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Last night we had dinner at Prime 7 with a delightful couple, Franco and Judy. They live in the UK and have cruised over 250 days on Regent having recently undertaken the World Cruise and now taking the entire 65 days along with us. Franco has been awarded the title of “Cavileri Ufficial” which is the Italian equivalent to being knighted to the second level. There is one more level that he will likely receive over the years. He moved to the UK from Italy when he was 18 and never looked back as he built a very successful hotel business. Quite a story and we had a fantastic time, finishing up in the Stars Lounge until midnight! Margaret’s BACK!!!
We arrived safely at the Falkland Islands early this morning. They are operating two tenders to take us to the shore. Most people are doing a visit to a penguin colony and that’s what we are doing as well. So, with all of our laundry done (that’s a whole other story — how we have to line up to use the three washers and dryers on our floor…) we’re looking forward to seeing the funny little black and white birds!
After boarding the tender we took a 10 minute ride to a small dock a couple miles down the beach in a secluded cove. We exited the tender and loaded up in a Land Rover 4 wheel drive vehicle with 6 people in each of the two cars. Our driver was a stout local Falklander whose parents bought 10,000 acres about 12 years ago on the island and now operates this tour (as well as raise sheep and some cattle).
Falkland Sheep
We took a VERY bumpy ride over bog-like terrain, up and down steep hills, onto the beach then back on marshy area, past sheep, past land mines (on the other side of a fence of course) and, after about 3 miles that took 25 minutes we arrived at a penguin colony and a small building with an outhouse (don’t underestimate the value of this asset when you are riding in a bumpy Land Rover!).
There were ropes laid on the ground and the wardens told us to stay on our side (the penguins were on the other!) but otherwise we could go anywhere we wanted. There were hundreds of Gentoo penguins and we were told that there was one King penguin somewhere among the group but it turns out he was laying down in the muck. I took a lot of pictures and then walked away from where everyone else was and sat down on my camera bag (first checking to make sure there were no sheep, penguin or cow droppings which, as it turns out, was not an easy task) and started taking pictures.
After a few minutes I noticed one penguin who seemed to be taking a liking to the sound of my D700’s shutter and he ended up waddling over to see me (maybe he was curious what kind of camera I was using) and stopped just a couple feet away. The more I shot the closer he came, hamming it up for me and making it clear that he prefers Nikons! Great fun.
It was pretty windy and a bit cold so Margaret took some videos and then went into the outbuilding to get some coffee. We found out AFTER we had sampled the coffee that the water came off the roof , went into a barrel and then was piped into the building. Oops! We’ll see how that works out, so to speak (Update on that: no problems encountered).
I took a walk to try to get some pictures of some vultures that were snacking on something but, despite not looking too closely…turns out it wasn’t a pretty picture. I also took some panoramas and some general nature shots of orange lichens, a cool rock formation that looked like a leopard (see photo above) and so on.
There is a photo contest for whomever takes the best Falkland Island pictures and I figured I’d give it a try!
http://falklandislands.com/sections/view/fiexposed-welcome/theme:photo09
We boarded the Land Rover again and headed back over the bumpy terrain. No roads here, just freestyle 4 wheel off-road driving. There were a few sheep here and there and I got some pictures of them…and let me tell you….that was no easy task! We’ll see how that worked out when I get my photos uploaded… When we got to the little pier we noticed there were 5 or 6 dolphins hanging around — they followed the tender and seemed to enjoy “chasing” it as it came and went. These white bellied showoffs were an unexpected surprise!
Back on the Mariner we ate lunch at Compass Rose and oh what a lunch it was. Smoked Chilean trout appetizer, butternut squash and ginger soup, local white fish filet and three Australian lobster tails. Margaret MADE me get desert which was totally unnecessary but nonetheless a quite tasty coconut cream cake. We decided to take the tender into Stanley so Margaret could do some shopping and I could take some photos for the contest and that’s what we did. The 25 minute tender ride into town was quite beautiful (see the gallery) with the bright multi-colored roofs, the hillside cemetery and the beautiful clouds overhead. It turned out to be a perfect day and that’s quite an accomplishment in the Falklands.
Margaret picked up a stainless martini shaker (in the shape of a penguin!), a Falklands Christmas tree ornament and a small stuffed penguin for our dog, Spencer. I finished my picture taking and we jumped on the next tender and got out of town and back to the Mariner. Well worth the trip.
After finishing up the picture editing we decided to cancel our scheduled dinner at Signatures (French restaurant….too much after that big lunch…) and the following dinner show and got a hold of Nick and Sherrie and scheduled dinner with them at Compass Rose. We had a great time and followed it up with the Beatles show in the Horizon Lounge. Sherrie is now hooked on milkshakes and Margaret and I had a couple of Green Teanies. A full day for sure!
You can check out the Picture Galleries for the Falklands at: http://gallery.me.com/travelwithdmcontent/100306
Bonus Section: History on the 1982 Falklands War
One of the things that everyone seemed interested in was the 1982 Falkands War. Here is a brief history of Falkland Island War taken from Wikipedia. For the entire article click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_War.
The Falklands War was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK) over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Falkland Islands consist of two large and many small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina; their name and sovereignty over themhave long been disputed.
The Falklands War started on Friday, 2 April 1982 with the Argentine invasion and occupation of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982. The war lasted 74 days, and resulted in the deaths of 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, sailors, and airmen, and three civilian Falklanders. It is the most recent conflict to be fought by the UK without any allied states and the only Argentine warsince the 1880s.
The conflict was the result of a protracted diplomatic confrontation regarding the sovereignty of the islands. Neither state officially declared war and the fighting was largely limited to the territories under dispute and the South Atlantic. The initial invasion was characterised by Argentina as the re-occupation of its own territory, and by the UK as an invasion of a British dependent territory.
Britain launched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force, and retake the islands by amphibious assault. The British eventually prevailed and at the end of combat operations on 14 June the islands remained under British control. However, as of 2010[6] and as it has since the 19th century, Argentina shows no sign of relinquishing its claim. The claim remains in the Argentine constitution after its reformation in 1994.
The political effects of the war were strong in both countries. A wave of patriotic sentiment swept through both: the Argentine loss prompted even larger protests against the ruling military government, which hastened its downfall; in the United Kingdom, the government of Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher was bolstered. It helped Thatcher’s government to victory in the 1983 general election, which prior to the war was seen as by no means certain. The war has played an important role in the culture of both countries, and has been the subject of several books, films, and songs. The cultural and political weight of the conflict has had less effect on the British public than on that of Argentina, where the war is still a topic of discussion.
Falkland Island Picture Gallery: http://travelwithdm.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/Falkland-Islands-Feb-12-2010/25170295_NF8FgN#!i=2064319178&k=ZRvwXcj