ST. HELENA – APRIL 11TH

St. Helena is a small British overseas territory situated in the South Atlantic Ocean and is one of the remotest places on Earth.  Anyone would agree with that if you look for St. Helena on a map.  By the way, you can spell St. Helena any way you want, but the inhabitants who live on the “remotest island on the planet” insist that you pronounce their home correctly:  St. Hel-ee-na.  There is a current population of 4,587.

Built on igneous rock in a small enclave, Jamestown, the capital, is sandwiched between the steep cliffs that form the James’s Valley and retains much of its remarkable heritage and tells the story of colonial conquest, slavery, imperialist ideas, the age of sailing ships and war and exile.  Probably its most famous inhabitant was Napoleon Bonaparte who was exiled to St. Helena from 1815 until his death in 1821.  His residence at that time, Longwood House, is now an iconic museum of Napoleonic memorabilia and original furniture.  

We planned the day walking around so we got on a morning tender, after all the passengers who had booked excursions left the ship, and headed for the Island.  The tender landing on the Island was very old but not difficult to navigate up the stone steps.  Walking along the wharf, the cliffs were covered with chain like wire to prevent injuries from falling rocks to pedestrians walking along.   

About a quarter of a mile or so, we received a map of Jamestown from an Information Booth and continued on our way to the archway that led us into the town.  The first thing we saw was Jacob’s Ladder.  Had I researched St. Helena before our arrival, I might’ve set Jacob’s Ladder as another challenge for me, as I did with the Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur.  It was quite hot the day we visited so I’m not so sure I would’ve able to get to the top of the 699 steps.  Many of our fellow passengers, crew and our Captain made the climb.  Considered one of the Island’s seven wonders, the “ladder” was constructed in 1829, with those 699 steps embedded into the steep cliff face to aid in the transportation of ammunition up to the post known as Ladder Hill Fort. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder_(Saint_Helena)

Next up on the right was St. James Church, the oldest Anglican Church in the Southern Hemisphere, which dates back to 1774;  its interior stained glass windows are from 1874.  

Walking along the right side of the main street, we came to the Orange Tree Oriental Restaurant and I loved its sign which read:  “Pre-booking advisable but not essential.”  The same little building housed Sally’s DVDs for hire and a Computerstore that, apparently, dealt with “all things digital.”  

After passing the Post Office, we met one of our new friends, Jan, who, like myself, was enjoying the rhythmic sounds from the musicians playing across the way and couldn’t help but greet each other with a little dancing in the street.  

A general store sold everything from car accessories, clothing, hardware, household goods, including a donut maker machine.  A video library store as well as another store that sold all sorts of strange little items, including VHS tapes, crossed our path that morning.  We were told some people had satellite dishes but I’m guessing not a whole lot of people do.  

A little stationer sold shipping materials, children’s toys which were reminiscent of those sold perhaps 40 years ago, such as plastic piggy banks.  Our friend, Dr. Richard, bought one of those sticks with a horse’s head to simulate riding a horse.  Nothing battery operated, but Sponge Bob stickers were available.   

While there are no ATMs on the Island, the Bank of St. Helena, did offer cash advances on most credit and debit cards.  The local currency, the St. Helena Pound, is equivalent to the British Pound.  The US Dollar, South African Rand and Euro in the form of notes were also accepted at the bank. 

Our destination lecturer told us the people would be friendly and she was absolutely correct.  Just about everyone we passed that morning said, “Good morning,” to us and were very gracious to us in the stores and while sitting on an outdoor bench.  One of the ladies we spoke to confirmed what we had already been told and that is that there is almost no crime on the island, hence the absence of bars and locks on the windows, unlike many other places we had just visited.  I noticed there were no screens on the windows either and she told us mosquitos aren’t a bother. 

Visiting the three grocery stores on the Island, I noticed that there weren’t very many vegetables available.  At the meat market, we saw freezers that contained a lot of packaged foods, including frozen pizzas, which might have explained why the people we saw were heavier than those we saw in Africa, for example.  Although one of our fellow passengers said that people have their own gardens and grow their own food, I can’t imagine the majority do, but I may be wrong.  Everything has to be shipped in so I’m guessing lots of processed foods, including “chakalaka,” the ratatouille type vegetable mix we enjoyed so much in South Africa.  Although “Nutella” wasn’t available, a substitute was.  

I think one of the most unusual things we saw on the Island was at one of the shops housed in “The Market” which displayed a sign selling funeral accessories.  The only funereal items I saw were some type of plaques that read “Beloved Wife” or “Beloved Husband” but I didn’t inquire further about what may have available.  

We bought our magnet and flax envelopes at the St. Helena Art & Crafts store manned by a lovely gal named Noelia.  

On our way back to the ship, we saw another beautiful door and a telephone booth.  There’s a Guest House and a few hotels along this street and in front of the Castle Gardens stood a beautiful tree.  Our waitress, Sandra, had eaten at Anne’s Place where the Gardens were and she said the fish was very good.  Our final stop was at Serena’s Gift Shop and we couldn’t help but being amused by the, how should I say, anatomical toys available.   I asked Serena, the owner of the shop, “Who buys these things?” and while she very graciously showed us each of the items, she said they’re bought, usually at Christmas time, as office white elephant gifts.  I told her that in the politically correct environment in which we now live in the United States, they’d never be part of an office gift exchange.  

After saying good-bye to Selena, we went outside and saw a very unusual sight.  This BMW.  In a place where VHS tapes are still available, and, no doubt, viewed, to see a car like this was, indeed, strange. 

Walking towards our tender along the pier, I thought this was a very quaint little place, marveled how simply the people must live, and looked back at the daunting Jacob’s Ladder that welcomed every visitor to make the climb to the top.  

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:   As Leona has described above, St. Helena was a charming quaint town that took me back to the 50s.  I can’t remember the last time I saw videotapes for sale in a store.  What stood out for me more than anything was the almost-total lack of any type of crime on this Island.  Whenever we stop at a port, the very first thing I notice is whether there are bars on the windows of the homes and businesses.  I knew immediately that this was an unusually safe place to visit.  And, of course, like so many of the places we’ve visited, the people were very friendly and helpful.