Captain is arriving in the harbor early, around 7:30am, and we want to be on the first tender so we can join our Volunteer Point 4×4 tour.  Unfortunately, it is a really gloomy and foggy morning, you really can’t see a thing out there.

After the gym and a quick breakfast, we shower and head downstairs to the tender line. We are first, and then literally the first ones on the tender, which is rocking and knocking up against the ship.  A bunch of people fall as they are boarding, not paying attention to the crew helping them aboard, or listening to their instructions when to go and when to stay on the pontoon. Sigh.  No more comment.

Eventually we are full and pull away from the ship.  But it is really pea soup out there!  The crew guy manning the door is hanging outside the tender helping the pilot figure out where to go.  That’s a first!  Thankfully we arrive safely and are off onto the dock in a jiffy.  The tour guys are right there with a big sign and we are #1 and #2 on their list (long story, but we had this tour booked in 2021 which of course was cancelled due to the pandemic; when we knew we were scheduled on this sailing, we rebooked it – and well, that’s how we ended up first on the list, we’re pretty sure – that and the fact that Ed had conversations with the original tour operator on and off for a couple of years – who, as it turns out, has retired and sold the business to one of his guides but still coordinated the booking.  Told you it was a long story!). We get paired up with another couple from the ship and off we go with James Lange, our guide for the day in his 4×4 Toyota.

James is great – he was born and raised here on the islands and has a ton of history, and he keeps up a running commentary about the islands, his life and just about everything else, through the entire trip!  It takes us almost 3 hours to get to Volunteer Point – the first 20 minutes or so on paved road, then the next 1 1/2 or so on dirt and rock roads, the first part of which is through thick fog that doesn’t let you see anything.  As we get further from Port Stanley, though, the fog lifts and we begin to see a little bit of the countryside.  Miles and miles of windswept scrub plains, almost desert like, with lots of rocks that have been left there from the movement of the glaciers – or at least that’s what people think. James says no one knows how the rocks got there.

James points out different places along the way; the place where an Argentinian helicopter crashed during the war (can’t see it because of the fog), a sheep farmers house and the trees he planted (because there are literally no trees out here and people said you couldn’t ever grow trees, so he decided he would prove them wrong). While the trees did grow, unfortunately, as James points out, the farmer planted them too close together and so they won’t be able to grow any further and are choking out any new growth.

We talk all about the war, James was young, just out of school, and remembers it vividly.  We talk about Patrick, the original tour operator, who originally ran the radio station here on the islands and reported 24/7 when the war began. James tells us about his wife, who is Filipino, and that there are now about 500 Filipinos on the island.  He’s a font of information and terribly fun to chat with as we make our way to Johnson’s Harbor for a bathroom pitstop.

Johnson’s Harbor is a small collection of buildings, only 2 occupied by the Harbormaster and his family.  The rest are rented out as self-catering houses, some with furnishings, some without.  People will come out for a weekend or a few days to just hang out with family and friends and enjoy the countryside.  We can only imagine how quiet and peaceful it must be out here in the middle of the night.

James has been explaining that the fog has stayed around for days now because there has been no wind. Yesterday it was foggy all day long, you couldn’t see a thing on the drive in or out. But today, the wind has definitely picked up as we find out when we get out of the car at Johnson’s Harbor.  There is a wicked hard and cold wind whipping around out here – which is good for disappearing the fog, but not so good for warmth!!!  Glad we have our puffy coats, hats and gloves for this little excursion.

In addition to the bathrooms, there is also a “bake safe” that the Harbormaster wife stocks with her home baking.  It’s the cutest thing – all the sweets set out in Tupperware containers with name labels on the top of each container.  You pick what you want and put your money in the can inside the “safe.”  It is here that we wait for more tour vehicles to arrive so we can convoy out into the wilds of Volunteer Point. 

Once we have our convoy, we head off into the peat bog.  Similar to what we hiked through in Ushuaia, we are now driving through to get to the penguins.  James explains that there are different tracks laid out to get to Volunteer Point and each tour operator uses their own track.  Nobody shares, apparently.  I’m fascinated as to how Patrick first came out here and found his way to the penguins and laid down the track.  I mean, it is 14 miles of nothingness – just ruts and hills and peat moss and rocks and now, because of all the rain recently, muddy pits where you could easily get stuck!  How did he – and now these drivers – know to just take that random right to go in a different direction, before turning back to the left?  It is just crazy!

And now we also know why all the tours go in caravans!  Because if you get stuck – you’re stuck. And as a matter of fact, one of our vehicles does get stuck and we have to wait until they can get it out of the muck before we can go on.  You can see from the pictures – and the video (complete with James’ commentary on flights and Argentinean airspace) – how wide open and vast this area is!  And apologies ahead of time for the pictures – we’re stuck in the back seat the entire trip and our windows don’t roll down, so everything is out the front windshield or a really dark tinted side window. 

An hour and a half later we arrive at Volunteer Point for the penguins!  There are about 50 other SUVs out here as well – but the space is so vast, it definitely doesn’t feel crowded.  Cold as hell with that wind, but not crowded. At least not with people – just penguins!  The last count, the number of birds was estimated at over 15,000.  3,000 King penguins, 7,000 Gentoos and about 5,000 Magellanic (or jack ass) penguins. And those counts are about 10 years old, so heaven only knows how many there are today.

We have an hour and a half here, which in the beginning we are wondering how we are going to fill 90 minutes – but turns out that isn’t a problem! Immediately we head out to the King Penguins.  They are almost all together in a big circle outlined by white rocks.  Thousands!  Along with baby chicks that are sort of hard to see, they are small and brown and furry, and mostly hiding behind or beside their parents. 

There’s this random guy who is just strolling around the perimeter of the circle in front of the group.  Where he’s going, who knows?  There are also these random groupings of 3 or 4 penguins, just hanging out in the grass, sunning themselves. Magical!

And we can get so close to them too.  There are rules of course; don’t crowd them, definitely don’t touch them, if they are walking toward you, move away so you don’t stop their progress.  And there are “guards” – who are actually some of the tour guides who do double duty when they are here as “guards” or “guides” – around to make sure you comply.  But still…. This is too fun! 

We meander over to the King penguin circle and really just stare.  Penguins are such amazingly interesting creatures.  And these sounds they make!  We manage to capture some of their calls on video, when we can shelter the phones from the wind. 

• Vast number of Penguins as we are walking in
• Single King penguin walking
• Sounds of the penguin colony
• More sounds of the penguin colony
• Penguin circle with one in the middle walking

The Kings are the biggest penguins here, growing up to 3 feet tall and weighing as much as 33 pounds. They live for about 20 years and stay here year round, mating and raising their chicks.  We’re here at the perfect time, the chicks are still around and growing, and most of the pairs are here protecting them as well. 

Turning our attention to the beach, we begin our stroll out amongst the smaller penguin groups.  There’s this one guy who just prances back toward the circle, you can just tell he’s cool.  And then the others, in a group.  I love watching them waddle around – especially heading into the wind with their little wing spread for balance!

On the way to the beach, the landscape is like a miniature Arches or Monument park in the US.  All windswept ridges and mini mountains carved out of the sand.  there is a group of jackass penguins, some adults and older chicks who are molting.  There is one you can see if you closely, up against the sand bank that actually looks like part of the sand wall!  And one inside a little den in the shade (he’s harder to see).  

At the beach, we watch a group waddle toward the water – you can just hear the lead guy saying, “Aw, come on, do we really have to do this? Really?”  Of course as we are happily watching and staying out of the penguins way, a guard yells repeatedly at an Asian tourist to stay away from the penguins, to not crowd them, not force them into the water.  Sigh.  We just stay out of everyone’s way and enjoy watching the Kings in the wind and the ocean spray.

Heading back toward the car park, we stop for a quick bathroom break then continue onto the Gentoo area, where there are hundreds of these little guys spread out along the opposite shoreline.  There are also quite a few empty white rock circles.  We ask a guard about them, and find out that they are supposed to be for the penguins, to keep that area free for them and keep us tourons out.  The Kings are happy with their circle, but the Gentoos just sort of do what they want and go where they want, completely ignoring the circles.  Strong headed little things!

The interesting thing is that the Gentoo population is the largest of the 3 types of penguins here, but you sure couldn’t tell it from these guys.  While they are smaller than the Kings – only up to about 2 ½ feet tall and 18 pounds, they say there are double the number of them here vs. the Kings.  Looks like just the opposite to us, but it could be because they are so spread out.

It is still so fun to stand here and watch their shenanigans.   We watch as one little guy comes by looking for something – or someone.  And another one stops when he sees us to let us cross.  We were trying to wait him out, but he was being very polite letting us cross first. 

The last grouping we find are Jackasses who are looking after Gentoo babies.  One of the guards tells us she has never seen this – nor has any of the other tour guide/guards.  Pretty wild they are tending to another species young!

Back in the 4×4, we settle in for our snack – 2 sandwich halves (tuna or egg salad or a combo cheese and chutney thing that was really good), potato chips and a great chocolate treat like a big overstuffed Kit Kat.  Hey – when in the Falklands!  Oh, and the biggest bonus?  We get a USB with hundreds of pictures to take home with us.  Double bonus!  It looks like a little penguin. 

Snack complete, group together, we head back out across the moss fields toward Port Stanley.  The drive back, while just as long, is so much better now that the fog has cleared.  The sky is cloudless and we can really see the vistas – and the trucks in front of us as they drive over the rough terrain as we follow!

3 hours later, James deposits us in town at the visitors center so we can explore a bit before heading back to the ship.  It is now an absolutely beautiful day, the wind isn’t even all that bad here in port as we wander down the waterfront to the Great Britain Mizzen Mast, the mast of a ship that arrived storm-damaged in 1886 and sat abandoned for 80 years. The ship was finally returned to Bristol, UK, in 1970 for restoration.  We think the story goes that they never actually restored her, and this is all that remains now.

Circling back on the main street, we head to the Christ Church Cathedral and the Whalebone arch.  The arch is made up of two blue whale jawbones, brought to the island in 1922.  The arch was constructed in 1933 and given to the city as a gift to commemorate 100 years of continuous British Administration of the island.  Even though they are real, they look a bit fake now as they have been restored through the years with coatings of resin to keep up their appearance.  Still a pretty cool thing to stand under those jawbones and imagine the size of the whale!

Next we mosey up the road, past the Jubilee Villas, constructed for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee to look just like Victorian row houses, and onto Victoria Pub – where we had lunch 14 years ago when we last visited the island!  Interesting fun fact, the owners, Cathy and Ally, were here then – and are very good friends with James, our guide today!  So it was sweet to sit at the bar and chat with Cathy about him.  The other interesting thing is that they are all out of local beer!  And fish and chips, because they have no more flour on the island, according to Cathy.  They have had so many cruise ships in this week, the tourists have totally depleted their stocks!  Oh well – a beer is a beer, and the wine isn’t local – it’s the great Chilean Sauv Blanc I love, so, we don’t care!  And it’s also a bargain on this little island where prices are inflated.  $5 USD for both.  Perfect!

Back outside, we wander through a gift shop, nothing interesting, and then hit the grocery store for snacks we really shouldn’t buy, but do.  There were a bunch of things on sale, so we picked those up – and some of those pseudo Kit Kat bars!  Then it is back to the tender and the ship.

Our routine is shortened tonight because it is so late.  We head right to the shower and dinner, where Dade makes us two butterflies and a bird origami.  He’s appalled no one has made us any origami yet!  Well now they have – and now he is on a hunt for good paper to do real origami, not the left over menus and order note pads which aren’t the right kind of paper.  He is too cute!

We hit the dance show tonight, which is just as good as the previous one, and then to the cabin, eschewing the Orange Party which, well, just doesn’t interest us. Even though Ed does have his orange shirt with him!

Onto our last 2 sea days…..