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| Approaching James' Bay at dawn |
After
an easy two week passage, where the only known item that broke was a Harken
block on the kicker; the first approach round the NW of the island in the dawn
gave the impression a forbidding and uninhabited area of steep and fairly arid
cliffs. On entering James Bay you see buildings on the top of the cliffs and
the 699 steep steps of Jacob’s Ladder leading to them.
The town of Jamestown is almost completely hidden in its valley behind the port area.
With its relative isolation from the rest of the world landing in St Helena requires a step back in time. It has a three-weekly supply ship from Cape Town. There are no ATMs, a mobile phone system that appears to be accessible only with local SIM cards, expensive WiFi in a couple of locations and currency which, although equivalent to pounds sterling, comes in banknotes that are apparently not exchangeable off the island. The bank, where you have to queue, does not even exchange US dollars!
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| Jamestown |
We took an island tour with Robert, an octogenarian who runs tours. His minibus was off the road so 8 of us were in the back of his 4WD, with two in the front.
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| Longwood House |
The
main tourist attractions on the island are related to Napoleon’s enforced stay
there after Waterloo up to his death there in 1821. It’s amazing to realise that the risk of
Napoleon’s escape was so high that the British acquired Tristen de Cunha and
Ascension Islands to further isolate him.
Longwood House in which he lived has been kept largely as it was. At our
time of visit some of the furniture and artifacts have been sent to Paris for
restoration.
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| Napoleon's empty tomb |
The tomb in which he was buried until he was removed to Paris sixteen years later was unmarked because the British and French could not agree on the inscription.
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| The new airport site |
St Helena's isolation will soon be broken. A new airport, to be opened by Prince Edward, is in the final stages of construction – a test flight by a 737 landed on 12 April.
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| Green interior |
The
interior of the island is fairly green, but with barren areas clearly showing it's volcanic origin. Agriculture, although formerly
extensive, has declined. An attempt was made to establish a flax industry but
now the flax covers the hills. Dairy industry declined when farmers were no
longer allowed to sell their own milk.
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| With barren volcanic peaks |
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| Jacob's ladder from the top |
The easiest way to get to the top of Jacob's ladder is by road from the valley bottom.
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| James Bay anchorage |
There is a good bird's eye view of the anchorage.
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| Consulate Hotel |
The Consulate Hotel in the main street of Jamestown was the preferred watering hole with the best WiFi and reasonably priced snacks for lunch.
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| Minnie B at sunset |
Being on the western side of the anchorage the anchorage was the scene for some excellent sunset shots of the boats.
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| Sea Bunny at anchor (Photo: Phil Heaton) |
