Day 11

I got up at 7 AM, and Simon cooked bacon and eggs for our breakfast.

At 8:30 AM, I visited the library next to the tourism office at the jail.  The library is open just two hours per week.  It was a small room with a random assortment of books that weren't really organized.  The place was run by Carol Warren, so I asked her about the library.

Most of the books come from passing cruise ships.  Most of the library's visitors are actually tourists, usually the ones coming off a yacht.  The locals don't read much.  Carol said that they were too busy to read.  I rolled my eyes.

I spent the rest of the morning playing more Scrabble with Simon.

At noon, I got a haircut from Michelle Christian, the mayor's wife.  Apparently she is the island's barber.  She asked why I was visiting Pitcairn, and I told her that I was inspired by The Bounty Trilogy.  She responded by saying that people who are familiar with the Bounty story are usually much older than me.

At 2 PM, Simon and I walked down to the landing where most of the island was congregated.  Eight-year-old Adrianna ran up to me, took my hand, and pulled me toward the longboat.  The younger children Cushana and Isabel were near the longboat and wanted me to play with them.  The doctor was there, and she gave me a big good-bye hug.  Finally, Simon said good-bye.  He told me that he would miss playing Scrabble with me.

Leaving Pitcairn

I boarded the longboat with Anneka, the Norfolk guys, the couple from Wales, and the others who were leaving the island, and we were taken to the Claymore.  I went to the upper deck and watched the longboat return to the island.

For the next three hours, I stayed on the upper deck and watched Pitcairn Island slowly disappear from view.