Falkland Islands: Stanley

Tuesday, February 21,2023. Stanley, Falkland Islands

The first thing we noticed when we got up—it was noticeably warmer. It wasn’t freezing in our cabin!

Although we tried to get a tour to see penguins, all penguin tours were completely booked. Melissa, the whale expert onboard, had spent a few months as a researcher at Stanley and advised us there were penguins at Gypsy Cove, a 3-mile walk if no other transportation was available.

We slept in, had breakfast and headed for the Insignia Lounge to pick up our tender tickets. We boarded the tender with John, Shelly, and Margo from Oregon--some of our favorite people on the ship--along with many others. The bay at Stanley is shallow so we were anchored quite far from shore--it took at least 20 minutes to get to the dock. There was another Oceania ship in the harbor, also tendering to shore. The small town had a fair number of tourists. The island Stanley is on is relatively flat and windy. We heard it was more windy than usual the day we visited.

Red telephone booths are all over Stanley

Once on shore we found the tourist information building. A shuttle was operating every 30 minutes to and from Gypsy Cove for $20. One of the women selling shuttle tickets said she came to Stanley from the UK shortly after The Conflict in 1982 and has been there ever since. England was looking for people to populate the area and solidify their win. They needed workers (hairdressers, restaurant owners, carpenters). She’d owned a fish & chip place in England, so came and opened one in Stanley. She vehemently denied Argentina ever occupied the Falklands. “No, no, no--they lost!” By most accounts Argentina did occupy the islands for a couple of months during this time. 

Our double decker bus to Gypsy Cove

Soon we were on the top deck of a double-decker bus on our way to Gypsy Cove, a beautiful beach with clear, turquoise water and a lot of Gentoo penguins hanging out on the beach. Babies and adults. We also spotted baby and adult Magellanic penguins on the hillside. We followed a path that wound around the peninsula and periodically a naturalist was posted to advise insistent tourists they were not to climb over the rope barriers to get close photos of the penguins. We hiked around the peninsula and returned to Stanley, this time in a van. 

Gentoo penguins coming out of the Atlantic Ocean

Magalenic penguins & chicks on the hillside

Dramatic sky 

Cormorants nesting on the rocks. We could hear the chicks.

On the way back, we sat up front with the Chilean driver, and he stopped a couple of times to take photos with our phones through his window. We asked if there were any Argentine people left on the island. He said there were 20 who had lived there before The Conflict. 

Boat graveyard

Lady Elizabeth rusting away in the bay

Back in town, we walked along the waterfront and visited a church--it was celebrating its 131st birthday that day. 

The peace arches are formed from the jaw bones of 2 blue whales. 

Next, we looked for the Historic Dockyard Museum. Definitely worth the visit—a ton of items stuffed in the main & outer buildings describing the history, including considerable information about The Conflict and natural resources. Charles Darwin stopped here with the Beagle when he was a young man. There was information about him. Also, a room devoted to Antarctica including one of Shackleton's sledges and a rustic cabin from Antarctica that was dismantled and rebuilt inside the museum.

We stopped at the local grocery/hardware/housewares store, bought some English biscuits. Charlie poked his head in the local pub, the Globe Tavern. Very British.

This island would be perfect to bike on, being relatively flat. We didn’t see any bike rentals, though.