Stanley, The Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas)

[wiselindag]

The "We" in this report refers to two semi-retired older cruisers and their almost 21 year old son. Feel free to ask questions.

 

This morning we woke to cloudy skies. The forecast was supposed to be 59F and partly cloudy, but this morning it was entirely cloudy. The good news was that it wasn’t raining and the seas were calm, so tendering got underway around 9 a.m. We were told to pick up tender tickets 20 minutes before we wanted to go ashore. We sent DS up to get them when we finished breakfast and discovered we had tickets for the 13th tender. It wasn’t 20 minutes; it was an hour and a half before we got on the tender and headed for town.

 

The tender ride was completely smooth, but the ship was anchored a good distance from shore, so it took a while to get to Stanley Town. When we arrived, we looked around the parking lot, but didn’t see any taxis, so we decided to walk around town a bit first. DS decided he needed to price souvenirs, so we stopped at several shops, walked up the hill, took a look at the Cathedral, some pubs, and then back to the dock, where we spoke with a taxi driver and the shuttle company, which is actually a tour company called Penguin Travel. As reported, they charge US $20 to the Gypsy Cove and back. DS and I rode over with a Chilean driver named Marcel, who indicated that he makes more money in the Falklands than he did in Chile and that he likes living and working there. He showed us the wreck of the Lady Elizabeth, the area where the oil drilling works were being built, the floating dock for the fishermen, and the boat salvage area. I was surprised at how white the sand was when we reached the beach area. He said they tried shipping some of the sand to one of the South American countries, but it was too expensive.

 

We were dropped off at the Gypsy Cove parking area and from there we set off up the path. Almost immediately we came upon a female (we think) penguin and her chick, which was partially covered by its burrow. The path got steeper and more rugged (big gravel pieces and stones), but the view was wonderful and well worth the trek. There were several observation decks with information on the local flora and fauna and terrific views of the gorse, tussock and cinnamon grass, and beautiful dwarf shrub heath with little diddle-dee berries and some small birds. Along the beach, a colony of penguins were lined up across the sand. Because the area still contains land mines (although they plan to sweep for them soon and get rid of them), you have to keep to the path and warning signs are posted along the fences. Around to the other side of the hill, we came upon more penguins and another beautiful vista. Both of us enjoyed our visit to Gypsy Cove and our first encounter with penguins in their habitat. DS became the penguin photographer and spent quite a bit of time waiting for the right moment to snap the shutter. I enjoyed seeing the penguins, but especially loved the gorgeous scenery.

 

Returning to the parking area, we encountered some crew members from the Sun, enjoying their day off, who said it was their first visit to see the penguins. We went in to an old bus fitted up as a café by an enterprising Filipina to buy a soda for DS and ran into our crew friends again. After a wait of almost half an hour, our van returned and brought us back to town. The driver on this leg was a local, who loaned me his Falklands newspaper when I asked about other ships coming to town. Like the Shipping News (set in Newfoundland) there was an article listing which ships would be in port for the week. We also spoke about a new oil rig which was being towed down to Stanley and was expected to arrive in a few weeks. There were plans for more workers and some offices also, which should impact the local economy. DS got some great penguin socks for his friends and best of all, a penguin hat complete with earflaps. I spent my Falklands coins (given as change in the café) on some postcards and we headed back to the dock, the tender, and then the ship. I was tempted by the Fish and Chips pub lunches and the stand on the dock, but decided the prices were too expensive and if I really wanted Fish and Chips, I could get it on the ship.

[jasonflk]

Great review glad you enjoyed your visit to Stanley.

 

Just one little technical point, the first magalenic penguin you saw, probably on your left hand side in a burrow, could either be male or female as they take it in turns looking after the chick(s) while the other goes for food.

 

Best regards

[Nonna and Papa]

I hope we have the same good fortune as you did...we'll be there on the Infinity on Feb. 17. Thanks for your post.

 

Mary

[wiselindag]

Jason,

 

Thanks! We were never sure whether we were looking at males or females since we did no penguin research prior to the trip.

 

Nonna and Papa - I hope you have a great cruise. I'll be interested in what conditions you encounter in February. One reason we went earlier (aside from the obvious one that our son could go with us) is that my brother, who sailed in January on the same route last year met a couple who had previously been on a similar cruise much later in the season and had more weather problems. I don't know if it matters, but some have suggested to us that the calm seas around the Horn were definitely seasonal. I love Celebrity and would have been on the Infinity if it weren't for the fact that our son wouldn't join us without the freestyle cruise and there was such a big price difference. Happy cruising!

[dileep]

Last week the Norwegian Sun did not make it into the Falklands due to rough seas (probably too rough fdor the tenders). My friend, who was on the cruise, was greatly disappointed.

[jasonflk]

We've had a bad year for cruise ships missing, Today though we had bothe the norwegian sun and star pricess in, though the star princess came late due to bad weather getting here and are due to depart around 8pm tonight, it's great when two cruise ships of that size come in and they are staggered, it's so much easier to deal with.

[On2CDWrld]

Jason , Your answer about the Sun and Star Princess will suffice for the question posed on the Falklands thread. Enjoy the break , we will be there soon.:)

 

les

[Nonna and Papa]

Thank you, wiselindag, for your good wishes. Hopefully everything will work out for our visit.

 

After receiving heavy snow over the weekend, we're hoping all our travel plans will work out to get us to BA. We're leaving from Miami on Tuesday morning. Many of our roll call friends won't leave until later in the week, and another mid week storm may impact everyone's plans. At this point we'll worry about the Falklands next week!!:rolleyes::)

 

Mary