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| Dinner With Captain Mercer |
It was either luck of the draw or Cheryl’s beauty - seating at the Captain’s dinner is assigned, & she ended up on his immediate left. As her date for the evening, I was there too! We very much enjoyed our time with him - he’s such a gentleman, and so very nice & sincere. I asked him several questions about the book he wrote last year, and I told him it has a permanent place on our coffee table back home. We also talked at great length about conditions in Mozambique and he too was mesmerized by what he saw. A great evening of interesting conversation, superb wine, & elegant cuisine. We’ve been at sea for two days & nights, and now approaching Jamestown, St. Helena – it’s a very tiny island around 1,200 miles west/northwest of Walvis Bay – population 6,000 – the entire island is 47 square miles, & much the same as Easter & Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific, it is also noted as being one of the world’s most isolated places. Their claim to fame is Napoleon – he died here in 1821. Those are the two reasons for our stop here – it’s on several peoples’ bucket list – not ours at this point but that could change after our visit. We’re scheduled to anchor around 10:00 – more after our brief stop.
Meanwhile, we dropped about 200 passengers in Cape Town so we’re now sailing with 900+. There’s a nasty cold and sore throat floating around the ship – we’re fine so far. In fact, our health has been perfect since we left, unlike last year. Several more cases of broken arms & wrists – folks just not paying attention on stairs or when the seas get rough. One of our good friends we play cards with developed a severe case of hiccups after we left Durbin – hadn’t slept in four days – the doctor on-board recommended he return to California for treatment by his personal physician – he got off in Cape Town & flew to Sacramento – a 27-hour trip we understand. He’s doing much better now, and we continue to play cards with his wife every day. Speaking of cards…Cheryl has had an incredible streak of good luck over the past few days, and now leads our ongoing Rummy game 27 – 23! She’s smiling these days!
We’ve talked a lot about doing volunteer work in Africa, particularly in Namibia. There’s a large orphanage in the area in need of all kinds of help. Last night we were talking with some friends and they too are considering – both are retried - one is a Pediatrician, the other an Ophthalmologist. The girl’s choir from the orphanage was brought on-board to sing for us just before we left – 35 precious, homeless girls – so touching! The passengers got together & donated over $8,000. Many had never seen the ocean before – most had never been on a cruise ship – their little eyes were like big saucers. They were turned loose in one of the buffet restaurants for several hours and as you can imagine, the line for hamburgers, fries, ice cream, & cookies was lengthy and quite steady! Only downside of their visit – they were allowed to swim in one of the pools, and now we have Pink Eye infecting passengers. At any rate, the Pediatrician has already made contact with the orphanage in terms of volunteer work and will keep us posted. We’re really torn with the idea – we’d absolutely LOVE to help, but we don’t spend nearly enough time as it is with our own kids, grandkids, & other close relatives in California. Cheryl and I are also committed to the Blue Stars Drum Corps – what would happen with our volunteer work with them? As I wrestle with the overall pros & cons, doing volunteer work in Africa for a short time period would be extremely rewarding – I think we could truly make a big difference in the lives of many young children, but there’s so much to consider – we just need more information at this point. We’ll see what happens.
More on Jamestown after our visit today.
UPDATE
First, the idea of doing volunteer work in Namibia. This morning at breakfast, we spoke personally with someone who visited the village in question. Although Cheryl would go if I asked her, I could never put her through a situation such as what has been described to us – no running water, no electricity, and no facilities of any kind. The gentlemen we spoke with described his meal as fried caterpillars in a metal bowl with rice boiled over an open fire. There were no utensils – you eat with the fingers on your right hand – eating with your left hand is considered bad manners. The physicians I mentioned earlier both agree that volunteering in those conditions, while moral & virtuous, would most likely end in a one-way trip – that the average person simply wouldn’t have a strong enough immune system to battle the many microorganisms you would be exposed to. Both of us are certainly average – helping is one thing, but signing up for a likely terminal trip makes no sense to either of us. End of discussion.
The coastline of the island is comprised of high vertical cliffs cut by steep-sided v-shaped valleys. The coastal areas are rugged and barren whereas the higher elevations in the center of the island have lush vegetation. A decent network of (albeit narrow, winding, and steep) roads make much of the island reasonably accessible. They have a church, bank, & post office here – four shops, one grocery store, one coffee shop, one hotel, & two cafes. There’s no airport. All goods are imported from Cape Town via ship, a four day/night voyage. As I mentioned yesterday, there are very few residents on the island and therefore, minimal transportation. We weren’t booked on any ship-sponsored tours as only two were offered and believed they would be quite frenzied. Good decision – people were jam-packed in small, balmy vans. We originally intended to only walk around the small village & beach area but stumbled on a local resident with a truck equipped with bench seats in the back, willing to show us and a few others the island. I asked if he’d be willing to follow the tour vans. The cruise line offered an island tour for $160 (per couple) to include all the main attractions and as I mentioned, transported in stuffy mini-vans. Cheryl and I had an open-air truck with a tarp on top for $25 – SOLD! Follow those mini-vans!!
Our Day...
The island is fortunate to entertain two ships each year – it’s a major event for them. Their one radio station was advising all residents to stay off the roads so the vans could get through – 28 of them! The roads were barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, and they were all very steep with abrupt corners. Our first stop was Napoleon’s tomb. We thought this would be an easy view – not so. We had to walk a half-mile DOWN a sheer grassy embankment only to observe a cement slab with iron gates around it. After a few photos, it was back UP the embankment – more slowly I might add! That was a hike! We felt sorry for our shipmates who then had to crawl into their tiny, sweltering vehicles, while we had a cool mountain breeze blowing in our faces. Next stop was Napoleons home where he was exiled and spent his final years. You know from history that Napoleon was quite a troublemaker, yet before he died, he lived on a beautiful mountaintop with lush gardens and views of the ocean from two sides. We walked through his entire home and passed the bed where he died – there on a nearby chair laid his hat and old undercoat.
One of our final stops was the Plantation House – a Georgian-style home built in 1792 as the country residence of the Governor of the East India Company. Today, Plantation House is the home of the Governor of St. Helena. There’s also a tortoise on the property – his name is Jonathon, said to be 178 years old. Now…if I’m Governor of this tiny, struggling island, and I have a cruise ship with a population almost as large as my own city, and these people are spending time here & pumping money into my economy…then I at least open my blinds and wave to these wonderful people….right?? I mean, the Governor has 28 mini-vans in his driveway, plus our pickup truck – probably 250 people – wouldn’t you expect some type of acknowledgement?? Didn’t see the Governor – didn’t even see the blinds move. BUT…we saw Jonathon…the 178 year old tortoise – he even ambled over by the fence to greet us. Yes…the Governor was home, we were told. Frankly, I was more impressed with Jonathon’s demeanor and personality…at least he came to say hello in his own way. People continue to amaze me.
Several hours had passed and we were now stopped at an overlook with the sea, our ship, and the tiny city several hundred feet straight down a mountainside. From that point, there are only two ways down. You either backtrack the narrow, treacherous road of several miles, OR, you can CLIMB down the mountain on what is known as “Jacob’s Ladder”. This structure is constructed of large cement steps, irregular in size & spacing, bordered by iron railings, and nearly vertical…straight down. There are 699 steps in total spanning over 900 feet. The ladder is used by many residents to travel from the valley floor to the homes & few businesses on the mountaintop. The ladder draws quite a crowd – primarily folks taking pictures of other people trying to scale or descend the structure. Well…why not?! Down we go…we near the halfway point and our thighs begin to burn – a little farther down and with each step, I wasn’t sure if my legs were going to support me or not. We reached the bottom 30 minutes later…both of us had rubbery legs…to the extent that just walking on a flat surface was a real challenge. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could make it back to the ship without assistance. It took several minutes, but we were finally on the pier and carefully boarded the ‘tender’ for our return to the ship.
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| Our Ship...Far Below! |
Our original plan was to change, shower, and enjoy the sail away party with other passengers by the pool.
We showered, put our robes on, opened a bottle of wine, and watched the sail away from our verandah – we were in bed for the night by 6:30. As I write this 24 hours later, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, both of us are still very, VERY sore. We’ve been hobbling around the ship like we're 60 years old! Well...one of us is!
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