Sao Tome: Feasting on Spider Crabs in Santola Neves
An absolute top experience on Sao Tome – feasting on giant Santola spider crabs. On the western side of the island, in a tiny village of Santola, there is a restaurant (more of an oceanfront wooden shack) where you can try this delicious spider crab that is fished out from deep waters off the coast here. This crab is not sold in the markets, and the tiny restaurant has a full monopoly on catching them. The restaurant is very simple and you sit on benches with wide-open no-glass windows as sea breeze and rain pounds you – but the food is well-worth it! The massive spider-crabs come steaming with a wooden hammer to open them and you end up getting the crab stuff all over you, while you savor this delicious crustaceans. But wait! The menu also has the Sao Tome lobster – 3-4kg monsters the size of a human head, that I couldn’t help but order. Perhaps the best seafood feast I ever had.
