Woke up with a bit of a sore throat and what feels like a cold. Dosing up with Lemsip and Strepsils because we arrive in Tahiti on Monday and have diving booked so don't want to be unfit for that.

Went to bridge at 10 where we our Improvers class was playing its first tournament. Bit nerve-wracking but it went ok. Luckily we were only playing for an hour because the Captain announced we would be arriving at Pitcairn Island by 11am. He said he would come in very close and make two slow circuits so that people on both sides of the ship got a good view. We dashed outside at 11 and managed to get 2 chairs at the rail on the Promenade Deck. The sea must drop off very steeply as he got in pretty close, much closer than at Easter Island.

Pitcairn was more or less exactly as I imagined: a rather unwelcoming steep sided, small island in total isolation. There is only one small cove, called Bounty Bay, which is where the mutineers beached the Bounty. Otherwise steep cliffs all the way round. Very green. Plenty of trees. Above Bounty Bay are the only dwellings on the island, clinging to the steep hillsides. Mainly bungalow style but quite nice with little gardens around them. No sign of agriculture or animals though so I can only assume other than very small scale vegetable gardening, everything else must be shipped in. There are apparently only about 40 people living there now. We saw a quad bike moving along the shoreline and there were a couple of boats in the boathouse above Bounty Bay, but otherwise we saw no people at all. The captain said he had been in touch with the Mayor, a Mr John Christian, obviously a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the leading mutineer.

Fletcher Christian died on Pitcairn of course, having been shot by one of the other mutineers after everything went to drunken anarchy some three or four years after arrival. They had soon burnt the Bounty in order to prevent escape and also to prevent being spotted by any passing naval vessels sent to search for them. Discovery was unlikely however as Pitcairn was mis-plotted on all existing charts by about 200 miles.

Most interesting to see and rather beautiful in a rugged Cornish way. I can't imagine living there though. I just don't know what they must do all day. Which was rather the problem with the mutineers especially after one of them started brewing poteen.

Today, the island is administered from New Zealand as part of GB, and they have medical staff from the UK who go out on a two year contract. The odd container ship calls there to supply them but otherwise they are pretty much cut off and do not welcome the idea of incomers. They used to come out to the P&O ships and bring goods for barter but apparently not anymore…. Anyway, so interesting to see such a famously remote place.

Today we had a large bbq lunch served around the swimming pool which was fun. I managed to squeeze down a Pimms, purely medicinal of course.

We are now on the way again, en route to Papeete, Tahiti which we will reach on Monday morning.

By about 3, I was feeling a bit grim so retired to the cabin for more Lemsip and a snooze. Felt better later and Bob and I went to the cinema and watched The Judge starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall and Billy Bob Thornton. Good cast. Good film. On returning to the cabin we found our programme for tomorrow and I note one of the evening entertainments is the OTT singer from the other night presenting a show about 30 years of Les Mis. I think I will have to go….