Stanley, Falkland IslandsJan 14, 2008
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Yesterday was quite the exciting day, we disembarked at Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands, site of the 1982 war between Argentina and Great Britain. With a total population of 3,500 and 1,700 inhabitants living in the capital, having a major cruise ship arrive triples their population immediately. Upon arriving we made our way to the interesting sites which I will display once I get to a port with wi-fi, as I have to pay $.50 a minute on the ship and to upload anything but a word file is quite expensive.
The place is a mini-England in the South Atlantic about 600 nautical miles from the Antarctic. The weather the day before was thunderstorms and we would not have been able to land but it was absolutely beautiful with the temperature reaching the mid 60s. We got to see the Church of England and its art display of whale bones, shop at a super market that could have been anywhere in England, I bought some stamps for John R. as he collects them and aside from 2 types of jams made from local shrubbery not much else. They had already sold out by the time I got there. They say the diddle dee tastes like cranberries and the ti-berry a bit less sweet, I guess I won't know unless I find it somewhere else.
We walked around this town and ended up eating a Chilean restaurant, the best in Stanley, according to locals. I had an Osso-bucco (leg of lamb shank with mashed potatoes) which given the fact that fish, cows and sheep are the only things that they grow there seemed like a good bet. I was not disappointed, it was delicious. After lunch we made our way to the port in hopes of renting one of 4 taxis that were on duty Sunday and I succeeded in hiring one to take my group and me to see the Penguin community at Gipsey Cove. It made the day so special, I was able to get to within 2.5 feet of a penguin family and took extensive photos. So cute, I wanted to take one home until I saw the mess they make when voiding. Don't ask. But other than that, what a joy it was to see them in their native habitat, preening, feeding their young, swimming and waddling around. Incredibly exciting. Then back to the port for a tender back to our ship.
Got back on board only to realize that due to the hole in the ozone down here one must wear sunscreen as I got pretty red in the areas exposed. Well worth any discomfort I endured. I passed out from all the exertion, fresh air and excitement. Went to dinner with a very handsome young man who is the representative for all the Spanish Speakers on board and got to practice my ever improving Spanish. I'm amazed at how much I have retained and learned, quite exciting actually. Anyway, we talked over a delicious dinner of polenta on a bed of béchamel with cheese sauce and covered in tomato sauce, followed by a cream of tomato soup with rice and then the main course of Prime Rib and a twice baked potato. We ended the meal with a Pana Cotta dessert. We were having so much fun conversing that we spent the rest of the evening visiting various venues finally landing in the Shooters bar where I treated him to a cigar and he treated me to a Dubonnet on the rocks. More stimulating conversation before we finally returned our respective cabins. I hope to see him again as I really enjoyed practicing and learning more Spanish and he was grateful to me for correcting his English. All in all a great time had by all.
At 1:30am I made my way up to the buffet for a late night snack of cookies and milk and spent an hour talking to a lovely couple from Fontana CA. 7th Day Adventists who were surprised to learn that the last supper was actually a Passover Seder. She was very funny and we laughed a lot. Made my way back to my cabin for a restful sleep on our way to the Antarctic.
Awoke at 11am, relaxed, read a bit and then down to lunch consisting of New England Clam Chowder, mmmm, wide pasta noodles and meatballs in a delicious tomato sauce followed by BBQ Spare ribs, very cruchy and tasty fries and cole slaw. Finished up with a scoop of caramel ice cream and rocky road for dessert. A friend joined me and we had a 2 hour chat which eventually took me to the casino where another new acquaintance taught me how to play Black Jack. I only lost $17 over 2 hours and had great fun. Then it was on to Trivia where our team got 16 out of 20 questions and lots of fun. And now I am here writing you before dinner and a musical show later on. Details to follow.
