3/26/17 The Falkland Islands are 1,050 miles south of our last port of Montevideo, Uruguay. After 2 days at sea we are ready to get off the ship and see PENGUINS!
North Pond Penguin Colony is one of the areas to see Gentoo and Magellan penguins in their natural environment. It is a 2 hour, 60 mile drive across the island and we are in a Land Cruiser with Gus, the owner of the tour company. There are 16 vehicles, all 4WD for driving across the peat bogs. We are spread out so there is no crowd at the penguin colony. Half way along we stop at an old sheep farm for lunch. I’m lucky to sit in the front seat with Gus and enjoyed our conversation about the lifestyle of this area. The Falkland Islands are a British Colony off the southern coast of Argentina. In 1982 Argentina tried to take it back-you may remember The War of the Falklands. A 10 week war was interesting to hear about from Gus, our driver, as he was in high school when this happened. Scary times for sure. Since the colony had no defenses, Britain sent the ships immediately and bombed the heck out of the Argentine ships and shot down their airplanes. The wrecks still exist on the ground and in the sea. The Argentines also left thousands of land mines behind so many open lands and beautiful beaches are closed for safety. Eventually they will clear this out but it is not a high priority.
Article from Wikipedia: “The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and favour British sovereignty. Neither state officially declared war, although both governments declared the Islands a war zone and officially recognised that a state of war existed between them and hostilities were almost exclusively limited to the territories under dispute and the area of the South Atlantic where they lie.”
My own research says the islands main industry is fishing, seconded by wool. At only 3,000 residents, we found it charming and quaint. There is no high school and the children are shipped off to England boarding school for high school education. All of this is paid for by Britain, including the seasonal vacations. The people are friendly and proud of their homeland.
After our tour we had a couple hours to enjoy Port Stanley, where 90% of the population lives. The area is quaint and tidy with just one market. There are a few pubs but most were closed for Sunday. We did find a chocolate shop though and the clerk asked who we toured with – knowing that we most likely went out to see the penguins. We told her it was Gus and he is her cousin. I assume everyone is a cousin to some extent. Such warm and friendly people.
NEVER STOP MOVING 
Beautiful penguins! And sheep…! Sounds like a great stop.
Peta
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