Because We Can

We are at the far western end of the Falkland today, with fog and rain. This side of the islands only gets 17 inches of rain a year so you could say this is not normal weather. The morning announcement said we should wear rain gear. Great way to start the day. Besides rain there is also wind. Linda has perfected walking down this corridor. Dolphins near the ship. Waiting to be called down to the launch room on deck 3. Temperature was in the mid 40's, with the rain and wind wasn't all that pleasant. The only reason they call off landings is because of high seas. After landing it was a five mile hike to see a penguin rookery. What with the weather and cross country hike, Linda opted to only go a short way. She did get in some photos of flowers. I told her I would see her on the ship, but she still wanted a last photo of me before I set off. While I trudged along in a pouring rain with wind gusts that sometimes pushed me...

The seas were so rough two nights ago that the Internet was unusable, meaning the photos didn't upload, so this post is a day late. I don't know how many times we've looked outside and immediately remarked, "I need to get a picture of that." This is the result of one of those moments. Our first sighting of the Falklands. Vegetation. After a week of nothing but snow, ice and rocks, we stood out on the balcony and enjoyed bright yellow of the gorse. The water isn't all that deep at the entrance to the harbor in Stanley. The side thrusters were really roiling the water as we slid sideways next to the pier. The pier is a distance from town, so buses ran every 15 minutes all day long making it very easy to go into town and return. The Falklands are very clearly a British Overseas Territory. The Falklands war between Argentina, who invaded the Falklands in 1982, and the British who defeated them in the war is a very impo...