Gypsy Cove and Stanley, The Falklands

    When we looked out this morning this thought occurred to me:

WW 2 Naval Gun

Why would anybody want to settle here and further why would you fight a war over it.(See photo!) The war seemed to be all about the Argentinian military trying to distract the country from the poor conditions at the time. That seems to be the official word. However, there were signs when we were in Ushuaia the other day talking about these islands as rightfully belonging to Argentina and not Britain.

     We left the ship around. We were tendered and when we went to get our tender ticket, there must have been 200 people waiting to go to shore. Another perk of being in this Elite Princess category is that you have tender priority. No 

Minefield Area

ticket required for these passengers! We were on the next shuttle out. We had 2 objectives – see the town and see penguins. As soon as we got off the ship, we booked a tour to Gypsy Cove. The cove is not far from the town of Stanley and has Magellanic or Jackass penguins. They are not the big ones (Emperor) but smaller versions. They are similar to the ones that we saw in Australia. We were at the cove in about 20 minutes as it is only 7 miles by dusty bumpy road from Stanley. Along the way we passed Shipwreck Cove , so named because of the wreck of the 3 master Lady Elizabeth.  

     The wind was really blowing as it did all day. However we did get to see the penguins hanging around their burrows. We did

Penguins At Last

see 2 that at exactly noon decided to either go for a swim or that it was time to eat. It was a highlight of the trip to see then walk down the steep slope and head into the water. We also say a mother? And 2 babies out in the open just looking around. As we walked around the point we did see Rock cormorants on the lee of a rocky outcrop. They were probably smarter than we were by staying out of the wind. In fact at least 29 different species have been identified in the area. There was also a Naval Gun from WW 2. We did see some interesting scrub flowers and some interesting vegetation.

     We could not get close to the penguins as the entire area was fenced. The area was 

Falkland Vegetation

heavily mined during the war in 1982 and although the area has been “cleared” the signs were everywhere. It was a bit amusing that one sign said it had been cleared but a mine may have washed in from the sea which would have been quite a feat as we were well above the shoreline.

    Once we returned to Stanley, we walked the entire town of 1400 people. As expected besides the souvenir shops, there were many interesting houses. All the roofs seemed to be a different color. We got to the edge of town and stopped at the Malvina House Hotel, a quiet place to have a beer

Original Settler's Cottage

and tea. The beer was locally brewed (as was the tea!) We also saw the Whalebone display, Whalebone arch and some of the original houses that go back to the 1830's. Then it was the 35 minute tender rider back to the ship. In fact the ship was in the next bay. The harbor of Stanley is too shallow even for a ship like the Golden Princess.

    After returning to the ship we cracked a bottle of wine and ate pizza on our balcony. Tonight's dinner was prime rib, the second time we have had it and it was perfectly done again. We did attend a 

Overlooking Stanley

theatre show with a singer and then the Tango demonstration by the instructors from Argentina. They are world champions and did a beautiful job. Sea day tomorrow! As you can see from the photos, after a gray and overcast beginning, the day turned sunny and bright by afternoon.  It was a very good port visit!  We could not have imagined it when we first learned that this was one of the stops.