World Cruise 2013: Day 100 - Jamestown, St. Helena

World Cruise 2013

April 15, 2013

Today the ship arrived at Jamestown, St. Helena.

Saint Helena is a British Oversea Territory and one of the last relics of the colonies in the South Atlantic Ocean. 1200 miles west of Africa, Saint Helena is of volcanic origin and its surface is rugged and mountainous, reaching an altitude of 2700 feet. Potatoes and flax are the chief products. The entire island is 47 square miles with a population of roughly 6000 people. The island was the place of exile for Napoleon (1815-1821), who died there in 1821, in the farmhouse of Longwood, which is near Jamestown. Saint Helena is one of the most isolated places in the world, located more than 1200 miles from the nearest major landmass. It has no airport and the only transportation is to the Ascension Island by boat and a boat, which runs from Great Britain and Cape Town.

This was a tender port and I took a tour called Scenic St. Helena. We drove up the mountain and stopped for pictures of Jamestown below. Out next stop was at the tomb of the French emperor Napoleon in the Sane Valley. He was buried here but his body was later moved to Paris, France. To get to the tomb we walked down a grass path for about 10 minutes, took some pictures and walked backed up for 10 minutes. Our next stop was at the Longwood House where he spent his last six years of his life. Our next stop after driving thru some beautiful hills we stopped at the Plantation House the official residence of the Governor of St. Helena. We did not get close to the house and we saw only on of the five giant tortoises that reside here. Our next stop was at Ladder Hill where we saw the top of Jacob’s Ladder which is a 699-step staircase that connects the hill to downtown Jamestown. We stopped and took some pictures and then traveled down the hill to Jamestown where they let us off in the shopping area. I walked around and went in the post office and bought some stamps, bought a coke, and walled thru a small park. At 3 PM I went to St James Church, which was built in 1774 and is the oldest Anglican church in the southern hemisphere. Because of construction we had to get into a small vans which held only 10 people. It took several trips by a couple of vans to get everyone to the dock.

Below are some pictures taken from the ship and my tour.