Discover St. Helena- An Extraordinary Island
Jacob's Ladder is a run of 699 steps, up from Jamestown in the floor of the valley to the fort at Ladder Hill on the western valley slope. It is one of the 7 Wonders of St. Helena and one of the first things you see when arriving into James Bay.
April 11, 2014
St. Helena
A local, elderly man, climbed the stairs and he surprised us by sliding all the way down. This is one of the cool things the locals do at Jacob's ladder on St. Helena. They don't just climb the 699 steps, they also slide all the way from the top to the bottom. It is a no mean feat to climb the steep steps. The steps are well worn out from all the feet that had trotted on them regularly for so many years.
I wasn't going to be intimidated by an elderly man so I positioned myself sideways on the stairs from about twenty meters high and aimed to slide down.
“Charlotte, NO. Please do not do it.”
“Please don't do it, Charlotte, you could get yourself killed!” warned Marci, otherwise known as “Mrs. Wonderful” to everyone on the ship.
I pushed forward a few inches, and I started my slow descent. By now, Mrs. Wonderful was hysterical.
“Charlotte, For God's sake, PLEASE, PLEASE, stop it!” she pleaded once more; so I slowed up. “Okay, I said, just take my picture then.”
Jacob's ladder is just one of the attractions on the island of St. Helena. One of the major attractions though, is the Napoleonic experience. Longwood house was the final residence of the Emperor Napoleon during his six (6) year exile on the island from 1815-1821.
Today, our guide, Robert Peters, from History on Wheels, drove the narrow winding road passing the valleys with a beautiful waterfall and breathtaking views. Our first major stop was the original tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. Next, we went to the Longwood house. The house has two floors, with several rooms. It is simple and neat and had lots of pictures of the Emperor hanging on the wall. The garden however, was beautiful and the surroundings were absolutely peaceful.
From the Emperor's house, we went to a lookout point where we could see the volcano and beyond it stretched the broad Atlantic ocean. Throughout most of the drive, flax and prickly pear cactus could be seen growing on the roadside. Everywhere we looked it was very green, and occasionally there were spots where there were wild flowers.
“I used to work in the flax mill. My earnings were 1.72 a week, “ said our guide Robert. “They shut down the flax mill in 1966 following the advent of the linen and cotton industry,” he explained.
“The prickly pears are harvested and turned into a liquor. You can buy it in the town,” he said. Another interesting stop for us was a handsome Georgian style house built in 1792. Today, this Plantation House is the home of the Governor of St. Helena. On the lawn were four giant tortoises. One of them, Jonathan, is 178 years old. A smaller one, named Speedy was nowhere to be seen and was supposedly transferred to the backyard.
From the Plantation House we had but a short distance to go before we reached the top of the Jacob's ladder. Here, we were blessed with an amazing view. Right below us was the steep Jacob's Ladder, with seemingly tiny people climbing up like ants. To the left below was our ship anchored in the Bay, and in front of it, there was an assemblage of tiny boats of various colors.
I turned to walk toward the stairs and to go down in the opposite direction to the many people climbing up. Not so fast there, Mr. Wonderful roared behind me. I slowed up and let him pass. We reached the halfway point and opposite us were men and women older than us. I almost fell with surprise. They were climbing as fast as they could even though their foreheads were covered with beads of sweat.
At the bottom of the ladder, several of our crew were waiting for their turn to climb while others were resting after the grueling climb, up and down. Passengers, or not, all of us that came to see the town had a fantastic time. And for those that completed the challenge, it was an overwhelming, but a very rewarding experience! A BIG Thank you to our guide, Mr. Robert Peters. He showed us a lot, and gave us a lot of information making St. Helena well worth a visit!