Day 20 - Jamestown, St. Helena (UK)

 

 

Date:  Jan. 28, 2007

 

Location: Jamestown, St. Helena (UK)

 

Next Port:  Walvis Bay, Namibia, Jan. 31

 

Quick Summary:  Isolated St. Helena is a small island of many contrasts and has played various roles since being discovered in 1502. Rocky and barren at sea level, it has sweeping vistas and lush tropical vegetation and large trees at higher elevations. Napoleon lived out his final days here.

 

Report:  Discovered in 1502 by the Portuguese explorer Joao da Nova on St. Helena’s Day, hence the name, this remote 47 sq. mi. island is 1,700 mi. from Cape Town. It has no air service, and everything must come by boat.  There is “regular” service about 8-12 times a year. As a British Overseas Territory, the island has a governor whose jurisdiction includes as dependencies the two “close” neighboring islands of Ascension (700 mi. northwest) and Tristan da Cunha (1,000 mi. southwest). Talk about being remote!

 

Today, 6,000 people call St. Helena home, while at any time about 1,000-2,000 work off the island. The make-up of the population is about 50% African, 25% Chinese and 25% Caucasian. The island has a small fish processing plant and harvests some trees for use as lumber. There are several small herds of cattle. Philatelic sales are a growing source of revenue, as is tourism. The latter is in its infancy. The other two islands are self sufficient, but St. Helena is not.  It must be subsidized by the UK, currently at about $25 million per year.

 

The island has three distinct layered weather zones. At sea level (Jamestown), there is about 4 inches of rain per year, while the upper cloud forest (2,000 – 2,700 ft.) receives about 40 inches. The island is volcanic in origin…originating on the seabed some 14,000 feet below the Atlantic and reaching the surface about 14 million years ago. Scientists believe the last volcanic activity took place 6-7 million years ago. The island has a variety of plant life, much of it tropical. There are many species of birds but no native mammals.

 

Though discovered in 1502, the Portuguese kept its existence a secret until it was re-found by the English explorer Thomas Cavendish (1588) on his round the world voyage. He and subsequent visitors left cows and pigs and planted crops for future provisions. The East India Company opened a garrison and the first settlement in 1659. St. Helena was an important staging post for trading ships going to and from the East. (In going from Britain and the Med around Africa, the prevailing winds and currents made it necessary to swing much further west than to go directly down the west coast of Africa. It was almost by accident that some ships went too far west and discovered South America, opening up even more trade routes.)

 

In 1815, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena after Waterloo. It was here that he wrote his memoirs before dying in 1821.(In 1840, Napoleon’s remains were returned to Paris.) The Brits actually treated him quite well. He had a staff of 30 and was able to move about quite freely. France was given three plots of land. On one, they built a substantial cottage (residence) which included a wine cellar. Today, the others contain the garden with his tomb and the new residence of the French consul.

 

Four factors eventually led to the decline of the importance of

St. Helena: steam replacing sail, the decreasing use of whale oil, the ending of slave trade and the opening of the Suez Canal (1869).

 

When we arrived at our harbor anchorage at about 9:30 am, the island was shrouded in fog and mist. In fact, we ran through showers enroute to the harbor. But thankfully, by the time we boarded our 14-passenger van for our 3-1/2 hour tour, the sun began clearing and we ended up with a beautiful day.

 

We drove through Jamestown with its Georgian architecture, into the countryside. We stopped at several overlooks; walked down a gentle ½-mile path to Napoleon’s garden tomb; visited his final residence, Longwood House; stopped at the private residence of the British governor, Plantation House, and saw Jonathan, the 175 year old Seychelles turtle that lives on the grounds; and visited Ladder Hill Fort with its harbor overlook.

 

Larry then climbed down the 699 steps of Jacob’s Ladder directly into town. This inclined plane was built in 1829 and was initially used to carry manure into the country. Mule-driven carts would be hauled up the smooth incline winding a rope around a capstan at the top of the hill. Later, it was used to haul all sorts of materials up and down the steep hill. Now these steps offer a quick shortcut back to Jamestown…but “my do those knees feel wobbly once you get back down.”  (Karen is smarter than that!)

 

Before heading back to the tenders, we visited St. James’ Church, the oldest Anglican church south of the Equator. The present building was completed in 1774.

 

It was a spectacular day ashore (particularly after four days at sea!). It is also humbling to think how few people will ever actually visit this remote spot on God’s earth.

 

We enjoyed a nice dinner in Compass Rose with Karyn and Joe from New Orleans. They are neighbors on our 8th deck corridor and chat-room acquaintances from the group that posts on luxurycruisetalk.com.

 

Another wonderful day!

 

Karen and Larry

 

 

A reminder: Photos of our cruise are now available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

 Photos of our visit to St. Helena have been posted today