Marcie...

We set off early this morning, and bumped and rattled our way along what had once been a good road system but which had long since fallen into a state of disrepair . We were headed towards the old coffee plantation of Bombaim, which had been a very prosperous plantation back when the Portuguese ran it, but has also since fallen into a state of shabby decline.
We travelled through miles of gloriously lush tropical rain forest with the dramatic orange acacia trees in full bloom and a wide variety of palm trees. We passed through many small villages, some very picturesque, others obviously desperately poor.
Bombaim is still picturesque, and must have been beautiful in its day. The buildings are built in colonial Portuguese style, remininiscent of parts of the Carribean or Cuba. There are still some families living there, making a living (of sorts) from what is left of the coffee and cocoa plants.
We were due to have lunch at the old "Boss's" house, (now a hostel for trekkers and backpackers) which had no running water or electricity but retained a certain shabby grandeur. Sitting at the huge dining table in the rather grand dining room looking out over the rainforest, being served delicious soup from a large silver tureen, you got a taste of what life would have been like for those in charge, lucky enough to have servants to make life comfortable for them.
The children running around the plantation were extremely friendly, and played freely in the beautiful gardens. Fruit grows plentifully across the island, so even the poorest of families have enough to eat and most of the children seem healthy and well nourished. This little girl told me her name was Marcie...