Stanley, Capital of the Falklands

Christ Church Cathedral, historic landmark in Stanley

 

Saturday, November 4 -  Stanley, Capital of the Falklands

Today was our best day yet.  I was up at 3 AM and saw beautiful stars at 4 AM from our balcony.  I watched the sunrise at 5:15, and saw the Pembroke Lighthouse as we approached the port at Stanley  I did Facebook and puzzles and enjoyed relaxing in the warmth of the covers.  I was up at 7 for breakfast because today we are in Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, and our activities start early.  We are offered  three options:  a walk along beach/Gypsy Cove to look for wildlife, free time to explore the town or visit to a sheep farm for the Fitzroy Farm tour.  I picked the tour, which is the longest (8:30 until 12:45) and Michael decided to go with me.

Pembroke Lighthouse

Whalebone Arch, in front of the Christ Church Cathedral

From our daily briefing: “In the morning we will arrive in Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, and set about exploring. The town was established here in the early 1840's, and the site was chosen for the sheltered harbor and abundant supplies of peat and fresh water nearby. Today Stanley is the hub of the Falklands, with development of local industries and depopulation of the countryside leading to the town doubling in size in the last 25 years.”

From our Zodiac, a view of the Endurance in Stanley's harbor

After breakfast, we took a zodiac to the port - saw their pretty colored corrugated houses, and the cathedral with the whale bone monument in front.  At the dock, three large sea lions were sunning. It looks to be a nice, sunny day, with high around 48 - but changing to windy in the afternoon.  (In fact, airplane flights are cancelled because winds are heavy and from the north - which can cause stall turbulence.)

Seals serve as a greeting party at the port dock

Our tour bus, ready to transport us to the Fitzroy Farm

We were a group of 16 and were met by 2 tour vans.  Our driver, Linda Clement, was a former teacher, among other things, before doing tour guiding.  It was a longish drive to the Fitzroy Farm and Settlement.  This part of the Falklands has flatter countryside - and we had long vistas of the coasts and lakes.  All along the way, we passed large groupings of rocks and boulders called “Stone runs” and “River of Stones”  arranged by glaciation and metamorphosis.  We also passed a large round stone corral - which we were told is commonly used for cattle.

Examples of glacial stone runs - "Rivers of Stone"

Along the way, we saw a number of sheep freshly shorn - all roaming wildly -  and many upland geese nesting pairs.  Most of islands 3600 residents live in Stanley (about 2500 - 3000).  The rest of the population live on all the rest of the islands.  Everything outside of Stanley is called the Camp.

Round stone cattle corral