Ascension Island

Ascension was first discovered in the early 1500's, but it wasn't until Napoleon was exiled to St Helena that it was populated. Fearing that they might use Ascension as a gathering place to execute an escape, the British established a small naval garrison on the island. In 1942 US Army engineers built an airfield, but after World War II the island reverted back to the sole use of cable and wireless. NASA built a tracking station there in 1965, which has since been closed down. Ascension came to brief international fame during the Falklands war when it served as a staging post for the British forces en route to and from the Falklands. The main export item is postage stamps, first issued in 1922. Tourism was non-existent until recently because of the inaccessibility of the island, however guest cottages and a "nice" hotel have recently opened. Sport fishing is the main attraction for many visitors and the island also has what was once officially the worst golf course in the world. The course has 18 holes and the greens are in fact brown due to the sand and oil mix used to make them. The rest of the course is made up of volcanic ash and rock.

The day before we were to arrive at Ascension, the Capt informed us that at that time, the rolling waves found in the South Atlantic would prevent us from a tender landing. Hopefully it would calm down before our arrival the next day at 8 a.m. We were ready to go at 8 when an announcement came on that we would not be able to go ashore. We were anchored just off the coast so we could see the beautiful beaches and stark volcanic landscape. So close, but we couldn't be on it. We discovered that 2 women from the local post office had come on board to sell stamps and postcards. At least we could mail something out with a postmark from this unusual port. I bought 4 postcards, addressed them and gave them back to the women.

About an hour later, they announced that they would begin tender service, so we went to get our tickets. Then it was announced that tender service would be stopped. The first one tried to land but because of the large waves, one of the ropes snapped and the tender was going up and down next to the short pier about 4 feet. Hard to get off under those conditions. We went out on the bow to take pictures. Better to get something from the port. We saw the Captain get off a tender. He had personally gone ashore to see what the conditions were. They started spraying the salt off that tender, so we assumed they were getting ready to stow them. Next thing we knew, the Capt announced that there would be tender service to the island, but only for the fit. Anyone with any walking issues should not risk it, it was still going to be a rough landing. We would stay in port later than originally scheduled since we couldn't go ashore as early as planned. It was amazing how many people with canes and walkers still got on the tender to go ashore. Guess they just don't want to admit to their limitations.

The pier was very short. Waves were splashing up on the cement where we got off the tender. There was a beautiful beach right there but we'd been told that it was dangerous to swim, so didn't go to it. There were beautiful black fish swimming right there. The water was so clear and blue, they were easily seen. We walked away from the pier, up a slight hill to the main town area. We first went into the small grocery store. They also sold a few souvenirs. Next door was a used clothing store. Several people had found almost new polos with the Ascension logo. Nice to get inexpensive shirts for a change, $1.50. We then went to the gift shop at the small hotel. They had a huge variety of items with Ascension on them, something for everyone. We made our purchases then a woman asked if we would like to share a car with them. We jumped at the opportunity, as what vehicles had been on the pier earlier, were now busy, so we couldn't get them. We didn't realize that the couple had rented a car and would be driving. Small island, guess it would be OK even though it was the first time she'd driven on the left side of the road.

We headed out of town. The landscape was all volcanic rock, very stark with trees growing out of it here and there. We went to a lookout over the airport, then on up to where NASA's tracking station had once been. We backtracked then went thru a small village toward a beach. We passed by the golf course. It was all rock and sand, nothing green in sight. We passed by many antenna's, one after the other. We finally reached a beautiful beach where we'd been told it was a bit safer to swim. Because of the rough seas and strong undercurrents, we'd been told not to get in the water. We had our bathing suits on just in case. On the way to the water I saw a number of craters in the sand. Wondered what those were.....turtle nests! Ascension has a huge population of sea turtles that return year after year to lay their eggs there. The holes were huge. Amazing that turtles could move that amount of sand. The holes were everywhere. Too bad we weren't spending the night so we could see them. I got into the water up to my waist, but the waves were really strong so didn't go in any further. Sad since the water was so warm and crystal clear. We drove back to the hotel, then headed for the pier. The last tender left at 2:30, and we were on it. Too bad we didn't have more time on this unusual island.

The day after our visit to Ascension, a woman came up to us and said that she'd also purchased a postcard from the postal workers....and it was written out to a friend of ours. They sold the postcard that I'd given them to mail!!! Sure hope that was the only one. Not everyone onboard would be honest enough to turn it in since they'd paid for the postcard. Bummer. I wanted the Ascension postmark on my cards. I'm going to mail the one back to them and ask for them to stamp it and return it to me. That should take a couple of months since the mail boat only arrives about every 2 weeks.