2008 Winter Trip -- Falkland Islands

This article was posted on March 1, 2009. ------ Navigation Bar ------------------ Page 1 -- Santiago and Coastal Chile Page 2 -- Ushuaia, Argentina and Cape Horn Page 3 -- Antarctic Peninsula Page 4 -- Falkland Islands Page 5 -- Buenos Aires, Argentina Page 6 -- Montevideo, Uruguay Page 7 -- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Page 8 -- Petropolis, Brazil -------------------------------------------------------

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Fodor's South America Travel Guide Antarctica Country Guide, by Jeff Rubin

The Falkland Islands are a British territory about 300 miles East of Argentina. The islands were the subject of the 1982 war between Argentina and Great Britain. The British military still maintain a presence at a large base near the airport. Large swaths of the territory were strewn with land mines and are still fenced off today.

Revenue from commercial fishing licenses are the main source of income, followed by sheep farming and tourism. About 40 cruise ships make port calls at Port Stanley with the accessible penguin colonies being the major draw.

The Falkland Islands have a population of less than 2,500 people inhabiting a land area about the size of Connecticut.

There are about 1,000 Gentoo penguins in this rookery. About 300,000 Gentoos inhabit the Falklands.

Here's some video I took at the rookery. The crackle you hear on the soundtrack is the 40-50 mph wind that was whipping off the nearby bay.

The Gentoos are the most common penguin found in the Falklands. Adults are 30 inches tall and weigh about 12 lbs.

There were several pairs of King penguins mixed in with the Gentoos. King Penguins have orange and yellow marking on the heads and necks and are taller and stouter than the Gentoos. Adult King penguins are about 3 feet tall and weigh 30 lbs.

Pictures from Buenos Aires, Argentina - click here.