I have found a lovely little island getaway that is off the beaten track for your next vacation adventure. Napoleon stayed here for about six years, and the boredom killed him.
Jamestown is one of the two ports of St. Helena Island a British overseas territory in the south Atlantic Ocean. It is 2000 kilometres from Africa and 4000 kilometres from Rio De Janerio. Two other islands are part of this British overseas territory. They are Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha which are 1300 kilometres and 2400 kilometres away respectively. That makes it a rather remote place.
We arrived at dawn and anchored in the deeper water outside of Jamestown.
Rocks are always dropping off the side of the hill. That is why the roof is shaped to make it easier for them to roll off. The metal mesh nets are hanging around most of the cliffs in the built-up areas.
After we walked through the fortification walls the town streets and shops came into view. They have everything you could need, coffee, taxis, and law and order. An interesting thing that I have not seen before is the use of a different coloured license plate on the front and rear of the vehicle. White on the front, yellow on the back.
Jacob’s Ladder is one of the most famous challenges of the town. Originally it was a tram track used to lift the supplies up to the fortification at the top. Now that most of the people of the island live at the top of the hill, the stairway is used to get down to the town unless you have a car and use the road. It is a good thing that there is a taxi service. The normal time to climb the 699 stairs is 20 minutes but coming down only takes 10 minutes. It is a common challenge for tourists to climb the stairs to see the view from the top. If I recall the numbers correctly, one of our younger passengers ran up in about 9 seconds and the ship’s captain logged a time of 8.9 seconds. Graham Doy set the record for this challenge back in 2013 with an extraordinary time of 5 minutes and 16 seconds.
Our guide, Basil George, showed us a shortcut for going down the stairs, see this youtube <link>.
I climbed up 10 steps for a photo opportunity, saving my energy to take more photos. Our tour included a visit to the municipal offices inside the Castle. There I was intrigued by another set of stairs. It was a little disconcerting to look down and see through the treads.
There are some lovely gardens in the lower town area.
After the tour, I did some shopping and sampled some of the locally grown, roasted and brewed coffee. Then it was back to the dock to get in line for the tender ride back to our home at sea.
Up until February of 2018, the British Royal Mail ship RMS Helena would travel from Cape Town to St. Helena on a regular schedule. The trip one way took 5 days. The ship not only carried the mail but also some containers and some passengers. After the new airport was completed in 2016 and a reliable schedule was worked out, the last remaining Royal Mail ship was decommissioned. Now containers are delivered by the MV Helena to the other port in Ruperts Bay.
Back on the ship, I was able to take some pictures of the upper town
and the lower town.
When the sun started to sink into the sea, it was time to lift the anchor and continue the trip across the Atlantic leaving the “saints” of this beautiful island behind.
-Where do you want to go today? –
Here is a <link> to a youtube video documentary of changes in St. Helena.
