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Published: January 25th 2023
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Our port-of-call on Sunday, January 22, 2023 was Isla Robinson Crusoe, Chile, the foundation for the book
Robinson Crusoe. There are no shore excursions available for this port. There are about 700 inhabitants. Why, then, make this a port-of-call? That’s a good question with only one logical answer – it’s famous. Somewhere along the line, I didn’t have a requirement (or seize the opportunity) to read the book
Robinson Crusoe, but it is based on a true story.
Alexander Selkirk (1676 – 13 December 1721) was a Scottish sailor who was an unruly youth and joined buccaneering voyages to the South Pacific during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). One such expedition was on
Cinque Ports, captained by 21-year-old Lieutenant Thomas Stradling. When Stradling's ship,
Cinque Ports, stopped to resupply at the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands, Selkirk and Stradling had a dispute over the seaworthiness of
Cinque Ports. Selkirk asked to be left behind on the island and remained there in solitude for four years and four months, before being rescued by English privateer Woodes Rogers in 1709. By the time he was rescued by Rogers, Selkirk had become adept at hunting and making use of the resources he
found on the island. His story of survival was widely publicized after his return to England and became one of the inspirations for a Daniel Defoe's fictional character Robinson Crusoe. Retrospectively, Selkirk's suspicions were substantiated, as
Cinque Ports foundered near Malpelo Island, 250 miles from the coast of what is now Colombia, and Stradling and the surviving members of his crew were taken prisoner by the Spanish. Selkirk survived his ordeal on the island but died from tropical illness years later while serving as a Lieutenant aboard HMS Weymouth off the coast of West Africa.
In addition to the lack of shore excursions and other tourist attractions, Isla Robinson Crusoe is a tender port. That means the harbor is unable to accommodate the ship, so the ship must anchor a distance away from the dock and visitors must board a smaller boat for the trip to the dock (i.e., several of the lifeboats, which is a great way to keep the crew proficient as well as to get the cobwebs off the engine and other mechanicals). In and of itself, tendering would be no problem; it’s just a pain in the butt. In addition, the governing officials of Isla
Robinson Crusoe require a negative COVID test more current than the one administered during the first week of the cruise. That test in and of itself would be no problem, but I have heard reports of an occasional false positive. Even a false positive wouldn’t be a problem, NORMALLY; however, it would result in my being quarantined for a number of days which would mean that I would be prohibited from disembarking in Puerto Montt, Chile on January 24, 2023 to visit my newfound friend from the tour of Spain, Armin. THAT would be a problem. When all things are considered, the risk of a false positive COVID test far outweigh the benefits I might harvest from going ashore. I guess y’all (and I) will have to be satisfied with some ship to shore photos. The most striking thing about the photos to me is UP, UP and more UP!!! I made a good choice.
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