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Saint Helena
Saint Helena

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  • TravelerMathi`s - Abenteuerreise 23/24
    Day 19

    St Helena - Namibia 2. Seetag

    January 8, 2024 in Saint Helena ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    08.01.2024 2. Seetag

    Heute mehrheitlich ruhiger Seetag mit wechselnder Bewölkung und 22-25 Grad. Abends ansteigende Dünung.

    Haben heute Nachmittag eine Ölplattform auf einem Transportschiff überholt.

    Am Abend war ein spezielles mehrgängiges Diner für die Weltreisenden (230 Personen) mit anregender Unterhaltung mit der Kreuzfahrtdirektorin Nadine.

    Weitere Bilder vom Aufenthalt in St Helena    Read more

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  • TravelerMathi`s - Abenteuerreise 23/24
    Day 16

    St Helena 05.01.24

    January 5, 2024 in Saint Helena ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    05. 01.2024 St. Helena

    Heute Mittag sind wir in St Helena bei strahlendem Wetter auf Reede gegangen. Nach 1 1/2 h technischen Problemen mit dem Anlanden im Miniaturhafen von St Helena unter Beizug der beiden Käpten und endlosen Diskussionen mit der lokalen Hafenbehörden, konnte endlich das Tendern losgehen.
    Mit viel Glück bin ich als letzter auf das 2. Tenderbot gekommen samt Trottinett. Mit diesem bin ich nach Jamestown gefahren.
    Das 1. was ich gesehen habe, war ein leeres Taxi. Fragte den Taxifahrer nach einer Möglichkeit ein Auto zu mieten - keine Chance die nächsten 1 1/2 Tage - diese Zeit seit Monaten ausgebucht.
    Er erklärte mir, dass 100 Meter von hier ein weißer Ford Transit warte und hinauf nach Longwood, dem Napoleon Haus fahre - genau 1 Platz war noch frei - heute und morgen alle Transortmöglichkeiten ausgebucht 😡 - also habe ich die $25.— hervorgekramt und schon ist er losgefahren. Zum Glück habe ich diesen Sitzplatz noch bekommen - die Strassen sind alle so schmal und vor allem ungewöhnlich steil - da wäre ich mit dem Trottinette niemals hochgekommen, ganz abgesehen davon habe ich beim 1. Fotostopp eine Signalisation Velofahrverbot gesehen - sicher nicht ganz unberechtigt 🙊. Wir sind die Napoleonstrasse hochgefahren - nach etwas 1 km hat man auf den 1. kurzen Wohnsitz von Napoleon heruntergesehen im hinteren Teil des schmalen Tals, talaufwärts sah man auf das langezogene Jamestown und auf die MS Celestyal auf Reede.
    Die längste Zeit sind wir bei ständig wechselnder Vegetation hochgefahren bis vor Longwood die verlassene 1. Grabstätte auftauchte. Der Leichnam von Napoleon wurde nach 14 Jahren nach Paris in den Invalidendom überführt. Weiterfahrt nach Longwood wo die eigentliche Wohnstätte von Napoleon in einer sehr schönen Parkanlage steht.
    Das ganze Gelände war geschlossen - wir waren natürlich zu spät. Nebenan ist der Golfplatz 🏌️‍♀️ von St Helena auf einem schönen Hochplateau gelegen. Darunter ist der neue Flugplatz gelegen mit neu einem 6 h Flug ✈️ am Dienstag und Samstag ab Johannesburg - immer mit dem Risiko, dass die Landung wegen den Scheerwinden abgebrochen werden muss und unverrichteter Dinge 6h nach Johannesburg zurück fliegen muss.
    Weiter sind wir über Horrorstrassen nach St Pauls gefahren - dann am Sitz des Couverneurs vorbei, wo ich tatsächlich die beiden Uralt Riesen Schildkröten 🐢 gesehen habe - sind irgendwie unglaublich zwischen 100 und 200 Jahren alt.
    Sind dann runter auf den Sonnenhang von Half Tree Hollow gefahren, wo das Spital ist und zu unterst das Ende der 699 Stufigen Jacobsleiter von Jamestown endet. Am Schluss der 3 1/2h Rundfahrt brachte er uns direkt vor das Tenderboot - dieser ca. 75 jährige Taxifahrer hat einen Superjob mit unglaublichem Wissen über St Helena gemacht😇🤗 - diesmal wirklich 🍀 gehabt mit diesem letzten Sitzplatz - und das ganze für lausige $25.—    Read more

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  • TravelerApril 2024
    1
    Day 10

    World’s Most Isolated Island

    April 10, 2024 in Saint Helena ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Tristan da Cunha bills itself as, “the most remote island in the world.”

    As you can see from the maps I’ve shared, it really is remote. Not a good place for a heart attack.

    Just saying…

    The island has a population of 238 people. And yes, they do have a cemetery!

    Despite emailing Tristan da Cunha’s tourism coordinator and making arrangements to visit the local cemetery and learn about their funeral customs from a local elder, it was not to be.

    Unfortunately, a big challenge when visiting small islands in the middle of the ocean is that they do not have docking facilities. This means the ship must anchor and ferry passengers ashore using its life boats.

    All too often, the waves are so rough that this isn’t possible, and that’s exactly what happened to us today.

    Last year, for example, we attempted to visit St Helena but the ocean swell was too big for us to go ashore. (Napoleon’s tomb is there, so you can imagine how disappointed I was!)

    So instead of going ashore, our ship circled the island while we wistfully gazed ashore.

    I had also been looking forward to seeing the island’s textiles. Citizens of Tristan da Cunha have their own brand of hand knitted garments called “37 Degrees South.”

    They also have a unique tradition of knitting “Love socks.” When a young man fancies a young lady, he visits her house. She, in turn, knits a pair of socks for him. The colored bands on the socks reveal a hidden message, letting him know if she wants to date him, or if she would rather be “friends forever.”

    While I’m disappointed that we were unable to go ashore, at least we got close. Next time!    Read more

  • TravelerMarch 2023

    St Helena

    March 3, 2023 in Saint Helena ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    Greetings from one of the most remote islands in the world! The nearest landmass is 1200 nautical miles away from St Helena.

    It’s easy to see why, after he escaped from the Island of Elba, Napoleon was exiled here.

    A few folks went ashore today, but we were not among the lucky ones. After a handful of tenders launched, the captain announced that for safety reasons, no more passengers could be taken to shore.

    Those who made it to shore, assured us that getting on and off the tender boats was very challenging.

    Our Romanian friends even showed us a video of their boat being tossed around. Their tender was even damaged on the return trip when it smacked the side of the ship!

    Even so, some passengers grumbled about the captain’s decision. But according to the bar staff, a crew member broke their leg last time they were here due to similar conditions.

    Maybe we’ll get lucky next time we’re here!    Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing
    111

    The greenest mountain

    May 7, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    In the mid-1800s Darwin visited Ascension and later encouraged another botanist, Joseph Hooker, to import plants to the island so that when planted they could capture the rain and improve the soil. Over 200 different species of exotic seeds and seedlings were shipped from Kew Gardens, as well as Argentina, Europe and South Africa. These were planted on what is now known as Green Mountain. The fittest survived and this eclectic mix slowly spread to cover the whole mountain. There is now a tropical rain forest at the top of the mountain, which is in stark contrast to the surrounding black volcanic soil. And believe it or not, I climbed to the top! Well, we drove half way up, but still. It was one of the most beautiful walks I’ve ever been on. The plants are a lush green and very varied. You walk through fine grasses waving in the wind, and then through a forest of bamboo that reaches the sky. You can find Cape gooseberries, ginger and banana trees in between the Norfolk Island pines, mosses and prickly pears. The best part is that it is cool and the top is misty and there are no snakes on the island to worry about (much to Craig’s disappointment). There are also surprisingly hardly any bugs. Craig saw one little ladybird, and that’s it. It was a steep climb for the likes of me, but the spectacular views from the top made all the huffing and puffing well worth it!Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing
    1

    Go figure!

    May 6, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The story goes that the Ascension Government ordered some road signs to warn drivers of the wild donkeys that roam around. Firstly, the company that supplied them had run out of donkey signs, so they naturally sent some camel ones. And secondly, the government actually put the camel signs up! 😂Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing

    The sights of Ascension

    May 6, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    You can only live on Ascension Island if you work there or are under 18 years old. Once you retire, you must leave. So nearly everyone there either works for the Ascension Government or is part of the US or British military bases. There is no tourism and there are no facilities like car hire. But we were lucky enough to meet Herbie, the head of Sea Rescue, who said that his wife, Tanya, would happily drive us around the island (and keep our shopping in her fridge while we were out - nothing is too much trouble for these kind island people.😊) So Tanya took us to the beautiful, but sadly named, Comfortless Cove, where we found a most unusual cemetery. She drove us through the US and British military villages. The British village is called Two Boats and there’s also an area called One Boat, because, we’ll, there’s one boat there! We got to see the beaches where the turtles lay their eggs. Sadly, we were not allowed on the island at night time to see them, but every morning from our boat you could see the fresh tracks. It’s also hatchling season, so the friggin’ frigate birds are continually circling the area. We also got to see the Sea Rescue boat being launched for it’s weekly training session. She showed us the many and varied communication structures and the unusual landscape. We visited the museum and had a drink at the NAAFI (not ‘nafi’) bar (Navy, Army, Air Force). A truly fascinating place.Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing
    1

    Not a soft landing

    May 6, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    We had heard that getting onto Ascension is not easy. The landing consists of a couple of steel steps or a couple of concrete steps - take your pick. There are also a few thick ropes that you can hang onto for dear life. And you can expect to get wet. So when Craig, Dom and I arrived there in Foblet (with all our goods in a dry bag) we were a bit shocked to see how extreme the swell was. It would recede from the steps then rush back and completely engulf them in foamy water. But we thought, hey, they said it wouldn’t be easy. So after a few manoeuvres, Craig managed to get Foblet alongside the concrete steps and Dom made a dash for it, grabbing the rope and doing a bit of the splits as the water sucked Foblet away. Within seconds he was almost waist deep in water standing on the steps. Craig tried to get Foblet closer again so that I could get off, but another huge surge of water came in, lifted us up and threw us bow first at the rocky wall. We could hear crunching noises as poor Foblet got her nose smashed. We were both hanging on for dear life and there were quite a few swearwords coming out of my mouth. Foblets reverse gear was no match for the force of the water, and within seconds we were smashing against the rock again. More crunching noises and more cussing. And did I mention that 3m Galapagos sharks are spotted around this area every day, waiting for the likes of us! Craig managed to get us away from the landing but Foblet’s nose section was starting to deflate, so we had to try and pump her up whilst negotiating the current. In the meantime, Dom went ashore to ask for some help, and someone came to drop us a stern line from the platform above. But by then it was clear that Foblet needed some attention, so somehow we managed to get Dom back on board and we limped back to FOB. Well, I was so shaken by then that this incident literally drove me to drink - a tequila and a G&T to be precise. A bit later, Okko, one of the guys who was working on the nearby tugs, must have seen poor Foblet’s deflated spirit, so he stopped by in his rather large and wonderful rubber duck and offered to drop us on land and pick us up later. He did this for us every day, (another example of the kindness of strangers) and although he made our lives so much easier, I’m not sure that I want to get onto that landing ever again in my whole livelong life! 😂Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing

    The kindness of the Saints

    April 30, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    We found the St Helenians to be be very kind and friendly. They have limited resources on the island, but what they do have, they are very generous with. One morning on the ferry ride, one of the fishermen gave us a huge piece of fresh tuna he had just caught and wouldn’t accept anything for it. A few days later I asked Lisa at the Consulate Hotel if she knew where I could find some eggs. The next day she was waiting with six fresh eggs and wouldn’t accept payment. And when we climbed Jacob’s Ladder we were told that there are no taxis at the top to bring us down (and as you can imagine, there was no way on this earth that I was going to walk down as well 🤣) so Lisa handed her cell phone over to us with the taxi driver’s number and said she had some credit on it so we must just use what we need! I’m not sure that I would hand my phone over to some salty-looking strangers. The day before we left, we did all our provisioning and Hazel at the hotel said we should leave it there while we went around shopping. At the end of the day we returned to the hotel where Peter had his bakkie waiting outside to load it all up and drive us down to the harbour. They had also sold us a case of beer at the retail price, making nothing for themselves. On the ferry ride back, one of the Ukrainian yachties gave Dom a big bunch of spring onions - we’re not sure why😂 but it was very kind of them! On the morning of our departure, the ferryman Colin arrived in his boat with a huge yellowfin tuna which he also just wanted to give to us. We couldn’t possibly eat it all ourselves so we paid it forward a bit and gave some to some other yachties, Craig and Barbs, who were setting off for Brazil. They had already left their moorings so they turned back and the only way to get it to them was to fling it! 😁 As we sailed away we felt very humbled by these generous Saints.Read more

  • SailingFOBAtlantic Crossing

    Next step

    April 29, 2022 in Saint Helena ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We’ll be leaving St Helena tomorrow morning and heading for Ascension Island. We should arrive there in about five day’s time and will spend a couple of days there. Looking forward to sailing again and not eating so much! 🙈 Did some final provisioning today and had our milk delivered from above. 😁 We have really enjoyed our time on this friendly island.Read more

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