We arrived at Stanley (not Port Stanley, as it is known in Britain) after, for me, a fairly disturbed night. The sea had been rough, although Tim slept quite well.
Our first view of Stanley and the ship coming alongside the dock.
We caught the bus into the town at about 8.30 and stopped at the Visitors' Centre where the assistant was very friendly and helpful. Across the road were these houses so reminiscent of England.
Tim had promised a secretary at Dulwich College that we would try to find the grave of her grandfather, James Epps. He had been awarded the Military Cross, we presume in the First World War, and had died in the Falklands in 1963. We went to the Town Hall, where we were told the location of the grave by an even more helpful lady. We changed some English money into Falklands coins as souvenirs and then went to visit Christ Church Cathedral nearby, which was larger than we had expected.
Outside the cathedral we saw the famous arch made of blue whale jawbones.
We walked on to the Liberation Monument commemorating the 1982 Conflict with the names of all who had died, including Lieutenant-Colonel H. Jones, who died at Goose Green.
The museum was very interesting, with a poignant Falklands War exhibit. As we stood outside the museum, 2 extremely loud RAF jetfighters came over us twice very low, dipping their wings in salute. They apparently do this when the cruise ships are in port.
Close to the museum was Government House, the former home of Rex Hunt, the Governor in 1982. Standing in front of the house brought back very poignant memories of the War.
Near to the Governor's residence we had another reminder of the conflict, a road named after Margaret Thatcher.
We took the shuttle bus to the cemetery, found the grave of James Epps and took photos.
We left the cemetery and walked back towards the centre of Stanley. We went past this relic of the Falklands War, an Argentinian mobile gun.
A little further on, we saw this double-decker bus. Another reminder of how British the Falklands are.
Back at the Jetty Visitor Centre, we sent postcards and bought a few things there and in the gift shop next door. Finally, we had a drink in the Victory Bar - not very attractive on the outside, but quite cosy and similar to an old English pub inside. It was established in 1946.
We returned to the ship having enjoyed our time in Stanley and wishing we could have stayed longer. In the afternoon, we had an interesting talk by Rob from New Zealand on seals - fur and true - and also sea lions.
We went to visit the Bridge, which is open most of the time, except during difficult conditions. The sea was quite rough and we had to hold on to something solid while walking around. The Bridge is surprisingly large with quite a number of crew on duty. We were able to talk to the Captain and ask him questions.
At dinner, there was a lot of movement in the restaurant and Tim felt sick. He went to bed and I ate with the Lowrys and Maria and Bernard Ho. I bought some homeopathic seasick pills for Tim in the hopes that he would feel better soon. We have 2 and a half days at sea before we reach South Georgia!
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