image not by me
Just a few nautical miles off the coast of Antarctica lies the small archipelago of the Falkland Islands the strategic military stand point that has been involved several of conflicts over time.
The island is home to an array of bird life including penguins, oyster catchers and other sea birds. I begin the three-hour walk to view the wilderness with the small tour group, a hike through the peat bogs and barren landscape.
The tour guide begins our tour by telling us about the general weather and what to expect on the tour, which is some cold weather and she recommends that we be dressed warmly. As we start out on the walk it becomes apparent that it is going be somewhat windy and cold and I am glad that I dressed in a jacket and jeans but I can still feel the icy cold Arctic winds slicing though the fabric to my skin.
As we round the point there are ship wrecks lying dormant, silent sentinels a testament to the rough waters around the island claiming them from the sea to sit for the rest of time. Lone Oyster Catchers scour the beach with long read beaks hunting for morsels of food in between the rock crevices.
The guide takes us around the point to where there is a rock waterfall. It’s a formation of rocks that geologists can’t describe why they form this way, but it resembles a waterfall. By now a few under dressed people have turned back as the weather is cold and the wind is biting.
At times when walking through the peat bogs its hard to see why anyone fought wars over this place. Its muddy and windy and even though it’s not quite winter its brutally cold. The town itself resembles a small village in England and is lovely and quaint but the place is just freezing. Winter would be a time when not many people would want to venture out I would imagine.
But then as we come around the bend through the puddles of mud in the little caves I am reminded what drew me here to this tour in the first place. Here hiding in the caves huddled together for warmth are this seasons baby penguins. They make small chirping sounds in protest at the chilly wind, their down shedding before the winter sets in.
There are moments in our lives that become memories having the power to stay with us forever, and as I glance down at the baby penguins huddled into groups growing into adulthood this is one moment that I know I will treasure for a long time.
Comments