Agatha Bertram Travels

Travels with my aunt and some others

  • Remarkable
    • Communities
    • Exploits and Expeditions
    • Food
    • People
  • Africa & Middle East
  • Americas
  • Asia
    • India
    • Japan
    • Vietnam
  • Australia
  • Europe
    • France
  • Useful
    • Books
    • Events
    • Health
    • Travel
  • About
    • AKA Agatha Bertram
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

Las Islas Juan Fernandez – a great travel adventure

March 4, 2016 by AggieB 8 Comments

2016 Juan FerndzAsked to write about my greatest adventure.   Hmmm.   There’ve been a few and so I decided to narrow it down to adventures for which I have access to photos, and having said that I have to apologise for the quality of these images – they are scanned from photos which I thought at the time extremely top notch.

The destination is Las Islas Juan Fernandez, and the reason I call it an adventure is that the islands lie 670km west of the coast of Chile in the middle of nowhere. The next stop is Easter Island, which is another 3000km.

Andrew Selkirk

Las Islas Juan Fernandez is better known as the archipelago where Andrew Selkirk was marooned in the early 1700’s.   Daniel Defoe moved the location to the Caribbean, changed the name of the main character, gave him a friend called Man Friday and published the very famous book about it – hence the colloquial name – Robinson Crusoe Island.    The Chilean government has changed the name of one of the islands to Robinson Crusoe Island to strengthen the connection to the book. 2016 Robinson Crusoe cover

Andrew Selkirk was a Scots sailor who sailed with the English explorer and privateer William Dampier.   After a complicated story he chose to stay on the Juan Fernandez islands with some provisions and a bible rather than continue with the ship Cinque Ports – by this time it was sailing under a different captain. His life as a castaway is a great story of survival.

Goats had already been introduced, in a very forward thinking strategy by previous explorers to help anyone who might be stranded there in the future.   They provided meat, milk and their skins.   According to the story, he added to seafood and goats meat with wild turnips, cabbage leaves, and dried pepper berries that offered him variety and spice.   At one point he was chasing feral goats and accidentally fell off a cliff but was saved from extinction because he landed on a goat.   Twice he had to avoid being rescued by the Spanish as he was an English privateer.

When he was finally rescued – again by his old captain William Dampier, he’d been alone on the island for four years and four months, he was bare foot and wearing goat skins but otherwise apparently in very good condition physically and emotionally.

World Wars I & II

The Islands were a key strategic position during World War 1 and World War 2.   One of the historic homes on Robinson Crusoe Island was described as the home of ‘a German ham radio operator’. Code name for German spy, but best not to mention the war.

My adventure

I went on a weekend trip with a group of three other friends.   We flew west out of Santiago on a light aircraft and landed on this ridiculous runway.   It had a slope – so that when we landed we went up hill to slow the plane down and later when we took off again we went downhill to get enough speed to take off.   That will give you an idea of the size of the island.2016 Juan Ferds

Like a lot of those volcanic Pacific islands it is a hill with dense rain forests and a couple of small beaches that make it accessible for boats.

We had a glimpse of the isolation and remoteness experienced by Andrew Selkirk.

A highlight of the trip to Juan Fernandez was a tour with a couple of local fishermen.   We saw groups of seals sleeping in the sun on rocks. Fur seals have made a come back after nearly being hunted to extinction. For lunch the we caught our own fish and pulled up some lobster pots.   The lobsters were cooked in pots on the boats and we ate them fresh with our hands, and the fish we ate later at the residence.

Early the next morning we got up and climbed to the peak of El Yunque, which even at 1000m was quite challenging.   We saw some goats, and admired the fitness of Selkirk because he was able to catch them.   Then we headed back to the exciting runway for the trip back to Santiago.

2016 juan fernaz

Sadly in 2010, after I was there the islands were hit by a 3m tsunami which sadly caused a lot of damage and some loss of life.

This post has been linked to The Travel Linkup, click here to get back.

If you liked this post, an Agatha Bertram enewsletter can give you a monthly update on posts you might have missed.   Use this form to subscribe.

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
  • +1
  • Pocket
  • LinkedIn 0

Filed Under: Americas, Exploits and Expeditions

Comments

  1. Jessi (Two Feet, One World) says

    March 6, 2016 at 12:16 pm

    Wow what an amazing spot!

    Reply
    • AggieB says

      March 7, 2016 at 8:47 am

      It was amazing & I’m glad I was able to get there. Thanks for dropping by 🙂

      Reply
  2. Emma @ Adventures of a London Kiwi says

    March 6, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    What an adventure to be able to recount!

    Reply
    • AggieB says

      March 7, 2016 at 8:48 am

      One of the things that I like about traveling – visiting these remote places. Not difficult to get to once you are in the area, but impossible if you live on the other side of the world. Thanks for dropping by.

      Reply
  3. Rachel ¦¦ A Nesting Nomad says

    March 6, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    I had no idea that Robinson Crusoe was based on a real person! What a philistine. That casts everything in a new light. It certainly sounds like a great adventure to be able to visit the island (and come away again a bit sooner than 4 years and 4 months).

    Reply
    • AggieB says

      March 7, 2016 at 8:49 am

      Me either until I went there! Thanks for dropping by.

      Reply
  4. Nina says

    March 9, 2016 at 5:41 am

    Never heard of this spot, but what a great adventure.

    Reply
    • AggieB says

      March 9, 2016 at 9:00 am

      Thanks Nina, nice to hear from you 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to receive periodic wraps of the most popular posts.

Search

Thought for today

Follow the trip that Gandalf and Co did over the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with a view of the volcanic landscapes and Mt Ngauruhoe which featured as ‘Mt Doom’.   Not far from Mt Doom is beautiful Lake Taupo

New Zealand, Feb 2022

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

#Aggiebtravels

aggiebtravels

The custard apple lady, Hyderabad #incredibleindia The custard apple lady, Hyderabad #incredibleindia #exoticfruit
Mohammed Bin Rashid Library #dubai #booklovers # Mohammed Bin Rashid Library  #dubai  #booklovers #firsteditionbooks
Spending some quality time with the fam - Denmark Spending some quality time with the fam - Denmark on the south coast of west Australia @discoverdenmarkwa
Instagram post 17983434584134993 Instagram post 17983434584134993
Buildings in Bucharest - we were given cake at chu Buildings in Bucharest - we were given cake at churches because it was (still) Easter, saw the statue of King Karel I who was a German Prince, invited by the Romanians to be King, and finally the Houses of Parliament, second biggest government building after the Pentagon.  Built by President Ceaucescu while the economy was in tatters. 

#bucharest #romania #trekkup #trekkupdubai
A day in the life - Transnistria. We had lots mcg A day in the life - Transnistria.  We had lots mcg with the lady in the first pic, one of the few remaining statues of Lenin, market shopping and a memorial to people who died at Chernobyl #transnistria #tiraspol #moldova #trekkup
Meeting a monk today who has lived in a cave for t Meeting a monk today who has lived in a cave for the last 20 years, outside Chișinău in Moldova.
Walking in the Wadi Abadilah. Taking advantage of Walking in the Wadi Abadilah.  Taking advantage of the winter weather ! #uae
Starting the new year with an early morning run 🏃‍♀️ #dubaicanal
Attack birds - photo of a stranger. #gnarabup #we Attack birds - photo of a stranger.  #gnarabup #westernaustralia
Family time in Perth (and south). Family time in Perth (and south).
80,000 people, a drinks break and a light show at 80,000 people, a drinks break and a light show at the MCG.  The final match of the Men's Cricket T20 World Cup.  #PAKvENG
I have so many memories associated with manual sco I have so many memories associated with manual scoreboard day in cricket.  Now a new one - Adelaide Oval #MT20worldcup
Perth by night #perthstadium Perth by night #perthstadium
Southbank, rain on the way! #Melbourne. Southbank, rain on the way!  #Melbourne.
Thanks to @vavien75 and Pierre for their hospitali Thanks to @vavien75 and Pierre for their hospitality in Bretagne BZH.  Overnight in St Malo before a ferry back to Jersey and a flight back to Dubai.  As I was flying out, I thought at first that Guernsey was really big, before I realized it was France 🇫🇷 😂😂
Last day in Jersey. What a beautiful place ! #ch Last day in Jersey.  What a beautiful place !  #channelislands #wartunnels #elizabethcastle
Jersey in the morning. Elizabeth Castle, St Helie Jersey in the morning.  Elizabeth Castle, St Helier #jersey #channelislands
Walking rescue dogs in the UAE #straydogscenterua Walking rescue dogs in the UAE

#straydogscenteruae
Still a big fan of yarn bombers. Saw this little Still a big fan of yarn bombers.  Saw this little outcrop in Wellington.  #newzealandlife

#yarnbombing
Load More Follow on Instagram

#allaboutfrance

Lou Messugo

Affiliates

Web Hosting

Categories

Africa & Middle East Americas Asia Australia Books Communities Equipment Europe Events Exploits and Expeditions Food France General Health India India Japan Japan Markets Movies New Zealand Oman People Remarkable Snapshots St Etienne Travel Uncategorised Useful Vietnam

Archives

  • July 2023 (2)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • November 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (2)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (2)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • May 2017 (2)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (2)
  • February 2017 (2)
  • January 2017 (1)
  • November 2016 (2)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (4)
  • June 2016 (3)
  • May 2016 (2)
  • April 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (3)
  • February 2016 (3)
  • January 2016 (2)
  • December 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (1)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (5)
  • June 2015 (3)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (5)
2016 03 bike_white

Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions

All content, layouts, designs, and graphics are my own unless otherwise noted. Logo and Illustrations by Ignacio Brito
2016 03 suitcase_white

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in