The Most Remote Inhabited Island in the World

In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,090 miles from the coast of South America and 1,500 miles from the coast of Africa, are 3 islands formed by volcanoes.  One of the islands called Tristan da Cunha is inhabited.  It was discovered by a Portuguese explorer in 1506.  As you might guess, his name was Tristan da Cunha.  The other 2 islands are Inaccessible Island and Nightingale Island and they are uninhabited.  We were scheduled to stop at Tristan da Cunha, if possible.

5 day sail from Brazil to TdC

After our 5 days at sea, we were all filled with anticipation of attempting a landing at Tristan da Cunha.  Captain Elliott told us our chances were 50/50 as the conditions must be just right for a safe transfer of the passengers to the tenders to get ashore. 

The population of the island is currently 255 plus 20 people temporarily off the island visiting Cape Town, South Africa.  The more we learned about the island and its curious inhabitants, the more excited and obsessed we became about making it ashore.

The morning we approached TdC, the seas were relatively calm, but there were the usual swells that occur in this part of the world from winds and currents. The weather was good so we were optimistic about a landing as we got closer to this circular island with its iconic cone shaped volcano in the middle.  After dropping anchor off-shore, Captain Elliott announced that conditions were favorable for going ashore and they were launching a tender with several officers aboard for a test run to the pier.  The major concern was the depth of the water and the conditions at the pier.  The Captain cannot risk running aground in the rocky harbor and damaging a tender since the tenders also serve as lifeboats for the ship. Lucky for us, the test run went well and we got the thumbs up to go ashore.  We were elated.

Volcanic Cone of TdC comes into view
 (6, 750 feet above sea level)

 

Edinburgh of the 7 Seas

 

Hooray!  We made it ashore

Tricky tendering from the ship to the pier

The hospital

Clean air, stunning landscape

 

Chief of Police Conrad Glass (30 years
on the job - the only police officer)

Police Headquarters

 

 

Bus stop

 

Rapid transit

 

It was very tricky getting into the tender from the ship's platform due to the swells.  Several officers were on the platform working with the tender crews to load us safely.  While we were waiting on our turn to board, we heard the loud crash of the waves and the tender slamming the platform and dropping down about 8 feet and bobbing back up.  The crew did an amazing job of getting us into the tender one by one by carefully timing our steps from the platform onto the tender and holding us steady.  Fortunately, at the pier the unloading was much easier.

The islanders all live in the village of Edinburgh which is so named because Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited here once.  They call it the "Edinburgh of the 7 Seas".  We were greeted at the pier by some local volunteers that directed us to the points of interest.  We decided to walk along the road that leads out of the village into the countryside and ultimately to the area referred to as the "Potato Patch" which is the community garden where they grow their vegetables.  We didn't need a map for our walk since there was only one single lane rough road and it follows the coastline through stunningly beautiful landscape.  Green hillsides leading up to the volcano and dramatic cliffs down to the deep blue Atlantic Ocean were our settings as we breathed in some of the cleanest, freshest air on our planet. The only noise we heard were the cows mooing, the chickens clucking and the sheep.  Outside the village there were no houses, no billboards, no light posts...not even a STARBUCKS!  We were all grinning and enjoying this magical place.

Feels good to be on land after 5 days of sailing!

The road to the "Potato Patch"

The Bar

 

 

Back in town we walked around and marveled at how such a small population of people exist out here on this remote island.  It is such an unusual lifestyle.  The population consists of only 9 families.  In the little café adjacent to the post office is a poster showing the family trees.  Pretty much, everyone marries a cousin here.  Apparently, it works out just fine.  In 1961, the volcano erupted here and the islanders were all evacuated to the United Kingdom since the island is an overseas territory of the U.K.  After 2 years, they all decided to move back to their island.

Interestingly, if anyone new wants to move to TdC, they are required to stay for 2 years.  After that, the islanders vote by show of hands on whether the person can stay permanently.

The island has a U.K. postal code.  We went to the post office/museum/gift shop and bought a post card.  We purchased the coveted TdC postage stamp and mailed a postcard home to ourselves to see how long it takes for it to arrive at our home in Safety Harbor.

Post card mailed home in British mailbox (pillar box)

 

The 9 families of TdC

We were so fortunate to actually visit this intriguing place   Very few cruise ships even stop here and rarely do the passengers get to go ashore.  Tomorrow we are in for a treat.  Locals are coming onboard to speak with us about their island and tell us more about their school, their fishing industry and how they function as a community.  Also, while we slowly circle the other 2 islands, Conrad Glass, the Police Chief who was born and raised in TdC, will narrate our tour over the ship's public address system.