Thursday morning, before Gavin left, Derek offered us the choice of hen’s eggs or Gentoo Penguin eggs. I opted for the Gentoo eggs, over medium, with a side of bacon. One Gentoo egg was the equivalent of three hen’s eggs. The whites had the consistency of silicon and the yolks tasted like fish. Let’s just … Continue reading →

Volunteer Point is mainly known for its King Penguin population. Kings are the largest penguins in the Falklands and the second largest in the world; adults are normally three feet tall. They are not migratory and the Falklands lie at the northern perimeter of their range. There was still daylight left when we first arrived … Continue reading →

Our flight Wednesday from Saunders Island back to Stanley took about an hour, including a stop at Pebble Island to drop off a kitten and some cat food to the residents of the settlement there. We had a great view of Stanley as we approached the airport. The Malvina Hotel that we stayed at on … Continue reading →

We were picked up by David around noon Wednesday and driven back to the settlement to wait for the FIGAS plane to take us back to Stanley. On the drive, we listened to the news analysis of the election results: 94% voter turnout; 99% of the voters saying “Yes” to the referendum question of “Do … Continue reading →

After we warmed up for about an hour, we decided to go sit on the hillside to just observe the penguins for a while before turning in for dinner and bed. There are a handful of King Penguins here at The Neck, though the larger colony of Kings is at Volunteer Point on East Falkland … Continue reading →

The Falkland Islands are 5,400 miles from our home in the Florida Keys; Saunders Island settlement is 100 miles from Stanley town; and, The Neck is 10 miles from the settlement. Not feeling remote enough, on our second day at The Neck, we decided to hike around Mount Harston to the ponds near Elephant Point, … Continue reading →

Not long after we made it down to the beach, a number of Rockhopper penguins came swimming and waddling ashore, surprising a lone Gentoo penguin in the process. I must admit that I have a hard time grasping the whole concept of a bird that can’t fly, but is able to swim. I mean, what … Continue reading →

After watching the albatross for about an hour, we retraced our steps around the hill to the Rockhopper Penguin colony as clouds passed overhead. The sun soon returned and we sat and watched them for a little while, but very little rock hopping was going on here… …but it was worth spending some time here … Continue reading →

After dropping off our stuff in the Portakamp, we decided to go see the Albatross rookery that Suzan said we could find by following the fence line around the hill to the other side. Our path was blocked, however, by a huge colony of Rockhopper Penguins, another migratory species. These guys will be the subject … Continue reading →

We were met at the runway on Saunders Island by Suzan Pole-Evans whose husband, David, purchased the island in 1987 with his father. Saunders Island is the site of the original British settlement of the Falklands in 1765 at a place called Port Egmont (since destroyed by the Spanish), just a short walk up the … Continue reading →

The FIGAS flight was a little delayed, so Rob offered to take us to a little bay near the runway to see more elephant seals while we waited for the plane. There were several pairs playing in the shallow water, alternating between leaning into one another like lovers… …and rearing back and slamming one another … Continue reading →

After our tour of Elephant Beach with Rob, Lorraine drove us to Leopard Beach on the southern end of the island to see the penguins. There are large colonies of Magellanic and Gentoo Penguins here on Carcass Island. Gentoos live permanently here, but the Magellanic are migratory, coming to the Falklands only to breed in … Continue reading →

After lunch, Rob drove us to Elephant Beach on the north end to look at the Elephant Seals that we had seen from the air as we had approached the grass landing strip that morning. At our first stop, there were a couple young males lying about (you can see them to Dale’s left and … Continue reading →

Landing on the grass runway at Carcass Island, we were met by Rob and Lorraine McGill and taken for a ride over the hills to their settlement on the southern side of the island. We are staying in the McGill’s farm overnight (as are Alicky and Michelle). Rob (a 4th generation Falkland Islander) and Lorainne … Continue reading →

There are two main islands in the Falklands, aptly named East and West Falkland, separated by Falkland Sound. But there are also numerous out-islands, though not many are inhabited. To reach the out-islands, the Falklands government maintains a small air service known as FIGAS, the Falkland Islands Government Air Service. Other than by private boat, … Continue reading →