Falklands +

January 28^th

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

Success!…..we were able to land. After sailing through fog and calm seas most of the night we arrived in Stanley to partly cloudy skies and a temp. of about 55. We used the ship tenders to get to the dock, which was about a 10 minute ride. The ship was anchored outside of the harbor with a 450 ft. long chain due to the swift currents.  It was pretty rough getting out of those tenders. And the anchor chain was huge. I think we were very lucky to be able to dock here.

The Falklands have a total population of about 3000 residents, with about 1000 active military personnel.  They are ramping up the military due to Argentina putting trade restrictions and economic pressures on them again. They are afraid that there might be another invasion.  They have very few resources, but maybe the possibility of finding oil there.  We drove past blocked off mine fields that the Argentine’s planted and are still active from the war in 1982. This is a very interesting little country that was more or less unknown until they were invaded.  Almost everything has to be imported from Great Britain, so goods are very expensive. They have a very good economy, with their own money. The Falkland Pound is equal in value to the British Pound though.  With almost zero unemployment, everyone who wants a job has one.  They have a good school system with the kids going to University in England.

We took a tour that took us to the eastern part of the Island where the penguins are. A 2 hr ride (one way) in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, on a dirt road, with the last 10 minutes on a bog to the beach.  Pretty bumpy but fun.  We passed mostly peat fields that had sheep and cows grazing on them.  Only a few farms along the way. Very remote.  The area reminded me of northern California, around the I-5 area of Weed. Rolling hills, rocky areas, a few watering holes, with fields and grasses as far as the eye can see. Very dry.  These are peat fields, which some people still use for fuel.  And very windy. When we reached our destination there were penguins all over the place.  We were at their roosting place where the babies were waiting for their parents to come back from the sea with food.  They were mostly Gentoo penguins with the occasional King seen here and there. They are very curious and they came quite close to Bruce. Some people were sitting down trying to get up close and personal, but hundreds of penguin’s means thousands of poo’s everywhere. Penguin poo on your clothes….I think not. It smelled bad enough, but some people came back with white souvenirs all over themselves.  It was bad enough scrubbing our shoes when we got back. It was amazing to see these creatures in their natural habitat.  They are only on the Island to have their babies, raise them, and then they all go off the Island for a few months and come back again to start the cycle over.  This was an amazing experience, and I am grateful we were able to dock. 

ON ANOTHER NOTE…….The Falklands was our last port of call before heading to Antarctica and around the Horn. We will be 5 days at sea. The weather is already starting to get cold. Today it was about 37 degrees and foggy with the possibility of getting down to freezing the closer we get to Antarctica. We are hoping that the fog lifts tomorrow and the seas remain relatively calm. We will be sailing past the South Shetland Islands, through the Wilhelm Archipelago, and then around Cape Horn. We should be able to see land from the ship along with lots of birds, penguins, seals, and maybe whales……just hoping the weather is clear. We will not make a landing on the Continent, but just slowly sailing by. There will be an Antartican naturalist onboard to give us all of the information that we are going to hopefully see. I really can’t believe that I am this far south in the world…..the days are still light at 11 pm. The sun rises at 5 am. I am in AWE…..

On another, another, note……..the ‘code red’ has been lifted.  And thanks to the Captain, the free champagne is flowing…lets up the alcohol level another notch. A very nice Thank you for washing your hands…..