat trip through the mangroves at the mouth of the Malanza river with local guides, among roots, birds and silence. Along the way, the encounter many travellers say stays with them most: the washerwomen who gather at the riverside to wash clothes and talk — the everyday company of women in the community. Dinner of fresh fish and seafood at Inhame Ecolodge.

Back to the city and a visit to São Tomé's Central Market, the country's real female economic engine: among torch ginger flowers, orchids, spices and fruit, you buy what you take home directly from the women who grew it. Free afternoon to rest, for last purchases or a visit to the women's craft centre. Farewell dinner and airport transfer, with the overnight flight home.

Arrival in Lisbon early in the morning, luggage full of poetry, photographs and conversations — and the strength of the women of São Tomé travelling home with you.