Another emotional trip

The whalebone arch outside Port Stanley Cathedral

The further south we trundled, the cooler it was getting. The sun was still very much with us though, with a lovely sunset and lights finally fading around 9.30 last night.

As mentioned, we’ve really struggled with The Falklands stop, as what we’d like to do, we can’t, and what we can do, felt, quite frankly, rather tame. Initially, we booked to do the Panoramic Stanley Highlights tour. A safe bet, on a coach. Then once we acknowledged that my hip issue was seriously improving, we made valiant efforts to change our tour for something a little more exciting. By then, most other tours were sold out and we finally decided to change to a farm tour. It seemed informative and intimate, with only a small number of guests allowed.

Just as we were on our way out for the evening, we realised we had post. Yes, we have a post slot outside our cabin, (can’t really call it a post box) and there was an ominous-looking envelope for us. Nick did his usual, whenever we have post. Oh, it’s an invitation from the Captain. No, dream on love, it was a notification that our trip to the Fitzroy farm was cancelled. We were particularly gutted, because “smokies” were on the agenda for this trip. Smokies (for the uninitiated) are morning or afternoon tea with sweet and savoury treats.

Off we trotted to listen to Pulse, the resident band, meanwhile frantically trying to book a replacement trip. The penguin tour had one place left and the flora and fauna trek had one place left. OK, let’s split up and go in different directions, I proposed. Nope, neither of us was keen now to do the flora and fauna trek as the meeting time was 7.20AM. Really!? Not a chance, we’re on holiday. The one remaining place left on the penguin tour was 3.20PM. Agghhhhh! So, back to the drawing board with all other trips now sold out. Not surprising this late in the day. Realising we had to do something, we reluctantly agreed there was nothing else for it, but to go back on the original trip we had planned. The Panoramic Stanley Highlights. This tour had a meeting time of 12.20 on the island. With a 20-minute tender journey, we felt we could make that time without interrupting our beauty sleep too much. Just as we pressed the button on the P&O app to secure our revised tour, Pulse struck their first chord playing 45 minutes of Latin American upbeat songs. Gloria Estefan songs featuring frequently.

After that, we trotted off for dinner. A commotion ensued as we were directed to our table. The waiter was very taken with my chosen attire for the evening. Now, IMHO, I had rather dressed down last night, but no, he was beside himself that my top matched my handbag and my shoes. Before we knew it, staff were being hustled over in our direction by our waiter, so they could view my (apparently) awesome wardrobe. Hilarious. Of course, Nick got jealous and made an equal commotion about his attire and wasn’t that worthy of note? Nope, sorry mate, the staff weren’t interested. Bright green was apparently the colour du jour.

Next up was the Gaucho comedian/dancer/entertainer. Gaucho del Plata. I felt this could either be cringe or good. Thankfully, it was the latter. Actually, rather better than just good. The Gaucho (and his son, yeah right) were from Uruguay. Judging by the rapturous applause, I get the impression most of us had a soft spot for the country following our time there. They entertained us with a dance very similar to Flamenco. 

Then ensued a flurry of activity from the Gaucho with two bolases. I visibly ducked. Yes, as ever, we were on the front row. I was hoping like mad he didn’t lose them and let go. If he did, we were most definitely in the firing line. Yikes, imagine the insurance claim on that if it’d gone wrong. Our Gaucho was then in need of a very macho man. Quick, look busy Nick. It’s ok Gabs, I’m only macho, not very macho was Nick’s reply. After much searching in the audience, our Gaucho returned to the front row (more panicking from us) and selected Alex Alley, our world champion yachtsman speaker. Phew, got away with it again. Close shave though. 

Talking of close shaves, we were then entertained by the Gaucho who proceeded with giving Alex a “haircut” with his bolas. I don’t know about Alex sweating, I know I was, on his behalf. The final part of Alex’s participation was to hold a rose in his mouth while the Gaucho sliced the head off the rose without slicing Alex’s nose off. To say it was a close shave (again), was an understatement. Alex looked visibly relieved when it was all over. What a sport. All I can say is, I’d have been hiding behind my hands if Nick had been selected. We shall certainly return to their next show. 

Having learnt from previous experiences of the clang and racket of anchoring rather than berthing, we shut the balcony doors last night. However, bat ears (AKA moi) who gets woken by a sparrow yawning, heard the commotion of the tenders being released. We emerged to a beautiful, sunny day.  First impressions of The Falkland Islands were positive. Low lying craggy land with a smattering of houses and bungalows, rather than the skyscrapers and industrial docks we’ve been used to. 

The tender that transports us from and to Aurora

The driver of the tender in his elevated seat

However, trying to get 1400-ish passengers, plus 800-ish crew off the ship and onto shore proved complicated. Given our last-minute cancellation last night and rebooking of our original trip, we had to wait for all the morning trips to go first before we could get off the ship. They’ve been doing the tender runs in batches of 90 people, so we were finally called for our tender at midday, having picked up our ticket just before 11. 

Abi, you said how much Tim had enjoyed his time here and we can both thoroughly understand why now. The island is not quite as either of us had expected. It is evident the islanders are super-proud of it. The place is clean, tidy and well-catered for. According to our guide, there are days when there are 3 ships in. Just having our ship in the port felt busy enough.

There are many wrecks around the Falklands. This one (on the left!) is the Lady Elizabeth

So, some facts for you, in no particular order. There is a Census carried out every 5 years and on the last count, there were 3600 residents on the islands. There are 44 different countries represented. Apparently, one nation is not represented on the island. You guessed it, Argentina. There are 65 species of birds, (including the black brow albatross and turkey vultures), all manner of sea life, penguins, dolphins, porpoises, seal lions, elephant seals and whales. The average temperature ranges from 5 to 15 degrees, but we were warned, it can snow at any time of the year. 

A local house with whalebones, collected and assembled for an anti-whaling charity

The houses and bungalows are largely clapperboard construction with corrugated iron roofs. There is 1 petrol station and one ATM on the Island. Diesel is currently £1 a litre. 

The "M25"

There is one main road on the island which has a maximum speed of 40 mph. They refer to this as their M25. The rest go down to dust tracks. Peat is one of the main energy sources on the Island. 

The view from the cathedral porch

Schooling sounded complex. If you don’t live in Stanley itself, you are referred to as living on Camp. There is only a school in Stanley, so any child living on Camp would have a teacher visiting them at home or they would be taught over the telephone. Once they came to secondary school age, those living on Camp would have to Board in Stanley. Those wishing to pursue education after 16 would receive funded places at either Winchester or Chichester. These places are funded by the Falklands Islands. In 2020 The Falkland Islands were finally declared mine-free after the Argentinians had planted 20,000 anti-personnel mines and 5,000 anti-vehicle mines.

Port Stanley Hospital

At one point, we heard a clatter of helicopter blades and witnessed someone being stretchered off the helicopter and straight into a waiting ambulance. This all happened outside the 29-bed hospital.  

The Falklands War Memorial

We both felt how unreal it was being here after The Falklands was in the news on a daily basis back in 1982. We both remember where we were when the conflict started and I particularly remember the screeching sound of 4 Vulcans scrambling from RAF Waddington airbase. Our visit today brought back memories for Nick of a kid he had taught, Shaun Lee from Western School, Grimsby. Shaun had been on the HMS Sheffield when it was struck. He survived and recently spoke at the 40th-anniversary memorial in Cleethorpes. 

Margaret Thatcher Memorial

Love her, or hate her, Margaret Thatcher is, without a doubt, the Islanders' hero. Naturally, we had to have a picture of Nick in front of Aunty Margaret.

The Falkland Islands are wild and beautiful and we certainly now understand why we fought so hard to save them.