Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

What a delightful place! Port Stanley, the capital city of the Falklands, was an incredibly wonderful surprise - at least to me. Prior to this day, my knowledge of The Falklands was that the Brits had driven out the Argentine invasion in 1982 at some economic sacrifice and political controversy, not to mention loss of lives. That is, if the script of The Crown was historically correct. My other source of information concerning the Islands was from Dr. Sherry, our beloved lecturer on the aborted 2020 cruise, who said The Falklands are known for having more Garden Gnomes than citizens. During our walkabout, we passed by Miss Mary's garden which was home to quite a large number of garden gnomes, but no other gnomes were spotted about town. So you can see, I had very little knowledge of the land or its people.

According to the 2016 census almost 2,500 of the Islands' 3,398 inhabitants called Port Stanley, or Stanley. home. Our guide, Brian, was very pleased to inform us that since that census, the population of the islands had increased 8%. N over 3,500 men, women and children call The Falklands home. As a British Dependency they have their own flag, currency, and governor, but have very definite ties to the Motherland. Their currency is valued the same, they drive on the wrong side of the street, talk like Brits, etc. It has the feel of an old yet proud England. British culture dominates. It seems that they believe themselves to be as British as anyone haling from London.

Christ Church and the WWII War Memorial made of the jaw bones of two blue whale.

The other Church in town.

Brian brought these modern conveniences to the island while employed by the phone company. Still used today.

Brian inside a typical home of the 1900's. It was a museum, but I somehow had the feeling that it had at least at one time belonged to his family.

Miss Mary's Garden of Gnomes. Until COVID she hosted the tea for these tours.

Typical backyard vegetable gardens.

An Island icon.

A chunk of peat, formerly their only source of heat. No longer used today.

Part of a plaque in the Dockyard Museum.

Brian took us on a two hour walking tour of Stanley. To gain a sense of my experience, I must first tell you about Brian. His father's ancestors came here over 150 years ago and made The Falklands home. While Brian has been away from the islands for short periods, he is very much a proud native son. He was a member of the equivalent of our National

Guard when the Argentineans invaded, and he with all the other members of his unit was captured and held prisoner of war for seven weeks - until the British arrived and defeated the Argentine Army. In the Battle of The Falklands, three islanders, 255 British servicemen and 649 Argentines lost their lives. Unfortunately, the three islanders' deaths were the result of an errant bomb striking the kitchen in which the ladies were having tea. As Brian said, "What better way to go than enjoying tea with friends?" Upon completion of our wonderful walkabout, we were treated to traditional English tea and refreshments in the parlor of The Malvina House hotel. (Some forty years later, Argentina still refers to the islands as Malvina.)

Once we were all served, Brian opened the floor for questions, so I addressed the elephant in the room. I know you are all shocked and dismayed that I would do such a thing, but after all I had one day in which to learn as much as possible about The Falklands. Brian had mentioned as we were walking past the hospital that if a patient needed treatment beyond the abilities of the doctors therein, the patient was airlifted to Santiago, Chile or perhaps Uruguay. My question to Brian was, "Since Argentina is much closer, and would not require a flight over the Andes, why not Argentina?" His hesitant response was, "because they don't like us and will do nothing to help us in any way." "It is their vervarant wish that we should cease to exist." He further elaborated that the current government of Argentina even has it in their Constitution that they shall retake the Falkland Islands. Now that goes well beyond friendly rivalry in my mind!

I shall try to describe it to those who have not had the great good fortune to come here. Stanley, or Port Stanley, (seems it goes by either) is small as cities go with a population of approximately 2,500 in the 2016 census. Brian very proudly stated that the youngsters are either staying or coming back after completing their educations abroad (at government expense if ones grades qualify them for higher education) thus since that census they have had an eight percent growth rate bringing the current population to 3,500 Falklanders. Two schools exist in Port Stanley, a grade school for the first five or six years, then another six years at what I would deem a combination of middle and high school. Children in the countryside on the farms may choose to be home schooled in the lower grades, however they must attend the boarding school in Stanley for the balance of their basic education. In their final year of Falkland based education they are required to sit for the same college entrance exam at the exact same time as students in the UK. If their exam grades qualify them for further education, off they go! To the UK, or elsewhere - all expenses paid by the government.

Port Stanley has a government run hospital with 30 beds, and since COVID have increased their ICU to four beds. Brian did not indicate that COVID was much of a problem for them, probably due to the fact that they are an island which like New Zealand, simply shut down. Only after vaccines were administered did they reopen. I understood Brian to say there were no COVID fatalities on the Islands. The positive take away from COVID is that more of the residents have taken to growing their own produce. We strolled by many well kept, lush examples of this effort dotted with green houses for tomatoes and less hardy vegetables. Squid, sold almost exclusively to Japan, has overtaken sheep as their number one export with sheep second and produce third. Tourism is once again rising in importance. Case in point, the museum had a sign posted indicating regular hours and "Cruise Ship Hours".

Descriptive words befitting The Falklands and its inhabitants which spring to mind are beautiful, windy, refreshing, pristine, litter free, well kept, proud, hard working, resilient, friendly, honest, and loyal Brits. Brian's love for his homeland was readily evident. He in his position with the telephone company was responsible for the red telephone booths still scattered throughout the town. When is the last time you saw that? Unless of course you have been to McKinney, Texas recently. Betsy, is that one red?

I learned today from a British lady in our needlecraft group that it is not at all unusual for garden gnomes to take a walkabout, but it is considered bad luck for all if the gnome is not returned to its proper home. Brian said it took Miss Mary's gnome some three years to return but during that period, she received photos of its travels around the world. Something like our Flat Stanley, I presume.

As we travel northward toward Uruguay, the sea is somewhat calmer and the temperature warmer. I overheard some of the passengers saying they were packing away their heavy clothes until we get to Alaska. Not sure from whence they come, but this Texan isn't ready to do that yet.

Today Is Someday! Have a Blast!