February 16 - Stanley, Falkland Islands

Here we are outside the harbor at East Falkland Island.  I think it’s colder here today than it was in Antarctica.  That’s because there’s a pretty strong wind blowing so I’ve felt cold all day.

Yesterday was a sea day and I didn’t do much of anything.  I heard a couple of lectures on migration of birds and the “superheroes” of the seas.  Can you guess what they are?  They are all the little microorganisms that live in the oceans and are at the beginning of the food chain that keeps everything else going.  In the afternoon I was invited to take a tour of the bridge which is always interesting.  We were a small group and unfortunately my loud dinner companions from the other night were among them, as well as another man who fancied himself to be a modern-day Captain Cook or Admiral Nelson.  I think the latter was trying to one-up the officer with his nautical knowledge so he asked impossibly detailed questions and basically wouldn’t shut up.  The loud man kept telling (not asking) other passengers to move so he could get a photo of his wife there without anyone else in the picture. I tuned out and just walked around the bridge by myself and asked questions of the other people on watch and then left. Those folks are the exceptions on board because most of the people I’ve met have been very nice.

The bridge and the officer being grilled by Captain Know-it-all

Last night Harry the Piano did another show and was as good as last time; plus, he’s my hero now because he motivated me to go on the zodiacs.  He’s getting off in Buenos Aires and I’ll miss seeing him around. He once again asked the audience to ask him to play a song in a style other than the one in which it was written and he did a splendid job of coming up with a crazy medley.  I don’t know how he does it.

After a very rocky night we arrived at a cloudy Stanley where we had to tender.  When I awoke and looked outside I wasn’t sure we would be able to, but we did.  I booked an all-day tour to a place called Volunteer Point where there are colonies of gentoo and king penguins.  To get there we rode in a caravan of land rovers part way on a paved road, then on a gravel road, and then the fun part through the peat bogs. You go in a caravan so that if one gets bogged down the others can winch you out.  The ride through the bog was about an hour and a half each way, and let me tell you, it was the roughest, bumpiest, bounciest one I think any of us have ever taken. There had evidently been torrential rain yesterday, so the bog was exceptionally boggy (is that a word?). After that ride, rough seas on the ship will be like a piece of cake. For what it’s worth, my Apple watch says I walked 8.47 miles today. I know I didn’t walk that far so I think it must have been counting the lurches and bumps my body took in the car.

I was in a car with a lovely couple from Mexico City that I’ve talked to when I’ve been down at the club dancing.  Our driver was the wife of a sheep and cattle farmer on the island. She was a delightful, very talkative young woman, pregnant with her first child, who told us about life here in the Falklands.  I found it quite interesting that she was born and raised in the UK and met her husband when she was at school studying to be a civil engineer.  I believe it had to be true love to give up life as an engineer in the UK to come and be a sheep farmer in this very remote place.

I should tell a little about the Falklands.  They are an archipelago of islands that lie about 300 miles east of South America and 750 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula.  I won’t go into the history of the ownership of the islands except to say that since about 1832 the British asserted  their claim and it was generally accepted by most of the world, except for Argentina.  In 1982 Argentina invaded and a ten-week war was fought. The British eventually repelled the Argentines and reclaimed the islands.  One of the expedition team who is from Argentina gave a talk on the war and he said the Argentines were brutal, not only to the islanders but also to their own soldiers who were basically all conscripts.  Anyway, there is still no love lost between the two countries for one another.  Something I found interesting was that since my last time here 15 years ago, all the thousands of mines the Argentines had planted all across the island have been removed. Last time along the road there were skull and crossbones signs warning about entering certain areas because of mines, but the island was declared mine-free last year.

Well, after our bouncing ride we got to the place with the penguin colonies and the skies opened up with alternating cold rain and sleet accompanied by 35 mph winds.  My brain decided to take a day off today, so I set out without my waterproof pants, a hat or gloves.  I got out of the car and saw a few nearby penguins, was promptly soaked and shivering and got back in the car. The Mexican couple wasn’t far behind me, as were the people in the other vehicles. I won’t say that penguins are getting too routine, but in sleet and high winds you do have to make choices.  We had a box lunch in the car.  As I was shifting around in my seat my knee pushed against something attached to the middle console and white powder came shooting out.  I’d accidentally pushed the lever on the fire extinguisher so we all got a dusting of whatever was in that.

We had a difficult time docking with the ship when we rode the tender back. In fact, we slammed into the side three times before we finally made it.  The seas were running pretty high and the wind was really strong.  As soon as I got on the ship I went up to Seabourn Square and got myself a mocha latte to warm up.

Tonight I invited three friends to dine with me in the alternative restaurant, the Thomas  Keller Grill.  The food and company were good, but they serve way too much food.  Tonight the ship’s cast of singers and dancers presented a new show. It was good but not great. Somehow I didn’t feel like their hearts were in it.  I went down to the club afterwards and met some friends, but frankly after being shaken, rattled, and rolled for nearly five hours today, my dancing shake, rattle and roll were gone.  So I’m turning in early.

I'm really stepping out of character here posting photos of me, but here's another one.  This was me getting an award  the other night for having more than 200 days on Seabourn.  Sadly it wasn't a free cruise, just a pin.