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| Pitcairn Island, So Pacific |
1/23/11<? Pitcairn Island We arrived at Pitcairn Island at about 9am. It is a very small island about 4 miles by 2 miles, with very steep cliffs and covered in tropical foliage. 45 of the 62 residents, came out to the ship in a longboat. They brought with them souvenirs to sell, and set up stands on deck. A lot of the residents are direct descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers. Today was a holiday for them, Bounty day. It is the anniversary of the burning of the HMS Bounty. Normally they build a replica of the bounty and burn it in Bounty Bay, but because they learned of our impending arrival only two weeks ago, they were too busy making arts and crafts instead. Helen Christian spoke in the auditorium and told about daily life on the Island. Everyone on the island has to do an average of 45 hours of community work a month, such as repairing roads and general upkeep. They have a diesel generator that provides power to the town for five hours in the morning and five hours in the evening. There is a post office and a store, which are open 3 days a week for only a few hours. There is a one room schoolhouse for all the children, a medical center with dentist office and doctor’s office. Every household has their own garden, and everyone is responsible for catching and holding their own fresh water. There are 4 deliveries from cargo ships a year, and they have to go to the ships in the longboats to get the cargo(they are looking for more residents between the ages of 25 and 40 to help with this). All of them were excited to be onboard, the stores and the food were a real treat for them. Someone told us that the islanders are willing to trade their stuff for wine and champagne. We had 2 bottles of champagne in our room, so we told Bridget that if she wanted anything they were selling, she had to bargain with champagne. She came back to us a few minutes later and told us she had made a deal. Kathy and I went over and talked to the couple who were dealing with Bridget. The man was from England and the woman was from Southern California, they moved to Pitcairn Island about 20 years ago. They don’t get champagne very often, so they were very happy to trade for it. Bridget picked out two animals made of seashells, and they also gave us a bunch of postcards. They told us that they don’t get chocolate very often either, so Kathy ran down to our room, and returned with all of the chocolates that were being left on our pillows at night. They were thrilled, and tried to give us more souvenirs. They were all extremely nice people. The highlight for the Islanders was the buffet, most of the meat they eat is processed, so fresh meat in so many varieties is heavenly. Ice cream was another treat for them, since they only have electricity for 10 hours a day, they can’t keep ice cream in their freezers. 6 to 8 cruise ships stop every year now, and it is almost a holiday for all the residents. They all come out to the ships eat, shop, and sell their goods. As they started to leave the ship, the Captain made an announcement over the loud speaker that the MS Amsterdam would be supplying them with fresh chicken, milk, potatoes and more. After they had departed, one of the crew told me the Pitcairn Islanders had bought almost all of the liquor and candy in the onboard stores. I did get to watch the playoff games this afternoon while the girls were swimming. Hopefully we will have time in our busy schedule to watch the Packers beat the Steelers in two weeks. |
