After 3 days at sea, we arrived at the Falkland Islands on Feb.
9. The Falkland Islands (aka Islas Malvinas), are located about
300 miles east of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. They are an Overseas
Territory of the United Kingdom. The islands are internally self-governing
except for their defense and foreign affairs which remains the responsibility
of the British government. There has long been a sovereignty contention
between Britain and Argentina which led to war in 1982. There
are about 200 islands in the archipelago. They are mostly rocky
and treeless and often swept by strong winds and cold rains. There
are two main large islands - East Falkland and West Falkland. Our
first stop was on the east side of East Falkland Island in the city
of Stanley. This very colorful and picturesque town is the principle
community and port of the archipelago and has been the capital of
the Falkland Islands since 1842. Almost 2,000 people, out of a total
Falklands population of 2800 people, live here. The town was held
by Argentine troops for 10 weeks in 1982 and suffered some damage
before being retaken by a British task force. There are still 117
mine fields throughout the area that have been roped off and monitored.
It is illegal to enter any of these areas or take one of the signs.
We
were given a bus tour of the city and its environs, including a
view of Government House, the war memorial and the harbor area where
the wreck of the Lady Elizabeth is grounded. The Lady
Elizabeth is a 19th century iron barque which limped into Stanley
Harbor in 1912 after sustaining damage in a storm while coming around
Cape Horn.
Our
guide showed us the main peat bog which used to be the fuel source
for the town. There are still a few homes which use the free and
available fuel source and we could smell them as we got close! Now
petroleum products have made home heating much less laborious if
not more expensive.
The
houses around Stanley are quite colorful and many have large flower
and vegetable gardens in their front yards. We
stopped at the Falkland Islands Museum with it's eclectic collection
of anything having to do with the Falklands. Then there was time
for wandering the streets and shopping for souvenirs.
After
lunch, a group of us decided to hire a driver to take us to Gypsy
Cove. This is a beach area about 4 miles out of town. The area lies
within the National Nature Reserve of Stanley and is home to several
hundred breeding pairs of Magellanic penguins. There
was a well marked trail along the cliffs overlooking the beach area
and through the diddle dee shrubs which covered the ground. The
berries of the diddle dee is a source of food for the area's animals
and insects and some of the locals make jam from them. After the
days at sea, it was really nice to get out and walk around in the
fresh air.
For more photos of Stanley, go to Stanley
Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to
Carcass Island.
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