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1. RSV James Clark Ross

2. Gorse covers the cliffs

From: Graham Quartly
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:50
Subject: Getting ready

Due to technical problems with the ship - to be sorted by the end of the week (we hope), we have been 'blessed' with a lot of time to explore the Falklands. As well as the trips to wildlife reserves (see Ben's e-mail earlier today), we have also had time to see how people in Port Stanley live. The weather is blustery, so thick fleeces are essential gear for most of us. The climate seems to produce the most amazing displays of gorse.

Many of the houses look similar to those back home, but Stanley also has a number of 'frontier-style' huts with traditional white walls and red roofs. Outside Stanley, several of the roads are simply stone tracks or well-worn paths, so 4x4s are a common sight on most people's drives. It would not be a surprise to see the bumper sticker 'My other vehicle is a Land Rover' too.

We tried a few of the pubs - quite similar in style to English pubs, but instead of horse brasses and obscure agricultural instruments, 'The Globe' proudly displays various guns, mortars and notices about mines, whilst the ceiling of 'The Victory' is covered with literally hundreds of Union Jacks.

This morning I went to the main church, named Christ Church Cathedral, and met a few more of the locals (and some other tourists) after the service. On the way back, I stopped off at the Exploded Ordnance Department at an army site to pick up a map of the surrounding countryside, with areas still likely to contain land mines prominently marked in red. One plus is that the wildlife benefits from protected beaches where no humans dare set foot.

Graham