Ascension Island

Ascension Island is one of the most remote islands in the world. There are no permanent indigenous residents here, and everyone who lives here does so with a permit. There are about 200 residents right now, but when there is a political conflict, it can become a busy place due to it’s location. For example, during the conflict with the Falklands, it was one of the busiest airports in the world. It also has one of the longest runways in the world (2 miles) and could accept the space shuttle as a back-up landing site.
There is a tremendous amount of conservation going on here. There are a tremendous number of sea turtle nests here and the babies have a very high rate of survival since there are no natural predators. These turtles lay their eggs here, then migrate to Brazil before returning to one specific beach here.
Sadly, the swells were too large for us to tender onto the island. Some of the residents did come on board and gave a presentation about the island and brought some goods on board to sell.
“The road to nowhere” is theme here, but even though it is quite remote, it seems to be an interesting place to be for a short period of time.
The first photo is Ascension Island from a distance.
The second photo is Jeff and I in front of the island.
The third photo is the settlement at Ascension Island.Read more