One day later, however, we were on the east side of East Falkland, at Stanley, where we were able to spend the entire day on shore. In the morning we did a wonderful hike, led by several locals in addition to the ship's expedition staff, and had our first penguin experience. There were numerous Magellanic Penguins nesting along the coast, and we encountered adults and chicks. We also came across numerous other species that were new to me. The Falkland Steamer Duck is endemic to the Falklands. Others - Magellanic and Blackish Oystercatchers, Long-tailed Meadowlarks, Two-banded Plovers, Crested Ducks - are more widely dispersed through southern South America, but the furthest south I had been previously was to Iguazu Falls. The path of the hike was bounded, in certain areas, by fences that were marked with signs warning of mines still left from the 1982 war between Argentina and Great Britain over possession of the Falklands. The locals told of a cow that had had the misfortune of stepping on a mine several years earlier, and there was a team from Zimbabwe clearing mines elsewhere on the island. And there was a wonderful road sign that said: ''SLOW: Mine Field.'' To me ''fast'' would have made more sense. Still.
In the afternoon we went on a very rough off-road journey to a beach where we had our next penguin encounter. We spent a couple of hours watching and being watched by penguins, mostly Gentoos but a there was a small colony of King Penguins as well. This was February, near the end of the breeding season, so many of the chicks were as large as the adults and in their adult plumage while others were still wholly or partly covered in down and a few looked as if they had only recently hatched. The area where we humans were permitted was marked with cones, to prevent our approaching too close to the penguins, but no worries - if we sat still, the penguins approached us. It was a wonderful expedition.
The agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.