What a diffence a few weeks makes! When we stopped here on the Minerva, the weather was SO bad we could not go to shore. Today was a sunny, 70 degree weather day here! No wind to speak of. It was so different, it is hard to believe it is the same place. We took a Welden family tour today and walked all over town. Visited the tiny Catholic church, went to a local restaurant for fish and chips. The kids preferred the pizza and chips. Went to a local bank to get some Falkland Island pounds as they are differnt from pounds in UK proper. Nicky was happy to add to his collection. We took a picture of the kids in front of the Whalebone Arch. It was constructed in 1933 from the jawbones of two blue whales. Managed to find a few gift shops for items you can't find anywhere else but here. Nicky caught a glimpse of a man wearing and Auburn hat and chased him down the street to say "War Eagle". I had on an Auburn shirt so they were happy to return the "War Eagle". Turns out they were a couple from Florence,Alabama that had both graduated from Auburn! They are not on our ship, so we bidded them safe travels and went our seperate ways. Small world.
The Falkland Islands is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, independent in every way except for defense and foreign affairs. Education here is mandatory and free for ages 5-16. If you want to continue your education, you can do so in the UK permitting your grades are good enough. If so, your eduation and living expenses are paid for by the Falkland Islands government. According to the 2006 census, 2,478 people live here. To break it down, 54% were born here, 25% are of British descent, 14% are of St. Helena descent and 5% are of Chilean descent. In land area, it is about the size of Conneticut. The Falklands are as close to the South Pole as London is to the North Pole. It is cooler on average here in the summer but warmer in the winter than London. The average number of sunshine hours they get a year is 1,738!! Yikes, that is a little over 72 days! The islands were first sighted by an English navigator, John Davis in 1592. The first recorded landing was in 1690 by the British Captain, John Strong. These islands have been under British rule since 1833 but had an invasion by Argentina in April 1982. The Brits ran the Argentines out and restored British sovereignty, June 1982.
We found the islands to be very clean, neat, colorful, and quiet. Nicky stopped at one point to "listen to the quiet". The flowers! My, what a surprise to see all the beautiful flowers in vivid wonderful colors. People keep there gardens very neat. However, we did see one haunted looking place that you could probably get a deal on! Water front too!! Sometimes they say you have to stop and smell the roses. No roses here. Kathleen found some nice daises and we stopped to smell and admire them. She saw a telephone booth and duck in to do her best impression of "Get Smart". We did not see a lot of activity by local people. Saw a few kids on bikes headed home for lunch mid-day. Saw mainly tourists like us, wandering the small streets. We were very lucky to have such a beautiful day to explore.
No comments:
Post a Comment