After two days at sea, we arrived at West Point on the West Falkland Island at 11:30 in calm seas.
As we opened our curtains we were greeted by dozens of albatrosses flying past and swimming in the sea. It was not easy to get photos as they move so fast. The albatross was the one bird I really wanted to see and, until now, had seen only one or two so seeing so many at once was really exciting. We also saw land for the first time in two days, since leaving South Georgia.
Plans to see the King Penguins on Bluff Cove had been shelved due to the change in itinerary to see the Iceberg A23a, resulting in the loss of a day in The Falklands. Although we were there for 2 days it was not possible to change the date of the excursion. Also, we only arrived late morning, so time was further reduced. Originally, landing was to be done in tenders (lifeboats) but this was changed to zodiacs due to the smaller size of the dock at the only landing spot.
In the afternoon, Trevor went on a zodiac to land at Westpoint. Once again to get to see the birds and animals there was a long upward climb, a kilometre walk and then a steep downhill but Trevor said that it was definitely worth the effort. When he arrived back late afternoon, he was quite exhausted.
On the other side of the bay there were hundreds of albatross nests and lots of new babies. With the albatrosses were many Rockhopper Penguins.
While walking around the island they enjoyed beautiful views of the bay and the mountains.
As we had seen on South Georgia, there was lots of Tussac Grass but it was interesting to note that the majority of the albatrosses had nests on the rocks. Just one was seen in the Tussac.
At the end of the excursion and before reboarding the zodiac, the people who lived in the local farmhouse served tea and cake. They are the only 2 people who live in the area and offer the tea to all the cruise ship excursions.
Daily Viking
For those of us who did not go out in the afternoon there was a documentary entitled Extreme Ice which looked at the glaciers melting and breaking due to global warming. The scientists who were part of the documentary tried to forecast what the consequences of the big melt would be. In the evening, there was a lecture by Dr Chris Croxson on The Falklands War in 1982. On the 2nd of April 1982, Argentina invaded both The Falklands and South Georgia bringing the 2 countries, the UK and Argentina into a bloody war with great losses and injuries on both sides. Dr Croxson gave a stirring and informative account of how the islands were liberated by a force which had to travel 8 500 miles to achieve this.
Today, the first article was about West Point Island, Falkland Islands, which is home to some of the most magnificent vistas in the Falklands. It has soaring cliffs which drop into the sea below. This island was founded A sheep farm in 1879 by Arthur Felton and the endemic Felton’s flower was named after him. With the other Falkland Islands, West Point enjoys the status of being an important Bird and Biodiversity Area with Birdlife International. Significant species of bird on the island are Falkland steamer duck, black-browed albatross, Cobb’s wren, southern rockhopper and Magellanic penguins.
The animal detailed in this volume was the Largest Lobster on Earth known as the American Lobster. It has a coloured shell, two claws and it crawls along the ocean floor. Although they can be found in shallow waters they thrive best in the deep waters of the North American Atlantic coast between Canada and N Carolina. It grows up to 3.6ft (1.1m) and can weigh up to 20lbs (20kgs). Every lobster has two claws, the larger to crush tougher prey such as clams whereas the 2nd or pincher claw slices through easier meals like fish. They take on an array of colours in the wild. Most are brownish-green but can range through blue, green and yellow.
