We were due to get into this tender island port for 9:00 AM, and be cleared to go ashore by 10. There were some very strict rules about all the things one couldn't do which were listed on a Waiver Form that we had to sign, and we needed to sign off on waiving liabilities if we were injured. Then we had to have another form that we carried ashore as well. There were no scheduled HAL tours and we were told that there were hardly any vehicles for hire, and that we couldn't do any self hire. OK. No swimming as the undercurrent is too strong. OK. There was some language indicating that if we chose to go on the Historical Tour we had to hand the bus driver our forms, but it wasn't clear if there was enough room for us to get on the mystery tours, so Maxine, Mal, Barry and I got on the second tender to try and get ashore quickly. We had also been warned by our Cruise Director to be prepared to get our feet wet when getting ashore. We were ready and very curious now.
No sooner were we almost at the pier, than we were told that there would be no landing on the island as conditions at the pier were too dangerous and rough and we headed back to the ship. The end of the pier, it turns out,
was only a third as big as our tenders, and the swells were so big that the crew couldn't get a line tied off on the tender, one of the officers had fallen, and others were wet up to their knees. Wisely The Captain called off the port as the tenders would have been damaged, and they are our lifeboats, and there was obviously danger of injuring the passengers who might have to "swim" in.
The decision was made that we would circumnavigate the island which turned out in my opinion to be even better for by the look of what we saw we probably saw more of the island in the 2 hours around than we would have done anyway.
This little island looks more like what we all thought St. Helena would be like. It is mostly a volcanic island with 44 old volcanos and evidence of recent lava flows on the north east corner. It is very barren. It was discovered in 1501 by a Portuguese sailor, but not recorded. It has had a very strategic role for several nations, and an interesting use even by the US. It is also extremely important of migrating birds from the Arctic as it is the only island in the Atlantic before the Falklands. It is largely a military base for the British, which has weather stations, and radar. That would explain why it is so strictly controlled. For a while NASA had a tracking station here for the astronauts, but that base was disassembled in the early 1990's. It was used for the British submarines as a safe hiding spot during WWII, and an obviously strategic refuelling place for ships as well during this time. Today anyone flying out of St. Helena's must take the supply ship to Ascension Island and secure a seat on a military plane.
When Napoleon was exiled on St. Helena's the British were so worried that he would be able to mount an escape by using Ascension Island as a landing spot for any rescue, that they stationed soldiers here to guard against that possibility.
We got some wonderful shots, and spent a very pleasant 2 hours on the Lower Promenade Deck with Maxine, out of the sun but in the warmth of a gorgeous day, looking at the geological features, the bird breeding grounds and the lack of vegetation and most of all the lack of roads. There are only about 1000 people here and it certainly doesn't make one want to dream about returning - interesting place historically though. Thank goodness I bought my first day issue of stamps from Ascension Island in St. Helena's. They are very rare.
At 3 pm. we began to sail across the Atlantic Ocean for Brazil and then north for home. We have 3 sea days ahead, and we are all starting to think about returning home and picking up our lives, and planning ways to celebrate the friendships we have made on this trip.
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