How much do we really know about Captain Cook? What school has taught us might be that
he was an English Explorer, or that he was killed in Hawaii. Why should we care? I was blissfully unaware of so many of
his contributions to the knowledge of the world and its peoples and his great
skills as a map maker, navigator, diplomat, envoy, explorer and sailor. Three multi-year voyages throughout the
Pacifc Ocean and around the world tours bringing him home to England, one
starts to realize that this man, Captain James Cook, was nothing short of
extraordinary when reading Pulitzer Prize winning author Tony Horwitz's book.
After visiting Alaska and seeing his stamp on the
place, Captain Cook, Hawaii, as
well as sailing through Tahiti on The Paul Gauguin, one realizes that to be the
first visitor to these locales in the 18th century was an astounding
accomplishment. I became
fascinated to learn more about him.
What Tony Horwitz does in Blue Latitudes, is to retrace many of Cook’s
footsteps with an Australian sidekick and at times a historian or two,
interspersing the history with real time experiences, centuries later.
Trying to piece together the life and voyages of one of the
greatest adventurers of all time, one realizes what an extraordinary impact
this man had on the world as we know it.
Merely look at the styles and trends in art and design in the 18th
century in England, their awareness of Polynesia, and tropical flora and
fauna….this all came from Cooks voyages
This humorous and entertaining read is chock full of
history, past and current cultural phenomenon and a big dose of reality that we
know so little about such an extraordinary and intrepid explorer. Kudos to Tony Horwitz, this book was
just a joy to read.
Inadvertently, we have traced Cooks steps on three separate trips, one to Tahiti on The Paul Gauguin, in Hawaii snorkeling in the very bay where he was killed, and in Alaska where Cook had some of his greatest weather and navigational challenges. We have been so lucky to see these places in our lifetime, it is just amazing to think what it must have been like to be the very first European visitor to most of the places Cook explored in the 1700's.
Cook's Cove Moorea, Tahiti
The Paul Gauguin off of Moorea in the Tahitian Islands
The rocks where Cook was murdered
Anchorage, Alaska on the Cook Inlet
The mode of transport around the environs of the Winterlake Lodge is Helicopter
The only way in to Winterlake Lodge is via Float Plane or Ski Plane
