St. Helena

As we left Namibia, we set a course for the British territory island of St. Helena. We are truly in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean and we are making several stops as we begin our journey back to the Caribbean and eventually to Ft. Lauderdale.
St. Helena is home to about 5500 people and is probably best known as the place where Napoleon spent the last 7 years of his life in exile. Granted, he was confined to an island, but the views are pretty spectacular. There were 3000 troops here to make sure he didn’t escape as well as a fleet of military ships that circled the island at all times. I don’t think he was going to get away.
The island is volcanic and very dramatic with steep mountains/cliffs and lush green valleys. There are 699 stair-steps that go from town in the valley to town up above and many of the people on the ship enjoyed the thigh-burning walk up.
The town itself was very quaint and charming and it was interesting to look in the grocery stores and gift shops to see what is available in a place that has a ship stop by once a month and no air access. (Lots of canned meat.)
Interestingly enough, there is no technology for credit cards, ATM’s or cell phones.
They do have a distillery though!
The first photo is the countryside in St. Helena.
The second photo is looking down the 699 steps of Jacob's Ladder.
The third photo is Napoleon's place of exile.Read more