The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
The Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas, is a British Overseas Territory, claimed by Argentina. They are located extremely far south, near the southern tip of South America. They are home to 3,300 people, 2,500 of which live in the capital, Stanley. They were also home to a war between Argentina and the UK in 1982. The islands are heavily influenced by British culture, with pubs, red telephone booths etc.
The islands contains 2 airports, Port Stanley Airport (IATA: PSY), and RAF Mount Pleasant (IATA: MPN). You can either fly with commercial airlines or the Royal British Airforce. The pros with the Royal British Airforce is that it takes 18 hours from London and 22-26 hours from for example Sweden, but can take up to 51 HOURS with regular flights. Pros with regular flights, you can book them yourself, unlike the Royal Airforce flights, which require you to contact the Falkland Island Government in London, and you still might get denied because visitors arent the first priority, and there are only 30-50 seats. Regular flights, unlike the Royal Airforce ones, have Wi-Fi. From Mount Pleasant a bus will come pick you up and drive you to stanley, which will take an hour.
The main mode of transportation is 4x4's. This is due to the rough terrain. They drive on the left side. Stanley is one of the only places that have paved roads. There are gas stations, but very limited in number and location.
Volunteer Point - The home of the largest accesible king penguin colony on the islands.
Historic Dockyard Museum - Features exhibits of the island's history and the 1982 Falkland War.
Battlefield Tours - Pretty self-explanatory I think
Christ Chruch Cathedral - A church in central Stanley with an arch made out of two whale jaws.
Cape Pembroke Lighthouse - A lighthouse near Stanley with coastal views and nearby memorials.
Drink at a local pub - Only if you're above 18 of course.
Memorials - There are plenty of them here.
Take a swim - though i think it might be very cold lol
*Note: I didnt rank these in any way, i just put them in a random order
They use the Falkland Pound, which is synced with the British one. There are plenty of supermarkets and gift shops around. There is one atm on the islands, at the Stanley Services Petrol Station, but is often reported broken. There is a bank however, called the Standard Chartered Bank.
There are plenty of pubs and restaurants, where you can eat at. There are no chains, however, so everthing you see is unique. They have their own brewery, established in 2012. It produces beers like Rockhopper, Iron Lady, Logdon Pride, Black Tarn and Peat Cutter. The beers are named after the islands history and nature, such as Rockhopper (named after the penguins) and Iron Lady (a tribute to Margaret Thatcher). They also LOVE fish and chips, so you can give that a try. They also have their own berries, such as Diddle-Dee (no, i'm not making this up), and Teaberry. They also have their own version of afternoon tea, called Smoko.
Diddle-Dee. Again, i am not making this up
Hotels in the Falkland Islands are VERY expensive. A regular one might cost 200$ per night for one room.
Malvina House Hotel
The Waterfront Botique Hotel
Tu Guesthouse
Lookout Lodge
Shorty's Motel
*note: i didn't rank them after anything, I just put them there in a random order.
There is one hospital, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. It has 29 beds, 18 ER spots, 1 delivery bed, an isolation room and an ICU. It also holds a dentists office, a surgery theater, an ER, physiotherapy, etc. The emergency number is 999. They also have a police station and a fire station.
The internet is very expensive and slow in the Falkland Islands. The internet domain is .fk. There are no submarine cables, just telephone lines, which just adds to it.
You are not allowed to go nearer than 6 meters of thge animals and you are forbidden to disturb or feed them. The sun is also very strong, so you'll need sunscreen even though it's not hot.