Our Amazing Trip to the Falkland Islands

We arrived hungry and tired in Santiago, Chile after an overnight flight. Going through immigration and purchasing the necessary entry visa took a little longer than expected. When that was finished and we were officially in South America, the first order of business was lunch. We decided to eat in our hotel and Greg, the adventurous eater, he tried the Conger Eel. When it arrived, it was not the snake-like substance I was expecting, so I gave it a try too. It tasted like any other white fish, and was pretty good too. We made the most of the rest of our day by walking around Santiago and visiting some markets and craft fairs. Then it was off to bed early so we could be at the airport in plenty of time for our flight to Stanley the next morning. If you miss that LAN flight there is not another one until the next week!

Today we were supposed to fly directly to the Sea Lion Lodge, but due to an unfortunate accident with one of the flight attendants on the last leg of our journey to Stanley, we were diverted back to Puntas Arenas, Chile. By the time we arrived in The Falklands later that day, the local pilots could no longer take us to Sea Lion Lodge. Of course, we were disappointed but the travel liaison at Mount Pleasant airport was most helpful and they set us up in the Malvina House Hotel that night and promised us an early flight to Sea Lion Island in the morning. I used the extra evening in Stanley to walk around the town, where it seemed everyone was having a wedding.

When we arrived on Sea Lion Island, we immediately received first class hotel treatment - help with our bags, offers of tea and cookies and then a tour of the Island by Land Rover (which is what everyone drove on the outer islands, as there aren't any roads to speak of). The rooms at the lodge we were wonderful and en-suite, really first-class, especially considering you are at the edge of the world here. But, we didn't want to spend too much time in our rooms and made sure to do lots of exploring. We saw our first penguins today! A large Gentoo Penguin colony resides near the lodge and we also a fair sized group of Rockhopper Penguins on the tour. Megellanic Penguins also kept popping out of their burrows in the ground and running in front of our vehicle. They were the most nervous out of all the penguins we would meet this trip. We were also warned they had hooked beaks that could give your quite a bite, and if that didn't make you stay away, their propensity to having fleas should! We saw Southern Giant Petrols, Caracaras, Cormarants, Sea Lions and Elephant Seals as well. Orcas could be seen at certain time of the day off-shore. Apparently the day before we arrived they made a kill around 4:00 am and dragged it onto the beach to feed. I know it is the circle of life and all that, but my response was: gross! After dinner all of the guest relaxed in the living room of the lodge - what a great first day!

After we arrived on Saunders Island and got settled in, our host Susan drove five of us to The Rookery. This was our first time seeing the black-browed albatross. They were such neat birds, and made really beautiful sounds too. Many were sitting on eggs or brand-new hatchlings that we would occasionally get a glimpse of, if we were patient. A little bit more of a hike and we made it to the ultimate Rockhopper Penguin destination. There must have been thousands of individuals nesting and making the journey back and forth to the water for food. What a wonderful sight. No still photo could really do it justice and I was glad to have brought my video camera. I was content to climb a small hill and look down on the melee below. Lots of penguins, always on the go, always hopping. When Susan, our host, came to retrieve us at the appointed time that afternoon it felt as if the afternoon had flown by.

As luck would have it, someone canceled their reservation on the Neck tonight and we were able to spend the night in their very comfortable portacabin with only one other visitor, a nice young girl from the UK. She warned us that the local birds of prey, called interchangeably either Caracaras or Johnny Rooks, would be waking us up early the next morning while they hopped around on the metal roof of the cabin. Luckily we slept extremely well, and woke up to the gentoo colony you could see from the windows. The Neck is a must-do for a penguin lover. It was the only place we saw all five species of penguins that reside on the Falklands at once. We loved spending more time with them and also visiting some albatross nesting sights a short distance away. Our day was bright and beautiful, probably the best we would have in regards to weather, though still quite cold. The bright blue of the water in the photographs almost looks tropical, but don't be fooled! Even with thermals and a winter coat, this Florida girl was freezing!

We had another half day at the neck before our obliging hosts returned us to the Settlement where we would spend our last night. No view of the penguins here, but the accommodations are nearer to the airstrip and so more convenient as we were leaving early the next day. We decided to take a walk around the settlement area and up near the airstrip and we were rewarded with lots of Megellanic penguin sightings, and even a large baby in one burrow. That evening Greg and I shared our remaining frozen desserts with the other two travelers in our house, and combined the sweets with a bottle of wine purchased from the little store run by the owners of Saunders. A lovely food coma ensued for all parties, and we didn't even miss having a TV!

Today we left Saunders Island and returned to Stanley. We were hoping to fit in some more time with the wildlife today but it didn't quite work out. We did enjoy our arranged tour and visit to the museum, as well as some souvenir shopping later in the day and a lovely dinner, which included local squid, at The Malvina House Hotel.

Today was an all day trip to Volunteer Point, a little beach situated probably only twenty miles from Stanley as the crow flies. However, the only overland route has very little in the way of marked paths, it was mostly driving though fields and rocks at a very slow pace. This meant it took a two and half journey to arrive there. I had expected to be bored on the way but our driver was excellent. He had a great since of humor and told us a lot about life on the island. He lived in the Falklands during the conflict with Argentina - the Argentinians actually took over his house - so his first-hand stories were really interesting and enlightening. He made the drive go by incredibly quickly. Volunteer Point is also must-do in the Falklands. There is a very large colony of King Penguins there year round. When we arrived there was also some brown juveniles. Many of the adults were experiencing their annual catastrophic molt and could not go into the water until all their new feathers grew in. There were some places were the ground was so covered in white it looked like snow. There is a nice shelter the staff has built at the point which has education material, toilets, and a gas stove for taking breaks from the elements and eating the bagged lunches packed by your hotel. Another great day!

Sadly, this was our last day in the Falklands. Our excellent driver picked us up and took us to Mount Pleasant airport, about an hour from Stanley and the Malvina House. He even stopped along the way so we could take some photos at Boot Hill - an impromptu place where locals leave single shoes.

We had one more day in Chile before our overnight flight home. We went to the local zoo, which was surprisingly great for a small zoo, especially their large aviary filled with parrots, peacocks and lots of other birds. We wanted to take the funicular to the top of the mountain where the zoo is located but it was closed for repairs. So we walked around a bit and Greg enjoyed his new favorite exotic taste - a syrupy mixture of peaches and corn which is apparently the national drink of Chile and available from many street vendors. I missed the Falklands already, but it was a joy to experience 85 degree weather in Santiago instead of the 35 degrees and never-ending wind in the Falklands. On the plane ride home I was already asking Greg when we could return to The Falklands.