São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe is officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa.
It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about about 250 and 225 km (155 and 140 miles), respectively, off the northwestern coast of Gabon. Both islands are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range. São Tomé, the sizable southern island, is situated just north of the equator. It was named in honour of Saint Thomas by Portuguese explorers who arrived at the island on his feast day on the western shores of the island, a small village called Anobom.
With a census population of 187,356 (2012), São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest African country, behind Seychelles. It is also the smallest Portuguese-speaking country.
Open Water Swimming
David Yudovin became the first person to swim 11.5 nautical miles between São Tomé and Príncipe on 22 June 2014.
