94 | April• 2018
FAR AWAY FROM IT ALL
PHOTO (PREVIOUS SPREAD): JEREMY RICHARDS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
to have been folded by a giant accor-
dion maker. No wonder pirates and
buccaneers once used this island as
a haven.
“You need a break from the big
city?” the skipper asks as he steers us
into Bahía Cumberland, setting lob-
ster-trap loaters and moored ishing
boatsinmotion.“You’vecometothe
rightplace:onlyabout900ofuslive
here,” he says and nods towards the
wooden houses on the shore. As I
grabmybagtogetoftheboat,here-
vealsthatphoneandinternetservice
arespottyatbest(a2010tsunamitore
out the island’s land line). “Good luck
keeping in touch with the continent!”
I HADN’T EXPECTEDsuch a dramatic
welcome in the middle of nowhere.
Located 670 kilometres from the port
city of Valparaíso, Robinson Crusoe
is a far-lung buoy tethered to a wire
of hardened magma that stretches
thousands of metres from the ocean
loor. Mr Moustachio ferries us in an
open vessel across the heaving swell
towards the village of San Juan Bau-
tista. The napping seals we pass on
the hour-long journey don’t seem to
mind the nothingness beneath them,
but I feel like an astronaut clinging to
a robotic arm in space – except here,
the deep-blue backdrop gives way
to walls of volcanic rock that appear
T
HETINYBEECHCRAFTHASBARELYCOMETOA
full stop on Robinson Crusoe Island’s airstrip
whenamoustachioedmantellsmetostart
walking.“Wecantakeyourbag,butwecan’tit
you,”hesaysashejumpsintoaJeepthatcrawls
away under the weight of my luggage, supplies
frommainlandChileandthreesoldiersontheroof,theirlegs
danglingoverthewindshield.Isetoutonfootdownagravel
roadthatcutsthroughawind-slashedrockscapedottedwith
poppies.After15minutesIhearsinging.It’satenorbeltingout
an aria, but it’s impossible to make out the words, mangled as
theyarebythebreezefromthePaciicOcean.Whentheroad
dips down to the sheltered bay where a boat is waiting, ready
totransferustotheisland’sonlytown,Iseeawholechoir
practisingtheirdo-re-mi’s.Dumbfounded,Isendamental
apologytoPlácidoDomingo:sorry,man,thatImistook you
for a member of a herd of Juan Fernández fur seals.
