Falkland Islands

Like most Americans, I knew the Falkland Islands vaguely as the place that Maggie Thatcher had her little war about the time Ronald Reagan was busy invading Grenada.  Needless to say it was a little more important than that to the locals:  from their perspective, they were minding their own British business one day when the Argentine armed forces showed up and claimed to be the new landlord.  Britain disputed the claim to the tune of an aircraft carrier, a few destroyers, and several battalions of ground troups.  When the dust settled, the Argentine task force commanders had surrendered, but the country of Argentina never did..  Argentina still considers the Falklands (known locally as the  Maldives) to be Argentine property illegally occupied by British forces. One outcome of the war was that Britain decided to encourage economic and population growth in the Falklands, to forestall any future invasions.  The population has increased dramatically in the last twenty years, and shows no signs of slowing any time soon.  On the other hand, large deposits of valuable metals have been found, and there are signs that oil drilling may be the next industry to move in -- If that happens, I'd say Thatcher's war was just round one. The Falklands are also also the home of some cute Penguins, and something else that won't be flying anywhere.

These are whale ribs.  Unfortunately the local whale population is still suffering after being overhunted in the 1800's.

There are many wrecks in and around Port Stanley harbour.  This is the last stop before entering the Straights Of Magellan and the first stop after exiting them.  A lot of ships met their end here, for fear of entering the Straights or because of what happened to them there.

I'm told these are good eatin'.

Part of the new development in Port Stanley.  There was only one paved road on the islands when they were invaded.  Now they have sub-divisions.

This is "Boot Hill", on the road between Port Stanley and the Airport.  It's a tradition for workers who are posted here to retire their boots on this hill when they leave.

A Christian cemetary.  The smaller cemetary off to the left is where the suicides are buried.

"Hebe" was a handmaiden to the greek gods, serving them their ambrosia.  She's considered by some to be the goddess of youth. Still, you never see streets in New York with this name...

Yes it's been said before, but... "Philately will get you nowhere."

This is the green of the fourth hole of the Goose Green municipal golf course.  The other side of the fence is a live minefield, so try not to overshoot.

There's a fair sized memorial in honor of the British troups who fought here.

I wonder if there's a "Reagan" drive in Grenada??

The Atlantic Conveyor was a military cargo ship that was hit and sunk by a missile that was probably intended for an aircraft carrier.  Twelve men died, including... the laundry staff.  War is a nasty and arbitrary thing.

"To The Argentine Nation and Its People. You will be welcome in our country when you drop your sovereignty claim and recognize our rights to self determination."

This extremely short railway was used to move wool from the barn to a docked boat.  This is also where the first British land troups came ashore.

I had gotten out of the truck to open a gate.  When I turned around, these sheep had appeared from nowhere and were running directly at me.  Fortunately they turned, or I would have had to add "trampled by sheep" to the travel experience list.

Next time I'm out wandering around the world, I'm going to keep closer track of all of the gate hinges and latches that I come across.  There are a startling variety out there -- This is one of the most elegantly conceived latches that I encountered.