Falklands

An early breakfast and then ashore at West Point. Because of David's torn ankle ligament, we used the Jeep to take us up to the other side of the island. So we were one of the first to arrive there. We had to go through the very long tussock grass which was over our heads at times. We saw Adele and King Penguins nesting amongst the grasses We also saw Magellanic penguins on our circular route round the penguin colony. It was supposedly only 2.5 km one way, but it seemed further when we walked back.

Near the end of our return walk, we stopped at the farmhouse where they provided us with tea and cakes: the cakes were somewhat small. A Victoria sponge was full of imitation cream which was a great pity because the little cubes of carrot and chocolate cake were probably quite nice. The weather was exceptionally fine probably one of the best days in the whole year for this part of the world so we were incredibly lucky with that.


Out of the side gate, tells us when we have to be back	Into a zodiac	And ashore at West Point	into the jeep for a couple of miles across the island

Chris gets to know a new friend	He does look very fierce	There are a lot of geese in the Falklands	All three exhausted by the walk back across the island

The Falkland Island flag	The entrance into the tea rooms	The tea was not all that it had been cracked up to be	The boys drove the zodiac back to the ship

Then back to the ship and lunch in the restaurant with Chris and Jerry Anne, most enjoyable except for the fact that I ordered just a plate of ham and cheese as a main course and this came looking as though it had come from the Soviet Union. It was just spam and processed sliced cheese. Not surprisingly this was sent back and a reasonable platter of three pieces of cheese with grapes and nuts appeared instead.

In the afternoon we went out again just before 3 to visit Saunders Island. there we saw Gentoo, King and Rockhopper Penguins on a walk along the most fantastic sandy beach.. The experience was a bit spoilt by the fact that the crew were not easily recognisable so we could not get advice on what to see. The only decent advice on where to go was from Lee, although there were several other crew probably around.


Ashore at Saunders Island	The penguins were there to greet us	And the boys greeted the penguins	Cabbage plants

King penguins gather on the beach	And get close up	Pembroke is still not sure about penguins	Penguins watching tourists

A lovely beach, but too cold for swimming	A different sort of penguin for their I-Spy books	Penguins contrasted against the white sand	More penguins in the distance

They manage to waddle all the way up there	And nest among the rocks	Great place for a penguin to hang out	And even to show off

We were back aboard around five and Chris managed to have a swim before a shower and then the recap and briefing at 6:30. We then went to the Panorama lounge for two Pisco sours, absolutely excellent and some canopies. Finally we ate in La Terrassa about 8:20 pm and chatted to Kevin and Adrian there. We also chatted to the head chef there who had received notice about disappointment with the cheese and ham platter at lunchtime! So Chris was able to order some marzipan petit fours for the future. After a pleasant dinner there we went up to the Panorama lounge and listen to Martin singing for half an hour before retiring very, very tired.

We anchored by 7 am of Port Stanley and we went ashore at 8:30 am for a battlefield tour. We saw quite a lot of the Falklands terrain, but our guide, Kevin, who was a corporal in the parachute regiment in 1982, was somewhat difficult to hear in a noisy coach, and partly due to his accent. The two Silversea expedition team who were in the coach were absolutely useless even though they knew that we could not hear properly

We visited four sites. The first being of Boot Hill; then Estancia were 4000 troops had turned up at the owners door: then the Argentinean helicopter crash site and then the Ghurka memorial before returning to Stanley. The story of the "Ghurka and their Kukri knives" was a major psychological factor in the war, with many Argentine soldiers terrified of their reputation. However the Ghurkas did not suffer direct casualties during the war, although eight Gurkhas were wounded by long-range shellfire

We left the bus at the statue to the dead, of which there were roughly 250 British dead, and went into the museum nearby. Then into a nearby supermarket, where we bought several different cough medicines and cough pastilles for David who was still really suffering from bronchitis, plus strained hamstring muscle which was taking a long time to heal..

Once back on the boat, we enjoyed our lunch before a lecture from the Russian historian on the Falklands. This was after another Trivia session at 3 pm in which Chris enjoyed a Paris coffee. A siesta during the afternoon and then a recap and briefing at 5:45 pm which included an interesting one from Babsi on how they had rescued two grounded dolphins the previous day. After this we enjoyed another Pisco sour with tapas in the Dolce Vita bar before going back to the room. We then visited reception to see if they could sort out by Chris could not send any WhatsApp’s or photos from her phone. We then indulge in another Pisco sour and tapas in the Panorama lounge before a very pleasant dinner in the restaurant. This was followed by listening to Martin with his game show on what was the most popular answer to certain questions. But I was disappointed that he had not allocated a Bridge slot for the next day .


Our bus for the Battlefield Tour - one of the worst I have had	The bus appeared to drive aimlessly round the island	very little was explained to us	the road stretched into the distance

The wreckage of an Argentine helicopter	I have no idea who or what brought it down	More road	Then a Ghurka memorial

And a Ghurka memorial seat	The memorial to British dead	Victory Green has, naturally enough , the statue of ..	Margaret Thatcher, who is much revered here

The boys decided against sending a postcard	The church in Stanley, complete with whale bones	The harbour at Stanley	And a drone shot of the whole area

A really pleasant sea day with good weather. After a healthy breakfast in the restaurant, we went to a lecture on glaciers by David: but our David thought it was rubbish Chris quite enjoyed it.

After this that was at least an hour spare time before another lecture at 11:15. On Shackleton by Dimitri. It concluded with photographs of his efforts to reconstruct Shackleton's ship with Lego, which he did during Covid. We then went to the restaurant for an Indian buffet which David enjoyed whilst Chris ordered from their normal menu. Then we lost an hour in the afternoon, a ridiculous ploy by Silversea to change the clock during the daytime rather than during our sleeping period, I really do not know why. It was really confusing. At the new 3 pm I managed to get three others for a bridge session: this included Kevin, Adrian having got lost and Barbara with her husband Barry. They are really serious Bridge players from Canada. We played in the Dolce Vita lounge and it was more successful than I had thought, as I was worried that Kevin and Adrian would not be to the liking of two serious bridge players. We played until 4 pm and then debunked up to Trivia and then back again for a little tuition, Kevin having not played since 2019 and neither had Adrian.

At 5 pm there was a lecture on King Penguins and we all went to this and then adjourned again for more bridge until almost 7 pm. David was surprised to see me eventually back in the cabin before 7 pm. He knew that I could not have really got lost on the ship from 1.45 to 2:45 when I had left the cabin. I got changed quickly and we went up to the Panorama lounge for our normal drink, this time a Caipirinha and tapas. We chatted in the to a lady called Kimberly who had been sitting next to us whilst we were playing bridge. A pleasant meal in the Terrassa restaurant was followed by 20 minutes of karaoke in the panorama lounge. The chef had produced a large plate of marzipan petit fours for me which was left in our cabin. Another day at sea tomorrow, so no urgency in getting clothes ready for tomorrow. During the night the television had come on at 3 am and was it was not possible for him to turn it off. So David went up to reception to ask for it to be turned off remotely but this seemed impossible and he was dismissed as a troublemaker. So at 7 am, he was a very tired bunny and very grumpy during the morning. We received a visit from some high officials who noted all this down. Meanwhile the television had been put to rights, but we still do not know exactly why it had turned itself on at 3 am: seemingly only one other television on the ship has been similarly affected.

After a leisurely breakfast, the morning was taken up with bio security for landing at South Georgia. They did not want any alien seeds to get ashore on our clothes. Also avian flu was a problem. First of all, we had a lecture and a video from Claudia on bio security and then we had to take all our outdoor clothes to the lecture theatre to be inspected for any seeds. The lunch at noon was not so good as normal but plenty of food all the same. At 1:30 pm we had the first announced Bridge game and five of us turned up for That: Adrian, Kevin Frank Barry and myself so we had quite a pleasant game with Frank observing for a 90 minutes. I had obtained the necessary tablecloths to stop the cards falling off the table from the restaurant and the necessary bidding boxes from Martin. Then at 3:30 pm there was a lecture from Matt over how they eradicated the rat from South Georgia. Then Trivia followed by another lecture on seals and sea lions, particularly the Antarctic sea lion which was the only one which had ear flaps. During this time David had attended a champagne tasting.

6 pm Clouds here with her recap and briefing, and then after 7 pm, we went up to the lounge for our normal drink and Tapas. A very pleasant dinner followed in the restaurant with smoked salmon, terrene de fois gras, and then duck with orange. Then up to the panorama again for a Paris coffee whilst listening to Martin doing his name this film game.


The boys ... make friends	.. enjoy a plate of buns	.. and an orange juice for breakfast	A research ship at Stanley