A bit more of the Falklands

The shipwrecks Lady Elizabeth and Samson lying in the harbour.  The Islands are littered with shipwrecks, most of them having been severely battered as they rounded Cape Horn and never got any further.  These were both built in the mid-1800s and sailed from England as cargo ships all around the world.  Lots of places on the Islands have received their names after the ships that were wrecked there!

The "Lady Liz" in her hey-day.

The Pharos anchored in the harbour.  It's a scientific ship that sails down to the island of South Georgia to do investigations.

Another shipwreck!  This is the boat that Arthur Leeks and Lawrence Blizzard lived on for some time while they were first in the Falklands!  Tiny!  They moored it in the bay but Arthur tells that when storms came up Lawrence had to move it elsewhere.  The idea was that they sail from island to island I think!

Old wrecks and new...some of these are wrecks from the 1800s too.  Looking toward Stanley.

The Falklands was full of landmines, put down by the Argentines.  Slowly the mine fields are becoming cleared, but there are still areas where they are de-mining.  There are a lot of Zimbabweans here who are doing that work.  Some were put on the beaches, and although there are plans that the Argentines had to provide, because of the shifting sands they are difficult to find.

We came across this camp of some Zimbabweans who were clearing mines in this area.

Looking down on beautiful Gypsy Cove.  We went for a very long walk that day hoping to get down to the penguin rookery there, but found it was all fenced off because of mines!  (In actual fact if we'd gone past that bit we could have gone down to the penguins).  The sand is amazingly white!

Looking out to sea from same area.  All this was mined, and they're in the process of clearing it.

Looking back to Stanley from the harbour end.  All these reddish-yellow plants are ferns.

Having a cuppa in the Seaman's Mission on the way back from walking.  Note the flag overhead!  It's a voluntary mission sponsored by different businesses and churches that offer a place for the sailors to go while their ship is in.  It has tea and coffee, games, donated books and clothes for them to help themselves to, telly, and warmth!  There were a group of Indonesians there at the time.

A strange little bird I frightened out of the grass

The Stanley cemetery  where 8 of our friends are buried.

Cemetery with a view!

Leaving the cemetery and going back to town along this road

Most vehicles are 4x4s... there are few paved roads on the islands.  Since after the conflict of 1982, there was a lot of work done, but still a lot of gravel road and driving over peat bogs.

A tourist attraction apparently!!!!

One of the older homes of Stanley.

Sky after a storm

Looking back at Stanley by day...

And at sunset.

Falkland Islands

David and Judith Silverlock from Perth had plans to travel to the Falklands for two weeks to look up his maternal relatives (both his grandparents born there), and wanted to take two workers.  Wendy Cornthwaite and I came with them instead of going to our last convention place in Argentina.  To get here we crossed over the Andes to Santiago, and from there a 3-hr flight to the southernmost tip, Punta Arenas, then about an hour and a half over to the Islands.

Workers first came in the late 50s, two English workers, lived here and a little group was formed.  They've all died now, and now workers travel once every 1-2 years for a little visit to the three people that have remained in contact.  They are Alana and Dave Morris, and Cindy (not sure of her surname).  Alana's father and mother and grandparents were professing, Dave is from Liverpool, came over with the Marines.  Cindy is from Saint Helena and her mother was professing there and when she died young her father quit and they all lost touch.  She has lived here 22 years and never knew about the friends here, until she went to a gospel meeting in England four years ago and met Keith Drury who had recently returned there from a visit here!  She is so happy to be back in contact and looks forward so much to the few visits.  We stay in the home of Dave and Alana, Cindy works at the army base about 45 mins away by vehicle, so we can't see so much of her.

Here are a few photos, beginning with crossing over the Andes, because they are so stunning!

After the border there are 30 hair-pin bends

Lunch with the workers in Santiago

L-R Marta Ramirez (on home visit to Chile from Venezuela), Max Bowman, Loren Coleman, Belermina Perez, Laura Romagnoli, (sitting) Wendy, Heather McDonald, June

With David and Judith Silverlock

Flying into Punta Arenas.  The temp had been 34oC in Santiago and when we got here it was 11oC!

First sighting of the Islands by air.  There are 420 all up, two main ones - the East Island and the West

Driving from airport to Stanley

After Sun am mtg. L-R: Dave, Alana, Cindy, with Silverlocks at back

Some of the old houses around the capital, Stanley

The cruise-ship harbour.  2,000 passengers were about to arrive!  Note the buses.  The popn of the Islands is about 2,000 in total.  The ships are too big to come in here, so they anchor outside "The Narrows" and send the passengers in on "tender boats".  

Islanders waiting to ferry the tour groups out to the penguin colonies.  Tourism is a huge source of income here.  Four to five ships come in per week.

Same harbour with the sun!

Visiting the near-by West Store that has all products from UK.  Our loot! Salt and vinegar chips for first time in 5 years!

Roast lamb meal, yummy

Intrigued by all the gardens in spite of the climate.  Indoor roses!

                                                   Their heroine, the Iron Lady

Southernmost Anglican church in the world.  Whale bones outside

Government House

Hanging the washing out is a real challenge!  And keeping it on the line is the next... wind is a constant feature of life on the islands.  A "breeze" would be 30 kmph.  Weather is very changeable, one minute sunny, next a squall comes over with hail included.  

Blow-dry

A typical morning, grey to start off with.

We get a good work out tramping up this street several times a day to the house!