The Falkland Islands

Liberation Memorial


Unexploded landmines warning signs.


In Argentina, the The Malvinas (what we call the Falkland Islands) are discussed often. Here in the city center, there's a well-known clock tower, a pre-Malvinas gift from the British. When we first arrived here and went on several tours of BA, more than one tour guide mentioned that it was the "ex" English clock tower and had since been renamed.  The anger over the Malvinas is definitely tangible, at least in Buenos Aires. For this reason, I was very interested to visit them.


First penguin sighting! Discussing world politics, I'm sure.


Hundreds of Magellanic Penguins.


I was excited about seeing all of the ports on the cruise, but even more so because I knew we'd see penguins. We got our first glimpse of the bundles of toddling adorableness at an area called Gypsy Cove. The cove looked like a lovely place to have a swim--white sand beaches, crystal clear water...and gale-force winds! The water temps were ice cold, but the penguins swam and bathed and chased each other, and it was nauseatingly cute.


Trying to run into the high winds.

We explored the rest of the island, saw the battlefield areas, ate in a lovely pub for lunch and as we were leaving, found a place that actually sold Dr. Pepper. I heard that some crazy American who can't get American products where she lives bought every can of Dr. Pepper at the kiosk.

The water turned from choppy to worse in a hurry, and getting back to the boat on the tender turned into a frightening ride. Climbing from the tender back onto the boat ramp was an extremely scary moment in my life, and I have never held onto Teague so tight! The waves were high enough to soak us completely, and both boats were moving so much I'm surprised no one fell into the water. We later learned that had our ship anchored a tad later, we wouldn't have had permission to tender in to the Falklands at all, because of the weather conditions.

Our next day was to be spent at sea, as we cruised around Cape Horn. The Captain cheerfully announced the times that we'd be able to view the Cape, and we were on our way...sort of.

Christ Church Cathedral


St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church