Carcass Island in the Falklands
Today we sighted the Falkland Islands. We traveled beneath a pale, cool sky, a pleasant daydream with distant rippling clouds, white against blue. We arrived with an escort of birds, sea birds. The black-browed albatross, giant petrel and the dapper pintado petrel most easily remembered. They followed us from under the horizon. Our first footfall was on Carcass Island. We anchored in front of a farm, a small sheep station really, where bright yellow flowers formed a huge perimeter. They were shrubs of gorse, their boughs concealed beneath a surprisingly fecund display. The main house was closely sheltered by a dense stand of evergreen trees on its windward side. We knew this house. We knew we would be welcomed. Later this afternoon Rob McGill and a lovely lady known as ‘Auntie’ would have us in for tea (!), but first we were going to explore their island, the penguin colonies, the flowers, the vistas and firm ground for walking.
There was a fairly stout breeze. It kicked up spray as the Zodiac cut through the top of each wave. Bump! A thousand points of light jumped towards me, then pierced my face like chilled pins. The sun skipped and skidded across the water, an excited child whose bright reflections briefly dazzled my vision every few seconds. It would have been hot, but for the wind that pushed us towards the landing, a long beach, perfect, sandy and white. We passed a small island completely covered with tussock grass and fringed with kelp. The water was a bit green with plankton, but still fairly clear, a good place to dive, even better looking when a black and white dolphin broke the surface and followed our boat. O.K., no tea for me!
Three of us went into the water, Chief Officer Joachim Säterskog, Shop Manager Lisa Trotter, and myself. The Peale’s dolphins were there to greet us when we dropped out of the boat. They were curious, we were amazed. Without effort they soared by, turned in a heartbeat, with only a slight bend in their figures, and whizzed by closer yet, their bodies stiff and powerful. Oh yes, they could certainly be dangerous if they wanted to be, but who could see art and feel fear? Dolphins, might not be the biggest or the cutest of the marine mammals, but “What kind of man doesn’t like dolphins?”
Today we sighted the Falkland Islands. We traveled beneath a pale, cool sky, a pleasant daydream with distant rippling clouds, white against blue. We arrived with an escort of birds, sea birds. The black-browed albatross, giant petrel and the dapper pintado petrel most easily remembered. They followed us from under the horizon. Our first footfall was on Carcass Island. We anchored in front of a farm, a small sheep station really, where bright yellow flowers formed a huge perimeter. They were shrubs of gorse, their boughs concealed beneath a surprisingly fecund display. The main house was closely sheltered by a dense stand of evergreen trees on its windward side. We knew this house. We knew we would be welcomed. Later this afternoon Rob McGill and a lovely lady known as ‘Auntie’ would have us in for tea (!), but first we were going to explore their island, the penguin colonies, the flowers, the vistas and firm ground for walking.
There was a fairly stout breeze. It kicked up spray as the Zodiac cut through the top of each wave. Bump! A thousand points of light jumped towards me, then pierced my face like chilled pins. The sun skipped and skidded across the water, an excited child whose bright reflections briefly dazzled my vision every few seconds. It would have been hot, but for the wind that pushed us towards the landing, a long beach, perfect, sandy and white. We passed a small island completely covered with tussock grass and fringed with kelp. The water was a bit green with plankton, but still fairly clear, a good place to dive, even better looking when a black and white dolphin broke the surface and followed our boat. O.K., no tea for me!
Three of us went into the water, Chief Officer Joachim Säterskog, Shop Manager Lisa Trotter, and myself. The Peale’s dolphins were there to greet us when we dropped out of the boat. They were curious, we were amazed. Without effort they soared by, turned in a heartbeat, with only a slight bend in their figures, and whizzed by closer yet, their bodies stiff and powerful. Oh yes, they could certainly be dangerous if they wanted to be, but who could see art and feel fear? Dolphins, might not be the biggest or the cutest of the marine mammals, but “What kind of man doesn’t like dolphins?”
