The
Falkland Islands are so amazing that time seems to run at double speed here.
Suddenly, we are on our final day of a 3-day visit and it seems like only an
hour ago that we arrived! OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration but you
get the point.
So
today we were in Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands (pop. around
2,500), for virtually the whole day. We arrived around 0800, cleared customs,
and were allowed to disembark. Many went on various excursions in or outside of
the town such as a trip to Bluff Cove, nature and birdwatching walks and a tour
of Stanley. A few lucky guests even got to fly over the area in an aircraft
tour! Here are some images from our bird watching tour:
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| Kelp Gull stretching its wings |
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| Rufous-chested Dotterel |
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| Dark-faced Ground Tyrant |
A
stay in Stanley is multi-dimensional. You have nature and wildness just outside,
and inside you have heritage buildings, shops, pubs, memorials, museums, wonderful local people,
who seem always keen to chat, and all the other trappings of a modern town. Of
course Land Rovers are everywhere and display very simple licence plates! I wonder what the F stands for?!
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| The quaint Jubilee Villas dating from 1887 |
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| Christ Church Cathedral with the famous whale bone arch |
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| Falkland Islands coat of arms: Desire the Right! |
Stanley
has experienced an economic boom in recent years. People are moving to the
island and offshore oil exploration is on-going. Tourism is growing as well
with many ships visiting the islands in the summer months and a regular,
scheduled flight from Punta Arenas, Chile continues operation. Once in the Falklands, many of the outer islands are accessible by aircraft. Maybe in the future flights will
open up to and from Argentina, a mere 400 km to the west.
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| One of the FIGAS Britten-Norman Islanders providing inter-island flight service |
