128 Days Around the World

February 19, 2020

Scenic cruising – Pitcairn Island

Today was definitely unlike my normal daily routine. To start, I went to bed at 11:15(!) and got up at 7:15. Commentary was scheduled to begin at 7:45 as we reached Pitcairn Island. I spent some time out on the bow (first time I have been there) and walking around the promenade deck on three. While I was on deck 3, Judy (Lee) invited me to see her Lanai cabin. These were added to Amsterdam during the 2018 dry dock.

From there I went to the Lido and had breakfast. I finally found where they made pancakes so I had two along with some bacon and pineapple juice. By that time the islanders had arrived and were setting up their items for sale.

You are likely familiar with the name Pitcairn from the movies and books about the “Mutiny on the Bounty”. Basically what happened in 1789 was that some of the men onboard H.M.S. Bounty were not pleased with the behavior of their captain, William Bligh. On April 28, Fletcher Christian and some of the men seized control of the ship and put Bligh and his supporters in a small boat and set them adrift. In January of 1790 the Bounty reached Pitcairn Island and they decided to live there because of its remoteness.

The islanders brought all kinds of products to sell which is their main way of making money. Many of them had the surname of one of the mutineers. The Lido Pool deck looked like the mall on Black Friday. At the start it was hard to tell what each booth had to sell because people were standing four and five deep. Eventually things calmed down.

By 10 am I had already walked two miles and was hot and thirsty and decided to try one of the drink specials for the day – Mutineer Punch which contained light and dark rums and three fruit juices. I don’t recall ever having an alcoholic drink at 10 in the morning but it was really tasty.

At 10:30 one of the islanders spoke, showed some slides of the island, and did a Q&A session. A few of the things I learned from her…

1.they have three diesel generators but only have power between 6 am and 10 pm

2.a supply ship comes four times a year from New Zealand

3.there are three students (all girls) in the island school – at middle school age the students go to boarding school in New Zealand

4.their official currency is the New Zealand dollar

5.there is a well-equipped clinic and a doctor comes on a yearly contract from New Zealand

6.there are only about 50 residents of the island

7.there are 18 cruise ships scheduled to stop at Pitcairn

8.tourism is being encouraged and you can arrange to stay on the island for a few days – you stay at the home of one of the islanders (no hotels)

Eventually I made my way to the Crow’s Nest where I did some knitting before the boat came to pick up the islanders. I went out on deck 9 and watched as they went back to their island.

I had no Linus blanket to work on since I finished #4 yesterday so I spent some time figuring out how to transfer my pictures from my iPhone to my PC. I had tried unsuccessfully before but this time I got it.

When I got to the Lido, Sherita and Janet were already there eating lunch (and saving the table for crafts) so I got my lunch and joined them.

Our Arts and Crafts project was to make beehive earrings. The Pitcairn Islanders make famous honey (it is popular with the Queen) so our earrings tied in with that.

In afternoon trivia, Debby and her husband, Rick, joined us. There were a number of bonus points to be had and we ended up with 23 out of 29. The winners had 27.

1.What nation invented the clock pendulum in 1657?

2.What animal skin is Moroccan leather made from?

3.Where does a baseball player put his donut?
4.What is the positive electrode of a battery called?

5.What continent boasts the most telephone lines?

I finally got a chance to swim after trivia. I was able to get my half mile completed.

All four of us present for dinner and then I went to hear the pianist, Naki Ataman, again. Another good show.

A sea day tomorrow.

Trivia

1.Netherlands

2.goat

3.on his bat

4.anode

5.Europe