If it wasn't for the HMAV Bounty having major crew problems back in 1790, we might never have heard of Pitcairn Island, let alone the three other nearby islands of Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno. Located in a most isolated area of the South Pacific, Pitcairn has been home to a small number of people from Polynesia, as believed by modern day archaeologists. Surviving on limited agriculture and fishing, the population was eventually gone when a British sloop happened by in 1767. At that time, the crew was attempting to chart these islands, but happened to be off by 3 degrees, the story goes.
And so the story continues with the Bounty coming along in 1790, where the mutinous crew set Captain Bligh and a few of his loyal officers, adrift in a rowboat. Led by Fletcher Christian, the sailors invite? some of the Tahitian natives to join them to an unknown destination, which turned out to be Pitcairn Island. And because of the mistake with the charts, they remained hidden for over 20 years. It should have been a happy existence, but it was not to be for the original mutineers. Due to alcoholism, murder, and disease, most all of the nine original mutineers died. But they did leave families, and with several generations down the line, many of those descendants live on the island today. There are an estimated 50 folks living on the island now.
The islands are the last remaining British oversees territory in the Pacific. Their currency is the New Zealand dollar, and that country supplies them with food, clothing, and household needs delivered every four months to their co-op store. In fact, the next mail delivery and pick-up will be in May.
The Amsterdam sailed close to the island around 7am, with a narrated scenic sail-in at 7:45am. BY 8am, several of the islanders boarded their long boat and came out to the ship, climbing the ladder. With them, they brought a load of souvenirs to sell, which included t-shirts, caps, wood carvings, photos, knickknacks, some jewelry, and stamped postcards. The biggest seller was island honey, which came in a small jar for $10 to $15. These were limited to two jars per customer. Once the islanders were set to go at 9:30am in the Lido Pool area, it was a melee.
As for us, we stayed out on the bow during the sail-in, and well after we were in the bay. We did not realize that the dining room had opened at 7:30am, so by the time we arrived, it was close to 9am. Just as well, the crowd had thinned out, and our breakfast was quiet. We had read that Pitcairn rolls (aka Panama rolls) were served on deck three, so we asked if they had some here. Our waiter Danu thought these were maple bars, but Asep brought us the real rolls. Only this time, they were filled with a coconut mixture, instead of the tangerine filling, but they still were tasty.
Remembering there were many types of seabirds here, we went back out on the bow to see if we could locate some. And we were not disappointed. Most of them were fairly far away, but we did spot white terns, boobies, sooty terns, and even a few frigates. The frosting on the cake would have been sighting tropic birds, since we have seen them here before. It wasn't until it was time to leave, that one red-tailed tropic bird flew right over the ship, giving us a chance to film him. We were in the right place at the right time, we say.
And a few other folks on the ship were also in for a treat. They got to step foot on the island with a ride in the longboat. And the lucky folks were…… Captain Mercer, Henk, Christel, Kristen, one top officer, and the lucky camera expert, Meagan. We spotted them as the boat pulled alongside the ship, and the lucky ones had to climb the ladder, just like the pilots do. Pretty thrilling for all of them for sure.
We were hoping the ship would have made a circle around the island, but at noontime, the bow was turned west, and away we went, the island getting smaller with every mile we went. We will have a few more days at sea, then we will be in Tahiti, a favorite stop for us.
Working on photos took up most of the afternoon. We even had room service Caesar salads with a shared club sandwich. The salads are even better than the ones we order in the dining room at dinnertime.
Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm. There were not many folks in there, and the ones that were, belonged to crew and officers. We were greeted by one of the former waitresses we have gotten to know the last few years. She had joined the ship in San Antonio after working on the Eurodam last summer. Always nice to see the special staff that has worked here for several years. Also nice that they remember us so well.
No time change tonight, but we still have two more hours to go back to be on Tahiti time.
Bill & Mary Ann
Friday, February 21, 2020
Report # 105 Adamstown, Pitcairn Island February 19, 2020 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 79 degrees
