A wonderful day was had by all in the Falklands
The weather stayed kind until the end, when it started raining hard. Unfortubnately, the forecast for Friday was not good, and we would have been in an exposed anchorage, so the captain decided to make an amendment, and the ship is on the way to Ushaia, at the bottom end of Argentina. If all goes to plan, we will do on Saturday what we should be doing on Sunday. On Sunady, the plan is to leave port, go round Cape Horn, and return to Ushaia. This is because the forecast is for severe gales. All being well, we are due to move via the inside waterways to Punta Arenas overnight on Sunday.
But, back to the Falklands.
The capital is Stanley, not the largest place, but it dooes have a cathedral, so it must be classified as a city! About 3,000 people live on the fifteen islands which are inhabited. Except in Stanley, the roads! are basically 'all weather roads' i.e. graded and passable by wheeled vehicles. Most of the residents drive Landrovers.
Outside Stanley, there are virtually no trees, the land being rough, rocky and with tufty grass. One of the big difficulties, are the number of uncleared minefields left by the Argentinians after 1982. They are being cleared slowly (they managed four in 2010), but it will be many years before they will all be gone. The problem is the cost, as they cannot be cleared mechanically, it has to be done by hand. Virtually all the mines are plastic, so it means hands and knees, with prodders.
After the EU insisted that the Falklands hed an up to date abbatoir, the dependence on sheep farming has reduced. Ten years ago, there were about one million sheep. Now it is reckoned that there about six hundred thousand. There place has been taken by cattle, as the meat can be properly certified to EU rules and be exported.
Everything has to be imported, except main crop fresh vegetables. The supermarket in Stanley is just like a smaller one in England. The difference is the labels. Most of the stock on the shelves is either from Waitrose! or NISA.
Ian did a trip about the 1982 Falkands war. The guide was excellent, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sue stayed in Stanley and explored it. We met up at lunchtime and went into the pub for fish and chips! No draught beer, though, only cans and a good selection. After lunch it was walked off by Ian being accompanied by Sue for a tour of the city.
We got back on board around 4pm, just in time to avoid the rain.
To day is cold but bright outside, about 9C, with a southerly wind from the Antartic. Dancing this pm, followed by a wine tasting for one of us. Life is hectic!