Rambling again....

Last weekend was dry, sunny and windy.  Good walking weather.  And a new route was promised by the organiser.

Early bogging of car

Although the walk was less than 4 miles from Stanley, as the crow flies, it still took about an hour to drive there, partly due to the local enthusiasm for driving 4x4s across the countryside!  The car being towed above was the 7th to drive over that very spot, but somehow it managed to get "bogged", as the local expression has it.  But with so many life-long off-roading experts around, it wasn't long until the convoy was on the move again.

Breaking new ground....

Sunday drive near Stanley.  The dot in the centre is my car!

Keep to the track....

But seeing the depth of the ruts, we left our dainty Freelander at the gate and grabbed a lift in a monster Pajero...We were there to walk, not dig out stranded cars...

New fences. New signs. Old problems.

The walk was on an area that had been cleared of ordnance (ammunition, etc) from the 1982 Falklands War.  We had been to the "opening" ceremony a few weeks earlier, but this was a chance to walk around the whole area - a novelty even for locals.

Happy walkers

The walking was on the wiry undergrowth, as there were no paths.  A bit like walking through heather - quite tiring, and difficult to relax and admire the view:  you are always looking at your feet!

Managed to find a space on the beach for lunch

A cold southerly wind was blowing, but it stayed dry and good walk was enjoyed.  There was a brief stop for hot drinks and cake on a beach, where some curious plovers came for a close look at the unusual visitors to their patch.  No people had been there for 30 years.

Two-banded plover

During the walk, I met several people for the first time, including a few from the medical profession.  One doctor was on his 7th visit to the islands, but rarely saw anything outside of Stanley as he had to remain within an hour of the hospital in case of an emergency.

Pristine beach 

All too soon, our 6 mile ramble was back at the cars, and after digging out a couple more, we got back to Stanley in time for a late lunch, ears tingling with the windburn!
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A few weeks ago, I mentioned discovering the Solar System sculpture walk around Stanley....
http://peterspenguinpost.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/i-can-see-uranus-from-up-here.html

The Earth, Moon, and Sun about 200 yards away

I thought a look at Earth might help get the size of the Solar System into perspective.  The Sun is about 200 yards behind the Earth, in the above photo, while Pluto is about 4 miles in the other direction!

And to make up for the lack of penguins this week, here is another sunset with the Lady Elizabeth.  (I have several hundred to see me through the winter!)

Lady Elizabeth

Activities this week have included a big quiz at the Community School, where we came an honourable 4th (ie we didn't cheat).  The highlight there was the catering - the teachers cooked curries and made desserts.  There were about 9 different curries including a couple of Vietnamese dishes.  I hadn't realised until I tasted the food that it's about 4 months since I sampled a curry.  Mmmm.

The weather has been showery this week, but not on a scale as in England, I understand.  Some locals in a pub were commenting that there hadn't been serious rainfall here since last October!  Farmers are worried they may run out of water for their sheep!  Could someone organise a tankerload from England?

 Peter