Port Stanley.

The Falklands.

Port Stanley is the capitol of the remote Falkland Islands. They lie some 300 miles to the east of southern Argentina in the South Atlantic. This isolated dependent territory of Great Britain is 8,000 miles from the home country.

We had had a big discussion on what to visit whilst at this destination.  Jane wanted to see the penguins at Bluff Cove and I wanted to see the battle fields, so after much debate I decided that what I really wanted to do was see the penguins!

We had been told that there was only a 50-50 chance that we would be able to moor up and get the tenders down at Port Stanley as the weather is often too bad and it wouldn’t be safe to do so.

We were very lucky and the wind dropped enough for us to get ashore. We did need all our warm clothing as although it was very bright and sunny the wind was very strong and cut right through you.

We managed to get off the ship quite early and had the benefit of seeing the town without the crowds. The tourists are more than welcome here and are the 2nd most important income source after fishing and before farming.

There are many brightly coloured buildings in town and the red roofs really stand out on such a bright day.

A short walk along the front brings you to the memorial which commemorates the 1982 Falklands war.

This statue of Margaret Thatcher stands close by (with apologies to Mr Kevin Shakeshaft!)

The gardens look more British than those at home!

This cathedral has a cross made from whale bones.

Jane was glad of her woolly bobble hat!

This is Government House.

The main supermarket in town gets most of its supplies from Waitrose and Tescos……….however the prices are considerably higher than you would pay at home!

The first part of our trip to Bluff Cove was in a minibus and when the tarmac disappeared we swopped over to 4x4s. Jane passed comment that the gravel tracks weren’t too bad and that we didn’t really need land rovers to get us there……….

Then the gravel disappeared……….

Then it got rocky……..

Then we had to find the big bridge……

Now the traffic is getting a bit heavy!

We made it! It was great to get up close and personal to all the penguins and it was just so easy to take lots of photos.

We have a wildlife expert on the ship called Nigel Marvin.  He has made many T.V. series, some with David Attenborough, and has given lots of very interesting talks on the various wildlife we will encounter.  (More on him later.)

So armed with all that knowledge I set off to be an intrepid wildlife reporter !

Lunchtime!

Not sure what that is in red (but its not Jane)!

Ssssshhhhhh! Everyone else is asleep !

All alone ……

Nobody cares!

Do you fancy a swim?

Oh well, if you’re not coming I’m off!

Wait for me…..

Maybe not , its a bit chillier than I thought!

Back to the minibus.

The buildings in Stanley are all painted in bright colours.

….. well, for the most part anyway!

I’m sure I’ve seen these two in the Tintin movie!

There was such a long queue  to catch the tender back to the ship that the security officer in charge of the shore embarkation said he would come and get us from the pub when the last boat was about to leave. What a great bloke!

As we were sailing out the sunset was lovely. This gave me the opportunity to take a few shots for the onboard photo competition.