Penguins and People: Life on the Falkland Islands

Our days at sea continue to be packed with special events.  In Buenos Aires three new Explorations Speakers joined the ship, one geographer, one geologist, and one naturalist who have been telling us about life in South America and Antarctica.  The geologist in particular made us think of Steve Miller, Lincoln-Way East Science Department Chair because of his similar interests.  The geologist gave a very informative talk on plate tectonics and how all the continents began to drift apart during the late Jurassic period.  We were interested in his references to Iceland, especially after having experienced crossing the place where the North American and Eurasian plates met last summer.  And we were pleasantly surprised to find that a new guest chef had boarded in Buenos Aires – Meg Galus, originally from DeKalb, IL, and an award-winning pastry chef from the Park Hyatt in Chicago! 

As both the captain and the cruise director told us, being able to visit the Falklands is extremely iffy.  Many of the people on the ship, experienced cruisers who have made multiple trips to the Falklands, were still hoping to make their first actual landing in the Falklands.  The weather had been beautiful the day before we were scheduled to arrive, but during the night we awakened to the sound of the ship’s foghorn, which gave its doleful blast every two minutes.  When we got up early to prepare for our shore excursion, we could barely make out the difference between sea and sky and fog.  However, as we were arriving, it seemed as if a curtain was drawn across the harbor and the sun broke through.  The seas were calm and we were thrilled to realize that we would be part of the lucky 50% who actually get to land in this remote area of the world.

The Falklands became known to the rest of the world back in 1982 when the Argentines invaded and Britain immediately responded. The war lasted only 75 days, and Argentina was soundly defeated.  The vast majority of the inhabitants are of British descent. The capital of the Falklands, Stanley, is named for Edward Smith-Stanley, the 14^th Earl of Derby and was settled by the British the first half of the 19^th Century.  Before the opening of the Panama Canal Stanley was used as a last stop before ships weathered the trip around Cape Horn, and it was also a stop for whalers on their way to Antarctica.  Stanley boasts the southernmost cathedral on the planet; easily identifiable by its blue whale jawbone arch on its front lawn. 

Pam was scheduled to do an excursion to the Bluff Cove Farm & Penguin Rookery.  The excursion we took was not recommended for those who had back, hip, or neck problems so she decided to avoid it.  Al, Chuck, and I were on a full-day excursion called Majestic Penguins Volunteer Point. 

We had assumed that we would take a bus part way and then would take the last part of the journey in four-wheel drive vehicles, but we were immediately assigned to a land-rover type vehicle.  It would be a trip of 50 miles one way to reach Volunteer Point so our driver suggested that we avail ourselves of the facilities before leaving Stanley.  Good idea as the trip was quite an experience! 

We traveled the first 40 miles over semi-paved or dirt roads, which we thought were pretty rough terrain, but that was mild compared to the last 10 miles.  We enjoyed looking at the rugged terrain.  The scenery reminded us somewhat of northern Scotland.  The land was pretty barren with lots of outcrops of rocks and little vegetation.  What plant life we did see was low to the ground – no trees at all, but they had a kind of white grass, a balsam bog, and a kind of round green plant with the delightful name of diddle-dee that produces little red berries which can be used to make jam. 

The Falklands boast a lot of sheep and sheep farming, but we didn’t see very many.  Our guide, Tara, explained that this was because there was so much grazing area that the sheep are spread out all over the place.

After hearing Tara describe life on the Falklands, we decided that it definitely wasn’t for us!  Her parents own a very large farm about 30 miles or so out of Stanley.  Back when she was growing up, there were no paved roads, so until she was 9 she was home schooled.   The teacher called her each day and went over lessons and gave her assignments to do.  Once in awhile the teacher would actually come to call and she would have face-to-face lessons.  When she turned 9, she was sent to boarding school in Stanley and would only go home on weekends.   Now however, they utilize more technological ways to keep in touch with students so they don’t move into town until they are 11 years old. 

Another big issue is medical care. The island has four doctors and one hospital with about 28 beds.  If the care needed for the patient is routine, it can be done in Stanley.  However, if it’s more serious, they will be sent to see someone in the UK.  Tara said that she and her husband had taken their baby to the UK last fall because he had a heart condition.  It wasn’t an emergency so they could schedule it when they wanted.  If there is a medical emergency that   needs more specific care, the patient is immediately flown to either Montevideo, Uruguay or Santiago, Chile.   It makes us appreciate the fact that we have such wonderful facilities available to us at home. 

The first 40 miles of driving took an hour – through mostly open country, but on roads.  The last 10 miles was overland – quite literally!  We rode in caravans with 10 to 11 jeeps in each caravan over the 54,000-acre property of one person who allows visitors to access the seaside that boasts colonies of three different kinds of penguins.  This journey was very rugged as we bounced and jiggled and jounced across the rough and rolling landscape.  We drove up hills, down into what looked like ditches, and were very glad to have a skilled driver who had grown up navigating such rugged surfaces!   At times I felt like a bobble-head doll as we lurched along, thrown from one side to the other as if we were on an archaic Tilt-a-Whirl! 

After what seemed like forever, but was really more like an hour and a half (to go 10 miles), we arrived at Volunteer Point.  First on the agenda was to find facilities – only three mechanical ones for an overflow of guests.  (It was the busiest day of the year with the Amsterdam and the Star Princess both in port, which multiplied the island’s population by about 150%!)  Once we’d taken care of that, we had the chance to enjoy the adorable little tuxedoed birds!  The gentoos were first on the agenda, and if one took the time and didn’t move a lot, these curious little penguins would actually approach and check you out.  There were hundreds of yearlings who were molting, with more down than feathers. 

The king penguin colony boasted hundreds of the vociferous, colorful strutting birds.  In one case we witnessed two parent penguins attempting to shift an egg from one parent’s feet to the other’s feet.  Any other penguin that would come close would get a very loud scolding.  Two nearby penguins seemed to walk in tandem everywhere they went.  The king penguin stands about three feet tall and can weigh up to 35 lbs - and they were everywhere!

Finally we headed over to the Magellanic penguins.  These were the smallest of the penguins we saw.  Known as jackasses for the sounds they make, we were surprised that they seemed much quieter than the loud king penguins.  We were fascinated to see the mother penguins burrowed down with chicks, and we even got to see one mother with two chicks in her burrow.  As we watched the Magellanic penguins, three kings came marching through the ranks, returning from the water to their own colony, looking as if they were lost among the little black and white birds.  I was pleased to be able to get a picture that had both king and Magellanic penguins in it – quite unusual considering we really didn’t see them mingling.  At one point we watched as the gentoos waddled past single-file as if they were ducklings following a mother duck. 

What a thrill it was to see all those magnificent little birds up close and in their natural habitat!

The weather during the day had changed several times, from sunny to windy and rainy back to sunny.  We were very happy to be able to make it back to the ship without any problems.  With the tendering services so hit-and-miss, we certainly didn’t want to miss being able to return to the ship!

As we sailed away from the Falklands, our focus turned to our next destination, Antarctica. When we got back from dinner we found a gift on our beds, a very nice spiral-bound Antarctica Log Book, which provides a myriad of information about Antarctica as well as places where we can make notes about our experiences.  It also has interesting quotes such as the one by Robert Cushman Murphy, “I now belong to a higher cult of mortal, for I have seen the Albatross.”  (Since we have now identified the Black-browed Albatross on our journey to the Falklands, we can include ourselves in this exclusive “cult”.)  We’ve noticed far fewer gifts on this cruise (our last gift was January 9^th) but they have been quite useful gifts!

We have also been given the opportunity to see movies about Antarctica.  That first night out of the Falklands was Scott of the Antarctic, a 1948 movie about the ill-fated journey of Commander Scott in 1912.  The next night March of the Penguins was on the schedule, and the following night was The Endurance – Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Adventure. I was particularly interested in the Shackleton documentary since one of the few Americans on the journey hails from Joliet!  

The first day out from the Falklands, we dipped below 56 S Latitude.  One of our lecturers explained that the seas between 56 and 61 S Latitude are among the roughest on earth because there is no major land formation anywhere in the world between those latitude degrees.  Therefore there is nothing to stop the wind or motion of the water.  Being so far south also means that we are experiencing very long days.  Tonight the sun will set at 9:10 PM and rise again at 4:34 AM tomorrow.   The next several days will be very interesting, not only because of the unique Antarctic destination, but also because the sea conditions could become turbulent!  So we’re crossing our fingers for “fair winds and following seas”.     

We were quite relieved to find that finally the restrictions on food and utensil handling have been removed.  After nearly a full week, it appears that all the efforts of the crew and passengers have paid off (extra hand washing, sanitizing, etc.) and the gastro-intestinal problems that had been present on the ship have finally subsided!  And none of us (Pam, Al, Chuck nor I) had experienced anything but inconvenience, which is definitely preferable to the ailment!  The captain provided unlimited champagne or soda at dinner the evening the restrictions were lifted. 

BT

P.S. We’re sending a big “hello” to Mrs. Smutny’s students from off the coast of Antarctica.