Position:
Falkland Islands
Temperature: 52*F (12*C)
Weather conditions: Partly cloudy
Wind: E 5mph
Sunrise 4:54am, sunset 7:15pm
"The ice was here, the ice was there, the ice was all around. It cracked and growled and roared and howled like a noise in a swound..." - Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
A Brief History (as found in Celebrity Today)
English is the official language of the Falkland Islands and the currency is the Falkland Island pound (equivalent to the British Sterling.) The Falkland Islands consist of 2 main islands and a group of small landmasses located 300 miles east of the Argentine Patagonian coastline and 480 miles northeast of Cape Horn. With a population of approximately 2000, 2/3 of which live in Port Stanley, Falkland Island is the smallest most remote capital city in the world.
This very British island was invaded by Argentina in 1982, but a counter-invasion by Britain led to reclamation of the island. Its pubs, neat gardens, British 'bobbies', red mailboxes and the Union flag flown over the Government House leave no doubt that British roots run deep. This very unique port is built on the north facing slope of the island to catch the sun year round and overlooks Stanley Harbour. This very small harbor town is navigable by foot and shopping is scattered about the three "downtown area" streets, where penguin paraphernalia and the Falkland Island wool products, particulary the "Falkland Sweater", are available for purchase.
The lone King Penguin laying on its egg
Today we arrived in the Falkland Islands and docked just outside Stanley. I was SO lucky to be put on a tour as an escort! They even ran out of spots for guests but had one spot on each tour for a crew escort for insurance reasons. Don't know why - I don't ask questions, I just go with it! The tour was awesome. Fifteen minute boat ride to where a few 4x4s were waiting to take us on a 20 minute ride to Sparrow Cove, where a large Gentoo penguin population resides. There was no road and it was very rugged terrain, but the vehicles were so good that you barely felt it. When we arrived we had an hour to walk among the little penguins. There were a ton -there was even one (yes, one) King penguin!! Kind of out of place, but I was so happy to see him (I think it was a him, not sure, but it was guarding its egg.) Gentoo penguins are much cuter than the Magellans. Some of them were molting - feathers flying everywhere.
There was this one adorable penguin that followed us around - he would come right up and sniff your pants and go around you in circles. When we left down the hill to the pick-up spot where there were no penguins, he followed us. Then when we drove off, he started running after us, it was THE cutest thing ever - almost sad! So sweet... so funny watching them run! I could spend all day just watching penguins run/waddle!
Run, penguins, run!
(SO funny, all running in a single file line!)
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