We made it!

There have been several destinations where the weather and sea conditions have made going ashore tricky. In particular, sailing down the coast of Chile a few years ago, we found the Pacific Ocean swell put a stop to the plans we had. Listening to the presentation this morning about Chilean wines prompted a particular memory of one such occasion, because on that day we were scheduled to visit the Elqui Valley and a Pisco distillery. Sadly, that didn't happen.

Captain Abhi had already put out the warning yesterday, pre-empting any similar disappointment during his lunchtime update. Perhaps we wouldn't be able to make our planned visit to Robinson Crusoe Island, he said, but the tone of his voice and the manner in which he phrased this update suggested he was going to give it his best shot anyway.

So when we woke and opened the curtains to see the island right there in front of us, we were thrilled, especially to see the ocean looking comparatively calm too. But then came further news: the port was closed and had been since last evening. However, the red light might not be in place much longer, for the weather was improving and the plan was to simply stick around a while at anchor and hope for the best.

So we went for some breakfast and took one or two photos “just in case” we found ourselves making a hasty departure. Further news came through, that the red light was now changed to amber and there was hope that we'd make it. First, though, a tender was to be sent ashore to “test the waters” and see how realistic a possibility it would be. Perhaps too, the Captain's seamanship and the skills of the boat crew had been called into question? Time to demonstrate their professional capabilities then.

We watched as the first tender was lowered into the water and crossed our fingers. It was going to be a “freestyle” day, without any tours or organised activity and the plan was to just go ashore and look around the small settlement of St Juan de Bautista.

Another update. The tender had made it across and returned successfully and the port had been opened. We'd been given permission to land - hooray! However, there was a flight of twenty steep steps on the jetty, the ground was uneven and anyone with mobility issues should assess their capability to manage such challenges. Care was to be take at all times.

We didn't hurry to register at the theatre for our tender tickets, for after all, we had all day here. However, mindful of the changing weather and not wanting to chance our luck, we gathered our things together and made it for the third tender of the morning.

Though boarding the tender was far from easy, as always there were plenty of strong arms on offer to assist and the experience and seamanship of these gentlemen was key to getting everyone safely from one moving vessel to another.

There was quite the welcome party on the jetty too. Not only had a team of Regent crew members been given the task of assisting everyone up those twenty slippery steps, but Chilean Naval personnel and a few members of the local police force were there too. I recognised a couple of young restaurant staff on the steps - not difficult, as they were wearing their usual restaurant working uniform - no coats or sweaters.

We'd thought that the town bore similar characteristics to those in Greenland: a collection of buildings around the harbour, linked by a single main street with a few more houses sprinkled on the hillsides nearby.

Though actually, at the end of the jetty there was a small green park, the main feature of which was a wooden figure. Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration behind the novel Robinson Crusoe.

Now we were here, what were we going to do? There was a local information desk set up in a sheltered spot between some storage units, so armed with a map, we thought we'd just explore a little. The main “attraction” were the caves on the hillside above us, but our knees and hips suggested it might be more comfortable to focus on the gardens and more level attractions.

The main street. Shall we turn left or right?

We turned right, towards a small fenced off area with busts of notable figures on plinths around the perimeter. My Hero recognised one of them immediately, for he has quite a distinctive look. I learned yesterday that those curls and beard were bright red too.

There was no mistaking Bernardo O'Higgins, 19th century Supreme Director of Chile.

Here too were information panels with details of the rich marine life around the island; an area of particular natural interest for the wealth of plant, bird and marine life to be found here.

The island had been hit by seismic activity too, most recently a tsunami in 2010 which killed sixteen people here. The “tsunami alarm” was there by the park fence too.

Our visit here to the island was a real bonus and not wishing to go further “off piste” we thought we'd take advantage of the calmer weather and get ourselves back over to the ship. Once again, plenty of assistance was needed, for although the sea had calmed somewhat, the wind was brisk as ever.

Thank you Robinson Crusoe Island. We made it!