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.