Day 23 - Ashore on St Helena for the
last time
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I decided to use my
last half day here to stretch my legs and get a better feel
for Jamestown, seeing the sights and chatting to the friendly
locals. |
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St James’
Church. The oldest Anglican Church south of the equator. |
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Edith and Gregor met
the chief of police while they were sitting having a drink
at the hotel. He was very friendly and told them that there
are currently 25 inmates here, some of whom are in for long
terms. |
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I liked the look of
the biggest hotel I had seen, so I decided to drop in for
coffee and a croissant. The staff were so friendly, like
everybody else in town, it seems. Without fail, everyone
I have passed has wished me a good morning and asked if
I was from the ship. The island clearly has strong links
to South Africa, which provided an extra talking point when
I told them where I was from originally. Almost everything
in the shops has to be imported from there. They are also
grateful for the consignment of Tristan potatoes that we
brought in for them, because there are none on the island
and they are short of many other foodstuffs. When there
is word that some bananas have arrived, there is a rush
to the shops and they sell out quickly. |
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Going
inside the hotel was like stepping back in time. |
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I bought
some chocolate from the Atlantic Store, because the box I bought
in Ushuaia was history! |
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I walked
up the hill towards the outskirts of the town. |
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The painted
sign on the side of the hill made me smile. |
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It did cross my mind
that there was nice little place up in the hills which might
suit him if he wanted to take them up on their offer, although
it might not go down too well with the French. |
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For an island community
of only 4500 people, there are a lot of churches... Anglican,
Catholic, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist and JW. Whilst
walking past one of them, I was cordially invited in to
join them. I cordially declined. |
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If you know, you know!
(For those who don't, this is an extremely common sight
in South Africa where these vehicles are used as taxis,
some of whose driver's don't have the most considerate approach
to driving. It seemed so strange to see one of them here,
complete with the familar branding and emergency escape
signs in English and Afrikaans.) |
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Walking
back down the hill and into town again. |
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I had
seen a couple of wirebirds. I didn't need to go on the tour! |
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Returning to the ship,
I spent a quiet hour before lunch staring out for my last
look at the beautiful island. I was delighted when I caught
sight of a large shadow in the water. It turned out to be
one of quite a few whale sharks. Although they never surfaced
and the video isn't the most exciting one I've ever taken,
it felt really special to me. |
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A little
online research and I came up with the following:- |
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Other
passengers were still enjoying their last adventures here too. |
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I'd love
to claim the credit for these beautful pictures, but I can't! |
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Later,
I got to taste the wahoo that I saw being brought aboard yesterday.
It was delicious! |
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Not to
mention the first bananas that we had seen in a couple of weeks.
They too, were delicious! |
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