February 15, 2013 Pitcairn Island - Scenic Cruising 10:00a to 2:00p

Today we didn’t get off the ship, but about 30 islanders came aboard and set up tables to sell their crafts. They all arrived in one of their 3 longboats in the pouring rain. There was quite a storm last night with thunder and lightning. (so we were told, we didn’t hear it)  It was very interesting to see them approach the ship and board. One lady gave a talk about life on the island and showed photos of their town. They get supplies 4 times a year and about 8 to 10 cruise ships come during this part of the year that also bring supplies. They had ordered supplies in advance that our ship brought for them.

 



Here is some background on the island:

The Pitcairn Islands group is a British Overseas Territory. It comprises the islands of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno. Pitcairn, the only inhabited island, is a small volcanic outcrop situated in the South Pacific at latitude 25.04 south and longitude 130.06 west. It is roughly 2170km (1350 miles) east south-east of Tahiti and just over 6600km (4100 miles) from Panama. The Islands' administrative headquarters are situated in Auckland New Zealand, 5310km (3300 miles) away.

With a population of only around fifty, the people of Pitcairn are descended from the mutineers of HMAV Bounty and their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn Island is approximately 3.2km (2 miles) long and 1.6km (1 mile) wide with the capital Adamstown located above Bounty Bay and accessed by the aptly named road, "The Hill of Difficulty".

Very enjoyable day and I bought a pair of earrings and a couple of magnets. (one I can convert to a Christmas ornament). They had a lot of beautiful wood carvings and vases and they sell a lot of collectable postage stamps. You could mail a letter from Pitcairn, but they only get mail pickup and delivery 4 times a year. They are also known for having some of the best honey in the world.

There are 8 children on the island and the youngest is 2 years old.

We circumnavigated the island so we got to see the inhabited side as well as the rest. I used binoculars to see the buildings up close. There was a beautiful waterfall. The sun came out and that made for some better photos. The lecturer said they have 2 vehicles on the island, but each family has about 2 quads each that they use for transportation since there aren’t any paved roads. What an interesting way of life.

The islanders were treated to lunch on the ship and then we watched them load all of their supplies on their longboat. A lot of frozen stuff, bags of rice, onions, lots of alcohol, soda, TP and who knows what else. They worked fast and had the hull of the boat loaded to the max and then they boarded their boat for the short ride home.

It was Thai night in the dining room. Yum!

We skipped the show tonight since we weren’t thrilled with the comedian last time and got caught up on some laundry. The laundry room is packed during the day and is empty in the evening.

2 more days at sea until we make port in Tahiti.