Options are
what big cities offer and options are what we got today in Port Stanley, were
we docked safely this morning after sailing carefully through the very narrow passage
that leads into the inner harbour of Port William. Rusty hulls and wooden
carcasses of old wrecks reminded everybody that the safe waters of this perfect
natural harbour have long been the last resting place of many boats paying their
tribute to the Southern Ocean.
A few opted
for an historical tour of the old settlement of Port Stanley, stopping at the
spectacular wreckage of the Lady Elizabeth, photographing the odd signpost with
directions and distances to almost any point in the World, learning the complex
history of the archipelago at the local museum and remembering the tragic
events of 1982 at the Falklands War Memorial.
Others
signed up for a natural history walk along the northern shores of Port William,
starting at the Lady Elizabeth wreckage, passing Engineer Point and ending up
at the spectacular beach of Gipsy Cove. Tips of local history, botany and
birding were provided by a knowledgeable local guide, with highlights like the
historic scurvy grass, a small colony of Magellanic penguins, remains of the Second
World War and a rookery of cormorants and night herons.
And some
made it to Bluff Cove Lagoon, where they could see half a dozen king penguins
reigning over several hundred Gentoo penguins. An interesting sight in the
colony was a leucistic penguin: an animal with reduced pigmentation, which
unlike albinos, have several reduced skin pigments, not just melanin. The ride
to the colony was beautiful: a drive alongside the rocky spine of East Falkland
Island.
Eventually,
everybody ended up in the city center, shopping around, strolling along Ross
Road, relaxing at Victory Green, guessing the size of big whales from the jawbones
in front of Christ Church and even walking as far as Government House, Battle
Memorial or the local museum.
