- A trip to the end of the earth – Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica–Explorers & Kings
- Ushuaia–Fin del Mundo
- Ushuaia–Day 2
- Waiting for my ship to come in…
- Come sail away…
- Day #1 & 2 – En route to the Falklands
- Day #3 – West Point Island & Saunders Island, The Falklands
- Day # 4 – Stanley–more British than Britain
- Day # 7 – Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain–Kings, kings & more kings
- Day #8 – In the footsteps of Shackleton
- Day #9 – Elephants & Kings – St. Andrew’s Bay & Gold Harbour
- Day #10 – Cooper Bay & Drygalski Fjord
- Day #13 – Elephant Island
- Day #14 – Setting foot on Antarctica
- Day #15 – Whales, whales and more whales – a “Tail” of a perfect day
- Day # 16 – Deception Island & Half Moon Bay
- Day 19 & 20 – Buenos Aires
- Antarctica Photo Gallery
The Falkland Islands consist of 2 larger islands, East & West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. They are a British overseas territory and are self-governed. The Argentines still maintain their claim over the islands (Islas Malvinas to them) despite their unsuccessful invasion in 1982. The war left over a hundred mine fields containing nearly 20,000 mines of various types. Many have been cleared over the years since, but many still remain. They warned us repeatedly over our 2 days in the Falklands to stay on the marked trails & paths for this very reason.
Our next stop was Stanley, located on the East Island and the capital of the Falkland Islands. The town feels very British; some say it’s now more British than Britain. They were calling for rain, but while we were there it was sunny; the rain held off until we were back on the ship.
This was taken as we were sailing into Stanley early in the morning.
Stanley is a very colourful maritime town with it’s brightly coloured homes and flowers
The dock is on the outskirts of town. Quark had arranged a shuttle bus for us, but it was such a beautiful morning I decided to walk. A local showed us to a trail that went along the water’s edge where I found this Falkland Thrush.
Desolate and barren, it’s still beautiful…
Once in town, I just wandered around taking pictures. There are several of these in Stanley, and yes, they contain working phones!
Below is Christ Church Cathedral, the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world. The whalebone arch, which is made from the jawbones of two blue whales, was presented to the islanders in 1933 by whalers from South Georgia.
I just liked the symmetry in these…
A female Flying Steamer Duck with her babies (well I think that’s what she is)
St Mary’s church, the only Catholic church on the islands.
Because of Stanley’s location, it was a popular place for ships damaged while rounding Cape Horn to put in for repairs. Unfortunately, many were beyond fixing and there are still a few visible shipwrecks in the harbour. This is what’s left of the Jhelum – a 3 masted wooden barque, built in 1849. She sailed the seas between Britain and South America for 20 years. In 1870 she sailed for the last time – arriving in Stanley leaking so badly that her crew refused to sail in her again. The ship was condemned and used for storage and as a workshop until 2008.
This is someone’s yard – clearly they have a gnome obsession. It’s actually on the tourist map, # 76!
Any guess as to which way the prevailing wind goes?
And finally, no visit to Stanley would be complete without a visit to a Pub. This is possibly the most interesting draught tap I’ve ever seen. Patrick, the very colourful bartender, told me it was Louis Armstrong’s – but you could clearly see it was “made in China”.
Wonderful photos! You have such a good eye for composition and interesting shots! Travelocity should use the gnome photo! Ha! Loving your blog!
Stunning photos Kathy. I especially like the horse photo though, frankly, a lot of them are favourites.