Castaway paradise on Crusoe island

HAS THE thought of doing a Robinson Crusoe ever been so appealing? Lying on a beach all day, only having to get up to fish and never having to think about Nama. What about really doing it? To see where Daniel Defoe got his inspiration you have to visit Robinson Crusoe Island, in the south Pacific, 670km west of Chile.

This remote spot is where, in 1704, the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned for four years with nothing but a musket and a Bible for company.

Selkirk (above) had a row with the captain of his ship. He thought the vessel was no longer seaworthy and tried to encourage the crew to stay on the island rather than risk the trip home. As he was a quarrelsome and unpopular man, the rest of them decided to take their chances aboard.

Selkirk is said to have changed his mind, running along the beach and calling after the departing boat. The ship, its sails no doubt heaving with the crew’s sigh of relief, kept going.

Selkirk was rescued in 1709 and went on to be a cause celebre, with interviewers remarking on both his physical fitness and a serenity that would have surprised his former shipmates – if they had lived to read the reports, that is. As Selkirk had predicted, the ship did sink, within weeks of leaving the island, with the loss of most of its crew.

A five-day tour of the island, departing from Santiago, costs €2,100, including Andean trails, and staying in a hotel rather than goatskin huts.

• andeantrails.co.uk