This lonesome island was first populated by the english Bounty mutineers along with a handful of Polynesian men and women. By the time they (and their descendants) were found, the english Admiralty had lost interest in persecuting them.
It is an english colony, with a population today of about 40. Not a lot to do on the island. The coastline is rocky and rugged. They mostly sell souvenirs to passengers on passing ships and live off government support.
We were told that a visit to the island with tender boats is possible, if the weather and sea are calm enough. Our talked about visit was cancelled. (It’s not clear what hundreds of tourists would do in town) Our ship used the planned time for a cruise around the island. I spent most of the journey scanning the shores and cliffs with my binoculars. Nothing to report.
On our return to the harbor side, a handful of Pitcairn residents boarded the Artania to set up their souvenir stands for a couple of hours.
I watched “Mutiny on the Bounty”, from 1962, with Marlin Brando and Trevor Howard this afternoon. I had never seen it. The heavily fictionalized film depicts Bligh as a man fully deserving of his reputation. The history I have read paints a far more nuanced picture of events surrounding the mutiny.
Once the Pitcairners disembarked, the Artania set course for French Polynesia. First stop, in three days: Fakarava
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