Getting There

I left the UK last Sunday evening flying from RAF Brize Norton to Ascension Island. Steph and I drove to Brize and it was strange to be going though the Entry Control again but this time as a civilian although my RAF name number and rank are still on the computer system and I was greeted as Squadron Leader by the security officer. We had arrived early for the 23:00 flight and BZN departure lounge was almost deserted but long before departure time it was clear that there would be no spare seats. Because of the commitment to Afghanistan the RAF shiny fleet which used to provide this service is now fully committed to purely military flights and the Falklands run is now contracted to Air Seychelle.

We left a cold damp and dark UK on a fully loaded holiday jet with a few seats replaced by a stretcher fit for a casualty to be returned from the Falklands, another reminder of my RAF time. The majority of the passengers were military personnel or military support workers bound for the Falklands with a small number of us heading for St Helena. The flight lasted 9hrs with minimal in flight service and no choice of entertainment but at least the seats had plenty of leg room.

As dawn broke we were approximately over the equator and even at 30,000ft had to fly around a very dramatic thunderstorm,

by 8:00 we were on the tarmac at Ascension from where we were collected and taken to the Obsidian Hotel.

The Obsidian is more like a slightly shabby military mess and indeed was probably built as one originally. The new part might have been rather better but I was in one of the cheaper rooms which was comfortable enough but rather basic and without air conditioning.

We had 48hrs on Ascension, last time when Steph and I were here we had a 4 hour whistlestop tour organised from the ship. I had met up with an English couple on their post-retirement trip and a German journalist on a working holiday and we agreed to have a brief rest then hire a car to explore the island. The only car available was a tired old diesel Citroen with a gear stick which came adrift when I tried to get it into reverse.

Most of Ascension is barren volcanic rock, hot and dry despite the humidity. The car had no air conditioning and the English couple were soon wilting in the heat so we left them in their air conditioned part of the hotel and Tomas and I headed up Green Mountain where the air was much cooler and we enjoyed a walk in the clouds around the mountain and up to the summit.

Only a few metres short of the summit there is a permanent pond, now complete with goldfish and water lilies, dug by Royal Navy Marines in the 19^th century to provide an emergency water supply to the small garrison that was established here to prevent the French from taking the Island and using it as a base to mount an operation to free Napoleon from his captivity on St Helena. 

This time of the year sees the event for which Ascension is probably best known aside from being a military air base. It is the breeding ground for perhaps 70% of the Green Turtles in Atlantic waters and every night they come ashore in significant numbers to lay their eggs.

Before dawn the next morning I walked down to the beach and was able to watch a couple of very tired turtles leave their nest sites and haul themselves back across the sand to the ocean.

The blow holes on the north coast were particularly
impressive as there was a big Atlantic swell running
from a storm somewhere further north.

Fortunately there were also a couple of sheltered beaches where we were able to swim and snorkel when the heat became too much. That evening we arranged a tour with the Ascension Island Conservation Group to watch the turtles actually laying their eggs. The moon was not up and with no artificial light except the glow of the red lamp held by our guide the tropical night sky was truly spectacular.

Wednesday morning we were up early to get our baggage to the quay and board the ship which had arrived at about 7:00 am. It is lovely to be back on board the RMS, I was greeted on board by Claude the purser and the doctor as if I was an old friend and have easily slipped back into the shipboard regime, including going to the gym twice a day in compensation for enjoying the excellent food. The company and conversation is as good and varied as on the last voyage.

I am sharing a cabin with Jim who is a UN Volunteer coming to the Island to do some work with the long term unemployed and who will be there for 9 months, I have also met 3 people who have previously sailed with the JST so there is plenty to talk about.

I am writing this on board and hope to be able to post it soon after we arrive on St Helena on Friday.

At the moment I have no idea quite what I will be doing when I arrive but I guess I’ll have the weekend to get organised then start work on Monday morning. I’ll keep you posted.

Love to all

Sherwood