Apr 5, 2014 - Jamestown, St. Helena

4/5 – 4/8 Another 1412 miles and three days until we anchored at Jamestown, St. Helena. Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned and died on this island. Although he was initially buried on the island, he was later moved to France. Jamestown is a pleasant small town with an unusual claim to fame: it has a 699 step staircase up to a second section of town. A number of hardy shipmates, including Joan, decided that they could not resist the challenge (Ken had no trouble resisting). Joan made it with no problem, unlike many of the others. She did...

Mar 12, 2010 - Tristan da Cunha

This morning we awoke to calm seas and sunny skies. What a treat – we were told that we would go ashore starting at 8:00 AM and that the last return was to be at 1:00 PM. To top it off, it was to be a dry landing which meant no boots, parkas, or rain pants. What a deal!! Our group was the last to leave the ship. We were about 1000 yards away when the driver received a message to return. It turned out that the ship’s Captain wanted to go ashore and that he had missed the boat. We thought that that was a laugh. He told us that he had been...

Mar 11, 2010 - Tristan da Cunha

We arrived just off Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on the island of Tristan da Cunha just before breakfast time. That is a big name for a small town [about 270 inhabitants]. The island is obviously a volcano. It looks as if there is very little usable land – most of the island is nearly vertical. It was easy to see the new vent. In 1961 a vent opened right outside the town. It made a mini-cone and spewed ash and lava. The islanders were forced to flee without much warning. Instead of burying the town, the lava flowed directly to the sea....