Port Falklands Weather
Today, Stanley is the main shopping centre on the islands and the hub of East Falkland’s road network. Attractions include the Falkland Islands Museum, Government House – built in 1845 and home to the Governor of the Falkland Islands (currently Nigel Haywood) – and a golf course, as well as a whalebone arch, a totem pole, several war memorialsand the shipwrecks in its harbour. The Falkland Islands Company owns several shops and a hotel. Stanley has four pubs, eleven hotels & guesthouses, three restaurants, a fish and chip shop and the main tourist office. There are three churches including the AnglicanChrist Church Cathedral, the southernmost cathedral in the world. A bomb disposal unit in the town is a legacy of the Falklands War.
The town hall serves as a post office, philatelic bureau, law court and dance hall. The police station also contains the islands’ only prison, with a capacity of thirteen in the cells.
The community centre includes a swimming pool (the only public one in the islands), a sports centre, library, and school. A grass football pitch is located by the community centre and hosts regular games.
Stanley Racecourse, located on the west side of Stanley, holds a two-day horse racing meeting every year on 26 and 27 December. The Christmas races have been held here for over one hundred years.
Stanley Golf Course has an 18 hole course and a club house. It is also located to the west of Stanley.
King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is the islands’ main hospital, with doctors’ practice and surgery, radiology department, dental surgery and emergency facilities.
Several bus and taxi companies operate out of Stanley.
Stanley is also home to the Falkland Islands Radio Station (FIRS), the Stanley office of theBritish Antarctic Survey, and the office of the weekly Penguin News newspaper.
A nursery and garden centre is also here, in whose greenhouses some of the islands’ vegetables are grown.
The Falkland Islands ( or Islas Malvinas as they are known in Argentina) are a British protectorate.
The short bitter conflict between the UK and Argentina started in April 1982.
“In April, 1982, Argentine Special Forces invaded the islands and met fierce resistance from the Royal Marines, in particular of the defence of Government House. Argentine reinforcementswho followed later though were poorly trained and equipped. By June of the same yearArgentine forces were defeated, setting the stage for the collapse of the military regime.”
The conflict resulted in the restoration of constitutional democracy in Argentina. Although, billboards throughout the country still declare “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” or the Malvinas are Argentine.
Much of the flatter land is boggy, making overland travel arduous. The bogs have a positive in that they provide an important source of peat.
The climate is not bitterly cold (as seen in the above chart), although frost can occur at any time of the year much to the chagrin of gardeners. The islands are at the same latitude south as London, England, is north and the temperature rarely drops below 12 F. It rains or snows lightly about 250 days of the year and gales are frequent. Calm and sunny days are rare. We have arrived in heavy rain, fog and the temperature is 6 C. There is a British warship at the entrance to the harbour.
The Captain of the Star Princess has advised us that the tender to Port Stanley will take between 30 to 45 minutes, that the seas are rough and the weather is expected to worsen. (Sue is having a massage at the Spa).
The islands are a paradise for bird-watchers with 120 species being counted and half being resident.
Sport fishing for sea trout (sea-run brown trout) is said to be excellent.
The 1982 “War” Memorial was designed by a Falklander, paid for by public subscription and built by volunteer labour. ( There was technically no war between Argentina and the UK since neither had officially declared war)
Princess still has not advised us as to whether or not we will be able to disembark in Buenos Aires and make our flight connection to Cape Town, South Africa. Nancy our great travel agent with Cruise Holidays White Rock was able to amend our car pick-up time in BA from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. She has also suggested, as an option, that we could disembark the day before in Montevideo and stay in the small town of Colonia which is adjacent to the high speed ferries between Uruguay and BA Argentina. We are still “at sea” as to what will happen.
We leave the Falklands and head for Puerto Madryn after a day at sea ( and New Year’s Eve). The weather in Puerto Madryn from the internet appears to be much warmer (23C). We look forward to the warmth and sunny skies after a week of rain……
The tender ashore was very rough. The locals told us that it had snowed on Christmas day ( usually the warmest day of the year ) and that it had rained for 14 days in a row. They thought that the weather was changing because of ‘global warming’.
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