The average income on St Helena is 9,550 pounds a year (that’s just over $12,000). They see very few cruise ships, so we imagined that our arrival would cause much excitement. But no one seems to care.
The place is deserted. True, it is a Sunday. But not just any Sunday. It is Mother’s Day. But still the island is closed. It seems nobody works on Sundays. The restaurants, the pubs, the shops, everywhere is closed.
The poor mothers of St Helena don’t seem to get much of a celebration
But with or without people, Jamestown is charming.
The 600 inhabitants of Jamestown are squished into a delightful town nestled at the bottom of a narrow steep sided valley.
There are just two ways out of town. The first is a narrow winding road, the second is a flight of steps straight up the hillside. The steps are much more direct. The road is much more desirable, to me anyway. As we walk into town it is impossible to miss the steps.
Some people take one look at them and see it as a challenge. I take one look of them and look for a taxi. Known as Jacobs ladder, an appropriate name as it appears to be almost vertical, it has 695 very steep steps. Each step is 11” high, compared to 7″ on an average staircase. It is definitely a challenge. If you make it to the top you can claim a certificate.
The only snag is the office that gives out the certificates is at the bottom! How annoying is that! And it costs 3 pounds – pretty sharp, these islanders. Plus, you can have the time it took you to make the climb recorded on the certificate. There is even an official world record time. So all of a sudden it becomes a competition and people from all over the world come to try their luck. These Islanders are smarter than they look. The record was just broken three days ago and stands at 5 minutes 4 seconds.
Now every crew member and expedition member on the ship wants to climb those stairs and wants their climb timed.
Game on
And they are all going to pay 3 pounds for a certificate.
One overly steep flight of steps is making this island a small fortune.
No one comes close to the record but our cruise director (young, tall and a runner) has the fastest time of 7 minutes and 30 seconds. But he pays the price, and I don’t mean the 3 pounds for a certificate. For days he is hobbling around the ship in agony. He normally prides himself on never using an elevator. Now he uses the ship’s elevator to get from one floor to the next. He can’t even manage the 24 rather gentle stairs. Much of the crew are having similar problems. All of a sudden the ship is being run by the walking wounded, and they are only just walking. Waiters barely make it from one table to another, our lovely suite attendant hangs on to her cart in a desperate attempt to move from one cabin to another, and worst of all, it is impossible to take an elevator – they are always packed with crew.
While the crew are running up and down Jacob’s ladder the passengers are hanging out in a small park.
The park may be lovely, but it is not that lovely. There is another reason we are all hanging out here
You have got to love Seabourn
And this is where I made a friend. She was sitting on a bench with two other women, and another woman was standing behind the bench. They were the only people in the park when the officers arrived bringing with them the table, the glasses, the ice and the champagne. The four women sat and watched, but said nothing, and looked rather disapproving. Perhaps they felt upset because we had taken over their park.
In an effort to break the ice, the officers offered them champagne. They were happy to take the champagne, but it didn’t break the ice. They were no friendlier. To be fair, they weren’t talking to each other much either.
But then the older lady on the end saw me and smiled. A big lovely friendly smile. Her eyes sparkled and she just lit up. I have no idea why. Perhaps the champagne was doing what it always does. She was feeling good! It was Mother’s Day. I squatted down next to her and we talked. Or rather she did. Within minutes she was holding my hand and telling me her life story. She was an absolute gem.
She really was.
Her name was Ruby.
She lives on the other side of the island and her daughter and two granddaughters had collected her and brought her over to this park for Mother’s Day. All the while she talked, her daughter and her granddaughters sat stony faced ignoring the two of us, and each other. It was a little unnerving but didn’t seem to bother Ruby. The nearest they came to a smile was when Gordon took this photo. Almost, but not quite
Ruby was 82 and she looked great. Her husband died 3 years ago. They had been married for 64 years. You do the maths. She was a young bride. A very young bride. She has 14 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
She asked me if I had children.
I told her I didn’t.
She asked me if I was married.
I told her I wasn’t.
She squeezed my hand , looked me in the eye and with a wicked smile she said
“You really are a lovely man!”
And then she laughed. A long throaty laugh.
She was flirting with me.
An absolute gem!
We talked some more, and laughed some more. Ruby had never seen a cruise ship before. Ships don’t come to the other side of the island where she lives. She had never met anyone who had been on a cruise ship. She had never met so many people before. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a glass of champagne. She was having so much fun. This was the best day she had had for a very long time. A perfect Mother’s Day.
Finally it was time to go. She told me she would remember this day for the rest of her life. And she would remember me.
She let go of my hand and we went our separate ways.
I should have told her I would remember her too.
Because I will.
I will also remember St Helena and the cruise. We have visited some of the most remote places in the world. Places that very few have seen. It has been a privilege and a wonder, and I thank you for joining me once more on our travels.
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