I’m leaving one of the places right now, St. Helena. It’s a beautiful little island with a spring and summer like the coast north of San Francisco. Rolling green hills, eucalyptus trees, fruit orchards, big old oaks, a few patches of pine. Old, winding, country roads lined with rough-hewn wooden fences. Kind of like west Ireland. Very nice people here as well, slow pace, untouched by all the shit that goes on in other parts of the world. Low humidity with nice 75F days, cool nights. Great country to see on horseback.
Next year they’ll finish the airport and real estate prices are already rising. The character of this place will probably change radically with an increase in commerce (can’t blame the people for wanting that) and hordes of retirees and vacationers due to arrive from the UK and South Africa. I hope they don’t start tearing down these beautiful old, substantial Georgian buildings in Jamestown and replacing them with cheap steel and glass, or the concrete block housing I see on Ascension and almost everywhere else. I hope the Saints use their heads.
I’m glad I got this last glimpse of it as it will never be the same after the 747s start landing here.
Nice, nice place.