A Slow Slog to the Falklands

Two Days Tuns into Three

To avoid the worst of the winds—what we affectionately called the “purples”—the ship changed course. This detour added another day to our already two-day journey between South Georgia and the Falklands.

Honestly, I was perfectly content staying in the cabin. I spent hours looking through the images and video from the last 20 days, still in awe of everything we had seen and experienced. The expedition team kept everyone entertained with a series of lectures and games, which I opted to watch on the TV from the cozy comfort of our cabin.

With a break in the swell, we were invited to tour the bridge, which was pretty impressive. We missed the tour last year due to cabin quarantine.

We also got a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen. There’s one guy entirely dedicated to breakfast—he’s up at 2 AM every day to prep for the 7am feeding! I was especially touched to see the allergy poster with my name and “NO ONIONS” scrawled in bold red marker. The crew went above and beyond, ensuring no cross-contamination, even with something as small as bread knives and omelette pans.

I just realised that I haven’t posted any photos of the food, so here’s an example.

As we neared the Falklands, the swell picked up again, bringing with it a host of seabirds including black-browed albatross. The black-browed albatross can live up to 70 years and is known for its efficiency in flight, gliding on ocean winds without flapping, which helps it conserve energy during long journeys, traveling thousands of miles across the Southern Ocean to feeding grounds.

Finally, after three days at sea, we arrived at Stanley Harbour—or rather, just outside of it. The winds were too strong to navigate the narrow passage into the inner harbour, so immigration and customs had to travel out to meet the ship.

Next up — The Rockhoppers and Albatross at West Point Island