Name: Jalé Ecolodge
Address: Caue, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe
Rating: 8

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Mosquito net

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Free parking

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Next to the beach

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Sao Tome Island Airport

Jalé Ecolodge

Sao Tome Island

Jale Ecolodge, Praia, Porto Alegre has three well priced, very attractive, individual one bedroom chalets, complete with verandas very close to the sea where two of us had a pleasurable four night stay during Sep 19. Tasty breakfasts in the restaurant./ bar nearby are also included and other simple, no nonsense but equally delicious meals, can be ordered as required from the extremely friendly and efficient staff.

Very attractive one bedroomchalets close to the sea

The property is located on a desert beach. Extremely quiet and resting we could only hear the waves. The property has only 3 bungalows located right on the beach. There's a restaurant managed by the 2 ladies who work at the property. The food is excellent and it must be ordered in advance. The nearest village is Porto Alegre, just 15m away (by car) but there aren't any suitable restaurants there. Located on the most beautiful side of the island although the beach is beautiful I do not recommend to have a swim here once the sea in rough with crossed sea currents. Just 5m away you have "Piscina Beach" very beautiful and totally safe for swim.

There isn't electricity so the property depends on a generator which is turned off at 10.00 p.m. which is rather short to power cellular phones and power banks. There are no Wi-Fi on the premises neither a good net connection in case you have bought a cellular card previously.

Away from civilization

This beach is beatiful with a good chance of nice sun sets. Sea turtles lay their eggs here as at many other beaches in this country. The lodge has a few separat bungalows directly at the beach. The road from Porto Alegre is very bad but worth the effort with a 4W drive var. 

At a wonderful beach

We knew that this ecolodge in the south of the island is an ideal place to stay overnight, if one wants - in season - to watch female turtles lay their eggs in the sand of Jale beach. Since we didn't have the opportunity we just came to look at Praia Jale, having been swimming before at the nearby and more protected Praia Piscina.

The Ecolodge has a beach restaurant and this is where went for lunch after having made a reservation beforehand. As usual the menu consisted of fish and here it was especially well done with a tasty sauce to it.  

a fish lunch

This is a place that's for you or not. We arrived late at night from Sao Tome. The lodge was deserted and in complete darkness  with only a security guard showing us to our bungalow. We lit romantic candles in the room (no power at that time) and settled in the basic but comfortable room. (There is no hot water at Jale but one can request a bucket from the guard.) In the morning, we realized that we were literally on the beach and what a beach - the most beautiful in Sao Tome island and absolutely deserted the whole time we were there. With only 3 bungalows, we never bumped into the other guests except at breakfast. Meals are served in a restaurant some distance away. Breakfast consisted of coffee, tea, omelet, bread, jam and delicious fried dough with sugar. Lunch and dinner were whatever was freshly caught with some starch (not a lot of vegetables on the menu). Truly homely food that was the best in Sao Tome - the octopus with pasta was outstanding. Bring a book and be prepared to do nothing at Jale. There's no one around and nothing to do but rest, relax and walk on the beach (the ocean is too rough to swim in). 

I thoroughly enjoyed Jale

So, our room at Jale had no toilet seat, was consistently filled with sand (no way of cleaning your feet before you enter) and the towels were two old rags. The beer was not always cold (I'll excuse them for that) and the side-dishes nothing but rice... No-one spoke any english and you can't really swim there.

BUT, the rooms are right on a stunning beach and because there are only three rooms there, each guest probably has 150m of beach to themselves. We saw turtles laying eggs at night, picked our food for the evening from the local fishermen (which the ladies at Jale prepared for us) and sat around all day doing nothing but walk on the beach, read, sleep, talk and take photos. 

If you know you're a bit of "city-person" then rather book somewhere else. But if you want to feel like you're lost on an island, then Jale is for you.

Jalé Ecolodge

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