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Only 2,400 people live on what is a British colony, mainly in the
capital city of Stanley on East Falkland Island. Fishing and the wool
industry are the main sources of employment for the island’s inhabitants,
but its abundant wildlife is a huge draw for tourists either on cruise ships
headed for Antarctica or island hoppers such as I, wanting to experience
as much as possible. Over 750 islands encompass the archipelago
and the windswept islands to the west and south offer some of the best
wildlife experiences in the chain.
As far as islands go, the Falklands are a better wildlife excursion
than the Galapagos Islands, which are located on the Pacific side of
South America, 600 miles off Ecuador. There are no time limits on the
Falkland Islands, no trails you’re required to stay on, as is the case in
the Galapagos, and there are a lot less people.
Besides the extraordinary wildlife, historical points of interest
abound on East Falkland as well, mainly from the 1982 Falklands
War between the United Kingdom and Argentina. The conflict over the
disputed archipelago began on April 2, 1982 and finished 74 days
later, the British keeping their distant territory. That was good news for
the wildlife that has experienced little or no predation or disturbances
from introduced animals and human occupation.
FAR
-
FLUNG
TRAVEL
by Chuck Graham
I
am surrounded by little people dressed in black and white tuxedoes,
singing and dancing on a deserted beach, and I have just crashed
their private party!
Actually, this is a story of survival; all those “little people” were 1,500
comical, squabbling, yet tender gentoo penguins on the Falkland Islands,
350 miles off the tip of South America, in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
IN THE PRESENCE OF KINGS AND GIANTS