These
islands have two names depending on where you are: the British call them the Falkland Islands,
to the Argentinians they are Islas Malvinas.
Argentina lost that short, bitter conflict in 1982, but nevertheless,
every Argentine believes that the islands rightfully belong to Argentina. The British of course, disagree!
The
islands are at the same latitude south as London, England, is north, and the
temperature has never dropped below 12 degrees F. It rains or snows lightly about 250 days per
year, gales are frequent – calm and sunny days are rare.
One
of the primary objectives of visitors is the unusual wildlife that inhabits the
islands. They are a paradise for bird
watchers with more than 120 species counted, half of which are residents. Bird life also includes several species of
penguins: Gentoo, Rockhopper, King and
Jackass penguins. Albatrosses and giant
petrels nest on some of the outer islands.
Fur seals, sea lions and elephant seals are also present in small
numbers during part of the year.
Our day began with a dark sky and cold
wind… which developed into rain, of course. The staff at the tender boarding told us the weather was 'brutal'! But it's supposed to be summer, we thought!??? David and I boarded the tender boat and set off on our adventure. Arriving at the pier, it was raining and we
shuffled on to a 16 seater mini-bus. The
driver took us out of Port Stanley and drove for about 15 minutes to another
meeting point, where the 16 of us alighted into one of 4 landrovers. David was excited! Our driver, Neil, took us across private
property to a place on the beach known as Bluff Cove Penguin Rookery.
It was blowing a freezing gale and
raining. (now I understood what the ship staff meant when they said, 'brutal'.... holy dolly! I'm from the tropics you know!!!) We met the wildlife rangers who
explained that there were three group of penguins, mostly all Gentoo with some
Kings. We were not to walk closer than
the white flags and then to wander along the beach to the Sea Cabbage Café for
tea and scones when finished. David and
I tried to stay dry, keep the cameras dry and photograph the penguins! It was freezing, I couldn’t feel my nose or
my fingers but I wasn’t leaving until I’d checked all the penguins out! We would have stood around there for about 40
minutes – loving every minute of our time with the cute penguins – and if we looked
carefully we could see chicks!
Finally, the cold and wind got the better
of us and we found the café. Hot coffee
and scones – brilliant! Neil arrived for
the return journey. Diesel – 50p a litre
at the moment! Unleaded about a pound
per litre.
Back to the port, driving by teams of
workers who are looking for land mines, left over from the 1982 war. They are from Zimbabwe and have been there
for about 5 years, and have removed about 2000 mines. There are estimated to be another 18000 mines
to go…. The mines are plastic – even harder to find!
Walked around town – it was raining and
still freezing cold – we found the Village Bar.
Time for a beer! David had a
Falkland Island Rockhopper Gold – not bad!
We shared fish n chips – good ol fashioned English pub tucker! The fish was local – a hint of sweet in the
white flesh and a few little bones. At
least the pub was heated!!! Enjoyed
looking at the Christ Church Cathedral with its Whale Bone Arch commemorating the
1933 centenary of British rule. We also
went to the 1982 War Memorial which was designed by a Falklander, paid for by
public subscription and built with volunteer labor. Today there will be a ceremony after we
leave, unveiling a bronze bust of Baroness Thatcher in recognition of her efforts
during the 1982 conflict.
We were happy to board the 3pm tender back
to Golden Princess for a warm shower and a tot of Rum! (Bundy of course)…
How we got out to the penguins...
Summer time - Gentoo penguin rookery
King penguins
Lunch - British style
Whale bone arch outside the Church
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