Penguin-n-Chips

First things first - unfortunately no Prince William sightings today. Apparently he is off island on a ship. But our guide said his friends in the military hang out with Will all the time at the pub for rugby matches.

Not really much else going on on the Falklands... I'd probably spend a lot of time at the pub too. There are about 3000 people total on the islands, 2500 of which live in the port town, Stanley. So when cruise ships come in, there are as many tourists in town as locals. There is one movie theater - about 40 miles from town by unpaved road.

In the morning we took a ten minute car to a farm northeast of town before hopping in 4x4s for a bumpy offroad ride to the penguins! A rookery of Rockhopper penguins call a rocky cliff on this farm home half of the year. You would think they picked the most inhabitable area - a sheer rocky cliff - to make their homes and breed. But they live up to their name, hopping on both feet up and down the rocks. These are the penguins with the funny hairdo, sticking straight out on top and from their eyebrows, and this is the only place they are found. Like the Magellanic penguins, they are so cute but so smelly.

The town of Stanley is very picturesque stretching up a little hillside from the port - all green and red and blue roofs. After the penguins we returned to town for some shopping and lunch. We picked the most local looking pub we could find, filled with Brits drinking beer and watching soccer. You just pick a table and order from the nearest bartender who's attention you can grab. "Do you have a menu?" "We serve two things here - penguin'n'chips or seal'n'chips." Deadpan face, so British. Haha. But really they do only have two choices on the menu - fish'n'chips or burgers - so we ordered the specialty with two British beers and were very satisfied. Fresh from the sea that morning.

It was very interesting to be in the Falklands and talk to the locals, especially after the recent tension between Britain and Argentina over Prince William's station and the new ship stationed there. The island was a lot more British than I expected. I asked if any Argentines live on the islands and my answer was "maybe a couple, but they try not to advertise it." The landscapes also reminded me of the Aran Islands in Ireland, shrubby and rocky, and we learned the British isles and the Falklands are almost equidistant from the equator so that makes sense. Of course the island exudes a charm and cheer only Brits can deliver. Overall it was a great day from the penguins to the pub!