Weather: 57º F, Cloudy
The world's southernmost capital, Stanley is located in the Falklands archipelago, which consists of two main islands, East and West Falkland, along with smaller islands nearby. Stanley is proud of its British heritage, evidenced everywhere from its red telephone boxes to its pubs. The Falklands were first claimed by the English in 1765; over the centuries the Crown has had to abandon, reclaim and defend these far-flung islands from invading nations—including an Argentine foray in 1982. During the early years of their colonization, the Falklands were used as a base for ships hunting sperm whales for oil, followed by those hunting seals for fur. Today in this remote British territory, fishing and tourism are what drive the economy. [Source: hollandamerica.com]
Click here for a video of our tour to Volunteer Point.
The alarm was set for 6 am and I woke up a couple of minutes before it went off. I had heard Bob coughing during the night and wondered how he would feel today. He announced that he thought his cold had settled in his chest, but the tummy troubles seem to be better. He wasn't feeling perfect, but he was a "go" for our adventure in the Falkland Islands.
Room service was delivered on time. Bob had some granola and OJ and I had ordered an omelet which was supposed to come with toast. Instead I got a plate full of butter and jelly...but no toast. I didn't want to bother someone to bring me a piece of toast so just ate the eggs. Now if they had messed up my coffee order...that would have me on the phone immediately! 😄
Shortly after 7 am we met up with a large group from our Cruise Critic roll call in the Wajang Theater. One of the members, Alex, had been instrumental in arranging multiple tours for our cruise and had make arrangements for those of us doing a penguin tour to get an early tender.
Our tour today was arranged well over a year ago with Patrick Watts to go to Volunteer Point to see a huge colony of king penguins. I had worried that our day in port was too short to make the long trip from Stanley and knew it was very important that we get on one of the very first tenders. Because of Alex's special arrangements we were on shore before all of the other independent tours and even before most of the HAL tours. Thanks Alex!! I checked my watch and it was 8:08 am when we stepped onto our tender to leave the ship.
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| On the tender. |
