Pitcairn Island

Today we made a visit to Pitcairn Island,  such a remote part of the world.  In this picture as we approach the island it is easy to see what a dot this place is in the South Pacific.

This picture shows the entire 1x2 mile Pitcairn Island.  It is small, but so beautiful. We were not able to go ashore as there is no place for the ship or the ship tenders to dock.  So the people came to us.

We anchored about 8:00 this morning. As we were setting anchor we could see a long boat coming toward us.  As it was getting closer we counted about thirty people on board. There are only about 50 people who live on Pitcairn so most of the population had come out to sell crafts that they make. Remember, all these people are direct descendants  of the HMS Bounty mutineers.  These people were impressive.  They are friendly, well educated, healthy, and happy.  They don’t have to live on Pitcairn, they chose to.   They are really like most of us, they just happen to live in a very unusual place.

 A couple who came to the ship to sell crafts.

 

This little girl is the only child that lives on the island. The other children are all away in school in New Zealand.  There are no women of child bearing age living on the island. They hope that one day some of the islanders will come back, but they are not sure it will happen.

 

There was a wonderful lecture by a women who has come back to the island to live. Years ago she married an American and moved to the states. She lived in Alaska for 30 years and has been back on the island for the last 5 years to take care of her elderly mother. She told us all about life on Pitcairn.  The island maintains a website, so Google it if you want to read more about Pitcairn. They are building a new dock on the island which will accommodate ship tenders. I’m not sure we will ever see this place again, but it would be such a boon for this dwindling community to develop a tourism business.

After the day on board, all the islanders gathered in the ship piazza and sang a song for us.  The mayor gave a short speech, and then they all loaded onto the long boat and departed the ship.  After reading the history of the HMS Bounty and the mutineers, visiting this island was a wonderful experience.

So, that’s it for Pitcairn.  We are now sailing towards Papeete and then Bora Bora.  We arrive Papeete on Weds.

Bye for now,

Helen