Remember you can increase the size of a picture by double
clicking on it.
Update. Remember I wrote it snowed on the ship in Antarctica and how many of the crew had never seen snow. As they all come from Indonesia, Philippians, etc. they have no history of making snowmen. However they do know about fish….so they made snow fish.
Welcome to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.on February 7th. The Falkands were first noted by a visit of the HMS Beagle (remember Beagle Channel in Chile) with Charles Darwin on board. Some of his works included the unusual flora, marine mammals and birds of the islands. Port Stanley became a key resupplying and repair stopping point for ships sailing around The Horn. Technology (Panama Canal and engines on ships over wind) changed that. The Falklands became a sheep producing industry (today sheep to people 250:1). Notoriety came again to the Falklands with the invasion of the islands by Argentina in 1982. The British won the short war but ownership of the islands is still disputed. All Falkland citizens have British passports. Around the island you’ll find the saying, “Keep calm and keep the Falklands British.”
An interesting note, this is the last cruise from Holland America that will stop in Port Stanley. Tendering is so unreliable due to the harsh weather that HA has dropped the port from all future itineraries. At least that is the HA story, there is another school of thought that thinks that Argentina brought pressure on HA (Buenos Aries is a lot bigger Port of Call than Port Stanley) to stop the calls. There is still a great deal of animosity and political actions between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falklands.
We were lucky, on our day the winds were calmer then normal and tendering was possible. The locals told us if we had arrived the day before we could not have landed. A few years ago the weather changed so rapidly that the ship had to leave the harbor with 300 passengers still in the town. They spent the night in local homes, the hospital, and pubs. The ship came back and got them the next day.
Port Stanley, West Falkland Island Panorama
Noreen at the welcome sign.
Some island architecture, very reminiscent of English homes.
Fire Rescue Department.
The Falkland’s War Memorial.
Rocks are placed on all the wreaths due to the constant wind.
Familiar English phone booths outside the post
office.
One of the more famous locations in Stanley.
Sophisticated signage.
Enjoying some Fish & Chips with a pint of local beer.
I carry a lot of NASA material from the Kennedy Space Center for schools in out of the way places. I dropped a packet off at the Community School and got a thanks from the senior science teacher.
This is a picture of part of the police station. I took it to show the rescue harpoon gun. I later found out that the portion of the building shown in the picture was destroyed in the war by a British missile when intelligence indicated there was a meeting of senior Argentine officers inside.
Hope you enjoyed this quick tour. stay in touch.
Update. Remember I wrote it snowed on the ship in Antarctica and how many of the crew had never seen snow. As they all come from Indonesia, Philippians, etc. they have no history of making snowmen. However they do know about fish….so they made snow fish.
Welcome to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.on February 7th. The Falkands were first noted by a visit of the HMS Beagle (remember Beagle Channel in Chile) with Charles Darwin on board. Some of his works included the unusual flora, marine mammals and birds of the islands. Port Stanley became a key resupplying and repair stopping point for ships sailing around The Horn. Technology (Panama Canal and engines on ships over wind) changed that. The Falklands became a sheep producing industry (today sheep to people 250:1). Notoriety came again to the Falklands with the invasion of the islands by Argentina in 1982. The British won the short war but ownership of the islands is still disputed. All Falkland citizens have British passports. Around the island you’ll find the saying, “Keep calm and keep the Falklands British.”
An interesting note, this is the last cruise from Holland America that will stop in Port Stanley. Tendering is so unreliable due to the harsh weather that HA has dropped the port from all future itineraries. At least that is the HA story, there is another school of thought that thinks that Argentina brought pressure on HA (Buenos Aries is a lot bigger Port of Call than Port Stanley) to stop the calls. There is still a great deal of animosity and political actions between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falklands.
We were lucky, on our day the winds were calmer then normal and tendering was possible. The locals told us if we had arrived the day before we could not have landed. A few years ago the weather changed so rapidly that the ship had to leave the harbor with 300 passengers still in the town. They spent the night in local homes, the hospital, and pubs. The ship came back and got them the next day.
Port Stanley, West Falkland Island Panorama
Noreen at the welcome sign.
Some island architecture, very reminiscent of English homes.
The island is a challenging place to live and the vehicles
reflect the lack of paved roads. The ambulances at the hospital.
Fire Rescue Department.
The Falkland’s War Memorial.
Rocks are placed on all the wreaths due to the constant wind.
One of the more famous locations in Stanley.
Sophisticated signage.
Enjoying some Fish & Chips with a pint of local beer.
I carry a lot of NASA material from the Kennedy Space Center for schools in out of the way places. I dropped a packet off at the Community School and got a thanks from the senior science teacher.
This is a picture of part of the police station. I took it to show the rescue harpoon gun. I later found out that the portion of the building shown in the picture was destroyed in the war by a British missile when intelligence indicated there was a meeting of senior Argentine officers inside.
Hope you enjoyed this quick tour. stay in touch.
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