FALKLAND ISLANDS


(Falkland Island Flag)


(Falkland Island Map)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2009:

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This was the third day of the cruise and the
first of two sea days en route to the Falkland Islands.

STAR PRINCESS: A DAY AT SEA VIDEO 9 minute video includes dolphins and Captain's Welcome Reception.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Greeting from the high seas! Today was the first of two sea days as we make our way to the Falkland Islands. As the Captain promised it was a nice warm sunny day. I did see several large schools of dolphins flying through the water off the ships bow this morning. The picture below is a screen grab from the video I took of the dolphins. It was a nice relaxing day. The last week has been great fun but it was nice to have time where there was no place I had to be. Tonight was the first formal night on the ship and the Captain's welcome reception. The Captain was very nice. Saw a British comedian in one of the lounges after the reception. He was mildly amusing but his material was very dated. He said he had been doing the cruise ship circuit for 30 years. Maybe it's about time he updated his material. Below is a picture of the Star Princess sailing right along. More tomorrow, Tim

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2009:

This was the fourth day of the cruise and the
second of two sea days en route to the Falkland Islands.

STAR PRINCESS: A DAY AT SEA VIDEO 7 minute video includes tour of the ship & fruit carving demonstation.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009:

We sailed into the Port William, a large inlet on the east coast of East Falkland island,
shortly after sunrise. The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean,
located 300 miles from the coast of Argentina. They consist of two main islands,
East Falkland and West Falkland, together with 776 smaller islands.
Stanley, on East Falkland, is the capital.
The islands are a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.
To visit Stanley we tendered through a strait called "the Narrows" into Stanley Harbour.



It was a phenomenal day in Stanley and I had a great time walking around the small town.
The Anglican Christ Church Cathedral is the southernmost cathedral in the world.



Stanley is the capital and only true city in the Falkland Islands. It is located on the isle of East Falkland,
on a north-facing slope, south of Stanley Harbour, in one of the wettest parts of the islands.
As of the 2006 census, the city had a population of 2,115.



In 1982 the islands were invaded by Argentina, precipitating the two-month-long undeclared Falklands War
between Argentina and the United Kingdom, which resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of Argentine forces.
The United Kingdom and Argentina both claim the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).



The town has four pubs, eleven hotels & guesthouses, three restaurants, a fish and chips shop and three churches.
The town hall doubles up as a post office cum philatelic bureau, law court and dance hall.



Approximately 25,000 land mines remaining from the 1982 war are securely and clearly fenced off.
Care should still be taken as some beaches were mined,
and there have been concerns the tides could have moved some mines.



Days this nice in Stanley happen very rarely. We were truly blessed by the weather.



Gypsy Cove, known for its Magellanic penguins, is about four miles from Stanley.



Gypsy Cove and Yorke Bay are a pair of small bays in the Falkland Islands.



The bays face northwards into Port William, and have Canopus Hill behind them.
Because of their strategic position, on a peninsula, not far from Stanley, during the 1982
occupation of the Falklands, the Argentines placed several fields of plastic landmines nearby,
in order to prevent a British landing.



Although the landmines can be set off easily by humans, the bays are filled with penguins,
who have taken advantage of their undisturbed location, and which are too small to set off the mines.



Other birds include oystercatchers, kelp geese, Falkland steamer ducks, rock cormorants and dolphin gulls.



I could see our ship anchored in Port William from Ordnance Point near Gypsy Cove.
In early evening after a fantastic day ashore we sailed away from the beautiful islands.

GYPSY COVE VIDEO 8 minute video of the penguins at Gypsy Cove.

Our Captain, who was stationed here while in the navy, said this was the nicest day he had ever seen here.
Surrounded by cool South Atlantic waters, the Falkland Islands have a climate very much influenced by the
ocean with a narrow annual temperature range. January averages about 9°C, with average daily high of 13°C,
while July averages about 2°C with average daily high 4°C. Rainfall is relatively low at about 24 inches.
Humidity and winds, however, are constantly high. Snow is rare, but can occur at almost any time of year.



The Lighthouse on Cape Pembroke (seen in middle photo below) is the easternmost point of the Falklands.



There was a beautiful sunset while sailing away from the Falkland Islands.

THE FALKLAND ISLAND VIDEO 11 minute video of the Falkland Islands and the town of Stanley.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009:

This was the sixth day of the cruise.
We were sailing between the Falkland Islands and Antarctica.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON FEBRUARY 19, 2009

Hello Everyone, Since I last wrote on Tuesday. Tuesday was the second sea day as we made our way to the Falkland Islands. Not much to report on that day. Below is Stanley Harbour just after our arrival this morning. The Falkland Islands are a group of 740 islands situated 400 miles off the south-eastern tip of South America. This morning at about 7:30am we sailed into Stanley Harbor. Below is a picture of me as I got off the ship this morning. Stanley is the capital and only city of any size at all in the Falkland Islands. And even its population is less than 3000 people. Below is the main street that runs through this thriving metropolis. Since there were two cruise ships here today, there were more tourists than locals. Below is the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral which makes Stanley a city. Adjacent to the church is the Whalebone Arch, constructed from the jawbones of two blue whales in 1933 to commemorate a century of continuous British administration in the Islands. Below is Government House, it has been the home of the Falkland Islands' London-appointed Governors since the mid-19th century. The official residence was built in 1845. You wouldn't believe how beautiful the day was. Bright and sunny with a high temperature a little over 60, and calm winds, which doesn't happen often down here. The Captain said he had never seen a day this nice down here. Below is the harbour in downtown Stanley. We are only a little over 500 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula. We are further south than South Africa or Australia. In fact, if you were to travel due east from here you wouldn't hit land again for over 12,000 miles when you'd hit the southern tip of South America. Below is a picture of British phone booths outside Town Hall which houses the Post Office, Philatelic Bureau and Court & Council Chamber. The St. Mary's Church sits across the street. The church is an attractive example of a Victorian kit building. I walked all around the small town of Stanley. It is a nice little town with very friendly people. And since this is part of the U.K., they speak English. Hard to believe there was a war going on here in this small peaceful place only 25 years ago. Argentina lost the short bitter war but still claim the islands to be theirs. Pictured below is Victory Green. Brightly coloured corrugated iron roofs and painted decorative woodwork are features of older houses in the Falklands. Most of these houses are timber framed, built from kits imported to the islands. Below is Stanley Harbour, it is the busiest waterway of the Falkland Islands and is frequently visited by cruise ships, freighters and navy vessels, although this has lessened since the building of the two airports at RAF Mount Pleasant and Port Stanley Airport. It was formerly, and still is to some extent, a repair yard for vessels damaged in South Atlantic storms, or needing to restock. Next I went out to Gypsy Cove. A beautiful place. The scenery was breath taking but the main attraction was the penguins. Hundreds of them. You can't walk out on the beach where the penguins are because there are still land mines out there. The penguins don't weigh enough to set them off, so they are safe. They joke here that these birds are the most protected birds in the world. There are several places here where you can't walk because of land mines left from the war. Gypsy Cove is a small bay with a crescent of white sand, surrounded by heathland in which Magellanic penguins make their homes. Gypsy Cove forms part of the Stanley Common & Cape Pembroke peninsula which is a National Nature Reserve. We sailed away after 6:00pm and our now on our way to Antarctica. It will be six days before we get off the ship again. We are sailing into some of the roughest waters in the world, so anything can happen down here. Weather changes quickly and often. But so far so good. Weather continues to be great as I am writing this Thursday morning. Have not seen any icebergs floating by yet. We get to Antarctica about 9:00am tomorrow morning when we round Elephant Island. There will then be four days of scenic cruising and then we'll round Cape Horn, the most turbulent waters in the world, and come up the other side of South America. Below is a picture of the ship leaving Stanley last night. Below is sunset last night here in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Will send more pictures as we progress. Tim

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STAR PRINCESS: A DAY AT SEA VIDEO 6 minute video includes icebergs and musicians in the atrium.

Click on the arrow above to continue to my next adventure, ANTARCTICA.

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