Day #26…Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Port Stanley, The Falkland Islands
Penguin day has finally arrived and the weather is
cooperative for tendering into the Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. We had been worried that we would have to
miss this port because of weather and wave conditions. Several people we had met on this cruise told
us they had to refrain from stopping in the Falkland Islands on previous
cruises due to inclement weather conditions.
We chose to take a Princess tour today to Bluff Cove Lagoon
to see several species of penguins. We
tendered into the port of Stanley with our tour group, boarded a van and traveled
through the town. The weather is in the
40’s and very windy so we had to dress warmly and in layers.
After riding through the countryside for about 20 minutes,
we stopped and were escorted to an assigned 4 X 4 vehicle that would then trek
over very rough terrain to get us to Bluff Cove Lagoon. What a ride!
At only 10-15 miles per hour max, we were in the vehicle for about 30
minutes before arriving at the beach cove area.
What a site to behold, as we saw many penguins in their
natural habitat, sunning themselves by the lagoon or diving in the cold waters
for food. Several young brown downy
furred baby penguins were posing for our busily clicking cameras.
We had a marked pathway for penguin viewing purposes and
stayed within the marked boundaries.
Though we managed to follow the rules, several penguins came to us and
waited for us to take their pictures!
Several species of penguins were viewed today. Gentoo, a small variety were playful and
outnumbered the other two types with approximately 1000 pairs nesting annually
at the site. The king penguins stood about
2-3 feet tall and often posed like statues which gave us plenty of time to get
a good photo shot. The least common type
at the lagoon was the Magellanic penguins with their black beaks nesting in
burrows nearby.
After we spent time viewing the penguins and watching their
typical waddles, we visited the Falkland Islands Museum that depicts life in
the area and the history of Bluff Cove.
We were treated to hot chocolate and a variety of pastries before we
boarded the 4 X 4 vehicles and headed back toward Port Stanley.
The French established a settlement on East Falkland in
1764. The islands lie between the
Antarctic and South American continents in the South Atlantic Ocean. The population of the Falklands is just under
3,000 people. Our tour guide stated that
with crew and passengers from the Ruby Princess, Port Stanley’s population
doubled upon our arrival today.
The seasons here are the exact opposite of what prevails in
North America. The summer months are
from December through March and the average temperature during the winter is 53°
F. It was in the 40’s today and very
windy and the locals remarked that this was a very cold day for this time of
the year. We were blessed with sunny
skies and only a very short period of light misty rain.
The Falkland Islands produce their own form of currency, the
Falkland Island pound (FK£). The island is a
territory of Great Britain and the “kelpers”, as the islanders call themselves,
are very proud of their UK heritage. The
primary language is English.
We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling along the
quaint and beautiful streets. Souvenir
shops and pubs were plentiful and we elected to try some fish and chips and
local beer at the Global Tavern on Ross Street.
We then visited Christ Church Cathedral and the Whalebone Arch, a
monument constructed of giant blue whale jawbones on its grounds.
Landmine field markers are plentiful on the island and we
were warned not to walk in any area that was marked as such. In the 1980’s, Argentina attempted a takeover
of the islands and planted landmines throughout the area. The British sent paratroopers to the
Falklands to protect the people. Due to
the mass number of landmines present there and the lack of technology in the
80’s to remove them, the residents decided to identify their locations and wait
until technology advanced enough to remove them safely. We saw workers presently removing the
landmines, a tedious job at hand.
We had not been able to call our son, Jay for quite sometime
and were able to reach him by cell phone yesterday. We did not imagine that we would have phone
service in this remote place in the world.
After we tendered back to the ship, we had dinner with Frank
and Judy and then attended a comedy variety show with Lee Bayless and Dan Riley
performing.
Tomorrow is another sea day as we head for Ushuaia,
Argentina. We will be rounding Cape Horn
and viewing the glaciers at the southernmost area of South America. We will be finishing our southern journey
around the east coast of South America.
We will make the turn around Cape Horn and head in a northerly direction
along the continent’s west coast.
