Port Stanley, Falkland IslandsJan 15, 2009
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Arrived in the Falkland Islands after a day at sea. Boy, they have been fought over a lot. We walked through the very small town of Port Stanley and found 2 monuments to wars fought here. One from the 1982 war in which Britain reclaimed the islands from the Argentineans and one from 1914 in which the British recaptured them from the Germans. The islands have a population of 1900 and most of their activity centers around sheep and cattle ranching. The man next to me just told me that January 10 is Margaret Thatcher Day here. (Sorry we missed that!) We went to yet another small museum and the 2 ladies at the ticket booth had both been born and raised here (and they weren't young!). They said it was a wonderful place to grow up and that they loved it. They do most of their shopping on the internet and are perfectly contented to be living here. The museum had antiques from the 19th century, some stuffed penguins and lots of history about the many wars fought here. Also, the Falklands are the starting point for many Antarctic expeditions, which were chronicaled in the museum. The main thing to buy here is wool: sweaters, caps, scarves, etc. I haven't bought anything except a t-shirt for myself in Ushuaia, so don't expect presents when we get home! (Sorry) Well, back to the ship and 2 more days at sea.
