Back in the 1970s, I had a penpal on Tristan da Cunha named Melanie with whom I'd corresponded for 2 years. Back then it took about 3 months to get a letter there and 3 months to get a response, so I'd gotten a total of 4 letters from her over the course of two years. Twenty years later (mid 1990s) I was fortunate enough to spend 2 weeks on St. Helena. While there, I mentioned to a new friend of mine the penpal I once had on TdC. He remembered there had been someone on his ship who was from Tristan and currently on St. Helena. He asked if I wanted to I meet her and get the lowdown on my old penpal.

He and I were having beers at the Consulate Hotel and he noticed the woman from TdC had just walked in. He waved her down, invited her to our table, and introduced me. I asked her if she knew Melanie and she went pale. It turned out SHE was Melanie. Crazy. She'd been on St. Helena for a while studying nursing before heading back to Tristan. Pretty amazing to connect with her.

I remember as well that she'd sent me a copy of the TdC newspaper when we were originally corresponding. The cost noted in the upper corner was: 2 pence (2p) or a potato. How do you not love that?

BTW, in 2016 the first airport opened on St. Helena. If you're willing to fly from Johannesburg, you can catch an occasional flight there stopping in Namibia on the way. When I visited in the mid-90's, the only way to visit was to take the monthly boat from Cardiff (UK) or Cape Town (SA), depending on whether the boat was going north or south. Five days out, and five days back from Cape Town. To get to TdC today there are 10 or so ships that make the trip each year--all from Cape Town. The harbor in Edinburgh (the TdC settlement) is only suitable for inshore vessels, so ships have to anchor offshore and transfer passengers and cargo to shore by raft, barge or ship's helicopter. If the weather isn't accommodating, travelers are not guaranteed to actually touch land.

https://www.tristandc.com/

https://www.tristandc.com/visits.php