Sights of St. Helena….. June 3rd – 9th, 2013 (Western Hemisphere) Time: GMT
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On our last day, we had the biggest flying fish I\’d ever seen. Friends Dave and Kathie of \”Sunflower\” were reporting lots of them, but this was the only one we saw.
Nikki with Flying Fish
The people are amazingly friendly. Supplies here are at a premium as the RMS St. Helena only visits 4 times/year now and only another monthly vessel comes from Cape Town. We were constantly checking on the markets for fresh veggies and fresh eggs. Our first big event was climbing \”Jacob\’s Ladder\”. This is 699 steps at a 40 degree grade; about 1000 feet long. Nikki and I decided to do it as an exercise in lieu of our normal routine. It took us 27 minutes up and a leisurely 10 minutes down. The record by the way is just a bit over 5 minutes. As we completed the \”ladder\” we were awarded a certificate by the Museum on the island at the bottom of the steps.
Scott on Jacob\’s Ladder
No atmosphere, but the healthiest meals we found for lunch. We tried \”Annie\’s\” which is long time cruiser hang out. Lots of atmosphere, not so good on the lunches. It seems it has \”changed hands\” as they say. The few dinner restaurants don\’t open early, so we skipped them as the last shore boat ran at 6:45 p.m. There are a few internet hot spots around, so we\’ve been able to get some okay internet, but not at the anchorage Next on our to do\’s at St. Helena was what I call,
\”The Napoleon Slept Here Tour\”….:-)
As he\’d previously escaped the Island of Elba in the Mediterranean, they wanted to take no chances on Napoleon\’s attempt at a third campaign. We have Napoleon to thank for most of the middle of the United States. It was due to his need for money to try and fight all of Europe that he sold the \”Louisiana Purchase\” to the U.S. Government. Seems this was just when the British were starting to indenture US Sailors and something about a brief war didn\’t make us care much if Napoleon was up to no good. The other \”big deal\” here is that the British are building an airport which will handle 747\’s from the UK to promote tourism here. It seems the new holiday fad is to go where no one else does. That would be here! Cargo craft are supposed to start at the end of next year, passenger planes in 2016. The cargo aircraft will help a lot as to shortages of supplies that the locals have. As a last hurrah, I decided to go on my first recreational (vs. maintainence) SCUBA dive in almost 18 months. Craig, who is the local shore boat operator is also the local dive guide. We had a nice group and did one dive at the ledge. Water temperature around 72 degrees F (22.2 C) and I was amazed at how much this semi tropical environment reminded me of diving in the southern Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California). We had a mix of tropical and cold water species; butterfly fish and scorpion rock fish. A nice healthy Spotted Moray Eel was seen with cleaner shrimp as well as some good size (and protected) lobster (crayfish for our UK friends.
Diving at St Helena
The weather looks a bit light, but very nice and right behind us..
KIT, Scott and Nikki….Next stop, Georgetown, Ascension Island