Day 84
NOVEMBER 23, 2019
PORT STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS, UNITED KINGDOM
A third of our journey has been completed.
At Port Stanley the day dawned cloudless, the sea was flat, the wind merely a breeze and the thermometer soared to 15 degrees - an absolutely rare and perfect day. It's a Saturday and the 3,000 inhabitants are prepared for an invasion, but a friendly one this time.
We anchored and tendered into harbour - most times tendering by cruise ships is not possible here due to the usually large ocean swells in this area. As it turns out, we have company - the small cruise liner National Geographic Orion is also in town. This 16 year-old ship has a capacity of 102 passengers and is small enough to pass through the tight channel into the harbour and dock there.
These are dangerous waters - there have been 126 recorded shipwrecks in these islands. Remnants of several are still visible as is this 1902 victim:
There are plenty of penguins in various local bays but we have seen so many in the past that we passed on that excursion. But fauna were always conspicuous - upland geese and goslings were ubiquitous on land, while seals sunned themselves on our landing dock and dolphins frolicked in the harbour.
The countryside is covered in coarse, low vegetation that exudes a rather sweet and pleasant aroma. In contrast, in town we smelled pungent peat smoke for the first time as someone was heating his home with it - kerosene is the most common heating fuel I'm told.
We arrived with the question on our minds, "why would anyone want to live here?" As we look back, Port Stanley is surprisingly up to date and has all the modcons. The population has grown substantially during the last decade as oil reserves have been located nearby but future development requires a higher oil price.
Despite today's coolish weather, this was the type of fall day suitable for a latte at a street cafe. That being the case, let's listen to Blomker's "Sidewalk Cafe".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFWB4rmDLEo
PORT STANLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS, UNITED KINGDOM
A third of our journey has been completed.
At Port Stanley the day dawned cloudless, the sea was flat, the wind merely a breeze and the thermometer soared to 15 degrees - an absolutely rare and perfect day. It's a Saturday and the 3,000 inhabitants are prepared for an invasion, but a friendly one this time.
We anchored and tendered into harbour - most times tendering by cruise ships is not possible here due to the usually large ocean swells in this area. As it turns out, we have company - the small cruise liner National Geographic Orion is also in town. This 16 year-old ship has a capacity of 102 passengers and is small enough to pass through the tight channel into the harbour and dock there.
These are dangerous waters - there have been 126 recorded shipwrecks in these islands. Remnants of several are still visible as is this 1902 victim:
There are plenty of penguins in various local bays but we have seen so many in the past that we passed on that excursion. But fauna were always conspicuous - upland geese and goslings were ubiquitous on land, while seals sunned themselves on our landing dock and dolphins frolicked in the harbour.
The countryside is covered in coarse, low vegetation that exudes a rather sweet and pleasant aroma. In contrast, in town we smelled pungent peat smoke for the first time as someone was heating his home with it - kerosene is the most common heating fuel I'm told.
We arrived with the question on our minds, "why would anyone want to live here?" As we look back, Port Stanley is surprisingly up to date and has all the modcons. The population has grown substantially during the last decade as oil reserves have been located nearby but future development requires a higher oil price.
Despite today's coolish weather, this was the type of fall day suitable for a latte at a street cafe. That being the case, let's listen to Blomker's "Sidewalk Cafe".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFWB4rmDLEo
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