Once more, I am
writing a blog chapter on an RAF flight – this time, from Ascension Island to
RAF Brize Norton near Oxford. There was no diving during my last day in
Ascension; divers are required to fully decompress for at least a day before
boarding aircraft flying at high altitudes. Instead, there was plenty of office
work to catch up on, including with the Ascension Island Conservation
Department. Great, our paper on bromine metabolism in Laminaria, submitted to J Exp Bot, is “acceptable with minor revisions”.
That’s good news for coming home.
Aldo and I then took
our rental car for going up Green Mountain, Ascension’s highest peak. Initially
this was a very barren cinder cone like all others of Ascension’s peaks, and
all early European visitors faced a severe water shortage when visiting this
desert island consisting of mostly black, volcanic rock. This applied also in
particular to the Royal Marines, who turned the island into a British base
during Napoleon’s exile in St. Helena. When Charles Darwin and, a few years
later, also Joseph D. Hooker visited Ascension, they suggested planting a
forest on its highest mountain, in order to increase rainfall, decrease
evaporation, and make Ascension more inhabitable by improving the water supply
and the local climate on the mountain. For several years, tropical plants were
sent to the island, especially from Kew Gardens, Stellenbosch (South Africa)
and Brazil, and planted on the mountain. Within a few decades, a cloud forest
ecosystem formed – totally artificial, but nevertheless, with the intended
outcome. Indeed, Green Mountain is a
very pleasant place for human visitors. The downside of course is that most of
Ascension’s native plants were soon outcompeted by the alien new arrivals. The
Ascension Island Conservation Department is now working very hard to save
what’s left to save, several species have already been lost.
Aldo and I hiked
Elliot’s Pass, a circular trail around the summit of Green Mountain, which had
been created by the Royal Marines to provide 360° of lookout around the island.
When it was created in the 19th century, it offered indeed views to
all sides of the island, but now most of it is surrounded by dense jungle. I
was once more impressed by how Aldo was coping with the physical challenges of
this trip. Two years ago, we had also hiked Elliot’s Pass, but got lost in the
jungle since much of it had been overgrown by dense vegetation. Now much of the
path had been cleared and it was a reasonably easy, 1 ½ h hike. A great
conclusion to our big trip!
Georgetown Harbour was
busier than usual – a large military supply vessel was moored a bit offshore
(the harbour is too shallow), and lots of containers were being hauled back and
forth by barge. This vessel calls at Ascension and Mare Harbour in the
Falklands about every 2 months. Resupplying these remote islands with almost
anything is quite a logistical challenge.
Back in Georgetown, it
was time to say farewell – to Nicky, Caz, Jolene and Stedson. We went to the
airport in the early evening, but learned that the flight would be around 5 h
delayed due to freezing fog over southern England in the early morning. Not
really a big problem, that meant another evening with Stedson in the Obsidian’s
Anchor Inn.
We finally left
Ascension after 2 am, for a smooth night flight back to England with a fair
amount of sleep. Just after breakfast, Roscoff and the Ile de Batz in Bretagne
(Brittany), where I had spent 6 years of studies, appeared under my window. I
was delighted, I have a lot of nostalgia for this place!
A bit over half an
hour later, we landed at RAF Brize Norton in wintery England.
Cloud forest on Green Mountain
View fr cloud forest on Green Moutain towards English Bay
Hiking Elliots Pass on Green Mt
Church in Georgetown Ascension
Supply vessel for Ascension and Falklands off Georgetown
Anchor Inn Obsidian last evening in Ascension
Roscoff fr the air en route fr Ascension to RAF Brize Norton
