West Point Island, Falkland Islands

West Point Island boasts some of the most magnificent coastal visas with soaring cliffs spilling into the surface. This visually dramatic land was founded as a sheep farm in 1879 by Arthur Felton. Today, his nephew Roddy Napier owns the entire island; he and his wife Lily oversee the farm and regularly welcome travelers. The island and its neighbors also enjoy status as an important Bird and Biodiversity Area with Bird Life International. Significant species include the Falkland steamer duck, black-browed albatross, southern rock hopper penquin and Magellanic penquin.

I inquired at Guest services yesterday if we could do an additional included excursion which is a self guided exploration of West Point. This excursion includes a zodiac ride to the island and then a 1.4 mile walk to view a rookery of rock hopper penguins and albatrosses. I was called yrsterday while getting ready for dinner and told that a spot opened up for this morning. I was so excited. Bob is rolling his eyes as I am packing our schedules. He would have liked a relaxing morning.

We got up and put on all of our gear and headed down to the Landing area on deck A. Our life jackets were secured and checked by the Expedition team. We stood in line for about 30 minutes sweating like pigs. The Captain made an announcement that the scheduled landing has been changed because the expedition team has determined that the fog is too dense to see anything at the rookery. He told us to got back to our cabins and wait for further notice.

The Expedition leader then announced that they are modifying our landing and we will now make a short walk and view the Magellanic penquins. The time for our group is now 9:30 AM.

This is an example of how the weather can significantly impact the excursion schedule.

We redressed and headed down to the Landing Area all geared up. We were quickly ushered onto a zodiac for the quick ride over to West Point Island, population 2.

We walked to the Magellanic penquin colony. We saw many birds on our walk to the colony including an Upland goose fight over territory.

After a short time at the colony, we walked to the farmhouse for cakes and tea. Mrs. Napier is a fantastic baker! The cakes were so moist and delicious! She probably has a bit of time in the winter to perfect her baking. It takes a special personality to be able to live this remotely!

We walked in the garden before returning to the ship via a rib boat.

We ate a quick lunch before gearing up and heading to the lobby of the Aula (theatre) for our special operation boat excursion. We waited for about 15 minutes before the dreaded overhead announcement to tell us all special operations boat trips were cancelled due to an abundance of seaweed and high winds in the afternoon.

We were so thankful that we went this morning.

Edith, a member of the Expedition team, said that the cancelation was probably for the best as this is not the best place for SOB (Special Operations Boat). Everyone gets at least 1 SOB trip so we will be rescheduled.

We went back to our room and removed all of our gear.

We grabbed a quick nap as we are still feeling the effects of our Pre-cruise extension.

We had dinner in the World Cafe. It is Surf and Turf (Lobster and Tenderloin) once again... This is our option as it is served everyday at the grill. The chef at the grill is now calling us by name.

Off to bed as we have an early morning wakeup.Read more