Once upon a travelogue...: The Falkland Islands

Il 9 novembre, 2013
Westpoint Island – The Falklands

Off the ship shortly after 8:00 am and then on the polar circle boats for another “joy ride” (and these rides have been fun when it isn't showering hail) across the water. Once on shore, we began today's hike (1.5 miles) up and over the island until we saw the sea once again. Confronted at times with bitterly cold winds whipping at us as we “trudged” over the uneven terrain, the journey's reward was a rockhopper penguin rookery. Dozens and dozens of these penguins were gathered together along with black browed albatross; the penguins carefully guarding their eggs and keeping them warm. It was one of those moments that I tried to capture with photos, but no picture can completely capture the emotion of being there - the sounds of the penguins talking to one another and the albatross taking off in flight in front of me – priceless.

Westpoint Island, first settled in 1879, has been in the Napier family since that time. These gracious and warm people served 200 of us warm tea and home-baked desserts before we headed back to the ship.

Rockhopper Penguin Rookery

Rockhopper Penguins

Rockhopper Penguins

Saunders Island – The Falklands

Back to the ship for lunch and a short journey to the island for a 3:00 pm landing...and then what an afternoon we had! A sandy white beach filled with gentoo penguins walking about, in and out of the water, socializing with one another; it was quite the party! Further up on the hillside was a small colony of king penguins with their chicks. The physical statue of this species is something to see, a straight back with ramrod posture and a lovely long neck that rises up into the air when the moment calls for an “ecstatic display” - sometimes signaling male dominance, sometimes communicating with the neighbors, and, sometimes, just an “old-fashioned” mating call!

Up on the slope was an enormous colony of rock hopper penguins and one macaroni penguin couple. This species is not usually found on Saunders Island, but being an aggressive type, however these two got there, they were left alone, the female sitting on her egg and the male standing next to her.