Because the Pacific Princess did not want to dock on the island and tender us to the shore due to safety reasons, the ship brought 43 natives to us while we sailed around Pitcairn. They set up a Curio and Craft Market in the Pacific Lounge where we could purchase Tahitian pearls, wood carvings, woven baskets and T-shirts, our favorite souvenier. (Ken's aunt will have a replacement for the Pitcairn Island T-shirt that she wore until it was tattered and torn.)
Sara, who has been reading the book Mutiny and Romance in the South Seas, A Companion to the Bounty Adventure, which was loaned to her by Durinda Nicholson the guest lecturer who wrote Pearl Harbor Child, took me to a presentation by Kerry Young and hunky Andrew Christian, a seventh-generation descendant of Guess Who? Sara is becoming an arm-chair expert on the mutiny on the Bounty and has informed Ken that the movie he watched starring Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando was not historically accurate. (Sara fell asleep halfway through the movie so how does she know?)
Every three months, a supply ship runs basic items to the island. The general store is open three days a week, one hour per opening. The island has electricity 10 hours a day, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., so most people retire early, just like they do on this ship. The cafe is open on Friday night, and until recently, everyone had to have a license to drink alcohol on the island. Last Sunday, the island celebrated Bounty Day with the highlight being the burning of a large model of the Bounty. The residents celebrate Christmas as a community. Everyone brings gifts that are marked only with the name of the recipient.
In the museum are the Bounty hachet, bell, anchor, canon and Bible that John Adams used to teach the children how to read and write. The island does have a medical center but in case of an emergency, an emergency call is put out asking the closest ship come to the island. Last July, a tourist broke his back when he fell down the cliff on the southern side of the island. He was taken to Papeete, Tahiti, a two-day sail from Pitcairn. The only sandy beach on Pitcairn measures about 50 meters. Major exports for the island are breadfruit, honey from the bees and molasses made from sugar cane. The island hosts 11 cruises ship annually with this being a red-letter day because both the Pacific Princess and the German cruise ship Albatross were cruising around the island.
Before the natives had to board their boat to sail back, Ken talked with Heather, a mother with five children, who loves her lifestyle on the island, which allows her to watch her children while weaving baskets. No 9-to-5 grind for her! Eight of the 10 children living on the island attend the school, with the other two children being too young. School starts next month with a teacher from New Zealand being contracted by the government in the United Kingdom.
We watched from Deck 5 while our crew helped the natives haul supplies onto the boat, the most desired being alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. Then the residents boarded, which was the most dangerous part of their journey, the boat driver started off and then did a drive by while we all waved wildly to our new friends.
Ken and Sara attended the Super Bowl party in the Cabaret Lounge. Because they forgot to take me, they experienced the wrath of Punxsutawney Phil by learning why I refused to predict that the Pittsburgh Steelers would win the game because the Green Bay Packers beat them 31-25. The most exciting part of the game for them was when the score was 14-3 for part of the second quarter because those were the numbers that Ken had in the football pool. Guess who did not win the $300 for the second quarter? Hottie Mark, who has the second best body on the ship next to Ken, and his adorable cutie-pie wife, Andrea, from Arizona were rooting for the Packers so I sided with them. After the game, Sara accompanied Mark and Andrea to the jewelry store, where she and Ginger, who introduced Sara to H. Stern, helped Andrea narrow her choice of champagne- and white-diamond rings from five to two. Andrea decided to sleep on it but I had a vision of her wearing the square-shaped ring this morning.
SPECIAL NOTE to Sara's aqua class at Shapes in Bradenton: Sara is actually attending workout sessions at 7:30 a.m. in the morning. Yes, you read that starting time right, and she is on time and semi-alert. She misses all of you and sends her best to Shelly and her faithful followers!
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