Robinson Crusoe Island 3-2-09

The most famous "deserted" island in the world. Too bad it was a rainy, bleak day with rolling seas! We were not able to go onto the island as it was too dangerous to try to take ship tenders over to the small pier. The roads, and the priral does not imply many roads in this case, are dirt roads. On a day like this, they are mud. We had to settle for some of the ship's crew taking the tenders over to the island and loading up some of the local people with their wares, costumes, instruments, stories, and lobster. We enjoyed their music with an intense bongo beat. The musicians were clad in piratelike costumes and their hair is all real! They are all descendants of pirates or privateers.
This remote island is 414 miles off the coast of Chile. Everyone speaks spanish as it is owned by Chile. The island was discovered in 1575 by a Portuguese sailor named Juan Fernandez purely on accident. The island gained its fame when the Scottish "trouble making" privateer, Alexander Selkirk, marooned himself here. This was 1704. It seems he was sailing with a guy named William Dampier they were sailing the St. George and The Sink Port. When they rounded the Cape and headed north toward the equator, they had trouble with their ships as the trecherous waters around the cape banged up their vessels very badly. Alexander Selkirk was of the opinon that the ships would not make it home so he elected to stay on this remote island when all the others piled on the ship. He marooned himself! All he had with him when the others left was a musket, some gunpowder, some gun balls, a knife, a few carpenter's tools and a bible. He made his way to the highest point on the island everyday looking for ships. Many ships came by, however, they were not friendly ships, they were ships full of other pirates that would end up killing him. Only one time did a ship make it's way to the island. It was a Spanish ship. By the time this happened, Selkirk knew the island very well and was able to hide from them. Selkirk was ALONE on the island. There was no "Friday" at his side doing his labors. He managed to make his own clothing by the hides of goats that were on the island and build shelter. He used the yarn of one of his socks to sew with and used a nail he found as a needle. He managed to live here for 4 years and 4 months until a friendly ship happened by from Britian. This was 1709. He went back with these sailors and told his story. He became a celebrity of sorts and a man named Daniel DeFoe found the story to be fascinating and used it as the basis of his book, you know it...Robinson Crusoe! Robinson Crusoe was William Selkirk and Daniel DeFoe embellished most of the things in the book. What is not embellished is the remoteness of this island, it's steep mountains and beautiful waters.
Today there are only 600 people that live on this island. It would have been nice to have walked on those dirt roads but that will have to be another time.
One thing for sure, 4 years and 4 months would have been about 4 years and 3 months longer than most people would have lasted!