I hadn’t planned on blogging during our sea days but in the middle we stopped at a very interesting Island, called Pitcairn.  Our day started off with a wonderful sunrise and Nana and I played our daily game of Jubilations (same as horse but with more letters).  Jubilations is what we call you (our grandchildren).

We did not disembark for reasons I will outline later but most of the residents on the island showed up on our ship to sell items that they made.  They also will barter with the ship to provide fish and other food items and have given a list to the ship what they would like in return.

The Pitcairn Islands were first settled by mutineers from the British ship HMS Bounty and their Tahitian companions in 1790. The mutineers, led by Fletcher Christian, sought to escape capture after seizing the ship in the infamous mutiny against Captain William Bligh.

The group initially searched for an uninhabited and remote island where they could avoid discovery. They eventually settled on Pitcairn Island, which had been mischarted on British maps, making it an ideal hideout. The settlers burned the Bounty to prevent detection and established a small community on the island.

This unique history makes the Pitcairn Islands one of the few places in the world directly tied to the legacy of a mutiny. The modern population is largely descended from these original settlers. Unfortunately there are only 35 people on the island and this is declining, with over 25% over 65 years of age.

The economy of the Pitcairn Islands is very small and primarily based on subsistence activities, like agriculture and fishing, supplemented by limited external income sources like selling honey and crafts, hosting tourists, and selling stamps and coins sought by collectors around the world.

To get to this island is a challenge which is why adventurers love it.  There is no airport on Pitcairn, so all travel is by sea.  You fly to Tahiti and then take a supply ship to Pitcairn.  The ship take 34 hours and only operates every 3 months.  Adventurers typically arrange their travel through the Pitcairn Island Tourism Department and will stay with residents on the island.  Private yachts sometimes stop here on the long journey across the Pacific and about 10-15 cruise ships stop by each year, some like ours do not disembark, other smaller cruise ships might.  With 35 people on the island there is not a lot to do for visitors.

Up on our Lido deck, Pitcairn residents are selling their wares, honey and jandicrafts.  The honey is so popular the ship limited sales of 2 to each person on the ship.   The honey was a little expensive so we only bought one and Nana bought some animal magnets.

We left Pitcairn at noon and continued our journey through the Pacific Ocean.  Next port of call is Papeete, French Polynesia after 2 more sea days..