Falkland Islands unravelled
By Alicia Dunkley-Willis, Jamaica Observer - What does a country with 3,000 people and nearly half a million sheep look like? After 18 hours of flying and trekking through four airports, I was determined to find out.
As the less than full Lan Chile aircraft broke through the clouds on its approach to the sole airport on the Falkland Islands, I struggled to decipher what was below. I allowed my imagination to run wild as I unscrambled the view. The smattering of buildings strategically dotting the landscape with their red, green, brown, and yellow roofs resembled Lego pieces. What were those seemingly huge cracks that snaked through the wild mix of blue, green and sandy hued countryside? I could not tell, but I was about to find out.
It's the kind of place of which novels tell: bleak mornings, elusive sunshine. The sharp, stinging, contrary winds penetrating my Caribbean clothing challenged what I was told upon arriving. The Falkland Islands, a group of 740 islands located in the South Atlantic Ocean was experiencing spring; its winter just ended.
Hills are rare in this country, trees even more so. On a clear day one can see rolling plains for miles — interrupted only by the thorny gorse shrub which reigns supreme. A few pines, lakes, creeks and ponds bravely compete.
Homesteads are far and few between; 35 people to a town is no strange thing.
The remnants of the war fought in 1982 between the British and Argentina after the latter invaded the Islands are still very much a part of the epic brooding landscape with its changing skies and blustery winds. The countryside, where the worst of the battle raged, is alive with history and every now and then an odd trench, then a strategic spot to one platoon or the other, shows up. Inside, a tattered blanket, its original colour long gone, tells a sobering tale. Every now and then, too, a mound bearing a monument appears. The inscription tells of the brave soul that fell at that very spot in service to country.
There is even a place for the Argentine dead who found rest after their Government rejected the offer to have the remains repatriated. It's a well maintained cemetery; a striking sea of white rosary draped crosses on a hill. Some carry names inscribed on the tombstones. Others chillingly say “Soldado Argentino, solo conocido por Dios”. Argentine soldier, known only unto God.
The memorials are thrown into sharper focus as the Islanders prepare to go to the polls in 2013 to define their political status in a referendum.
In this land anything is possible, rivers of stone, called stone runs by scientists, white sand beaches fenced off because of Argentine landmines, penguin colonies, friendly dolphins, and fish in abundance, and personable sheep.
As I'm leaving, this time peering down from my place in the sky, I smile satisfied. Now I know what's down there; sea lions, meandering creeks, old minefields, resilient people, the oldest longest suspension bridge in the world, and penguins that burrow like rabbits and bray like donkeys.
I know what's down there. I do.
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43 comments Feed
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Country? says who?
3000 people? Did the populatuion grow overnight?
2563.
What the heck are you feeding visitors in Malvinas?
This suspension Bridge the most Southern (not longest) suspension bridge in the world:
veronicathepajamathief365project.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/bodie-creek-suspension-bridge-falkland-islands-500x375.jpg?w=529
”Excluding contractors at MPA, the true population figure of the Falkland Islands is 2,563 – indicating that the population has remained static since 2006.
Stanley is home to 2121 people, 75 per cent of the population, an increase of less than 1 per cent since 2006. The population in Camp (areas outside of Stanley) has declined by 3.3 per cent to 351 people”
www.falklands.gov.fk/news/2012/09/headline-results-of-2012-falkland-islands-census-released/
The bridge from start to finish
A small island with 3000 people what's your massive problem with the number of people????
Is the new RG plan to wait until a population declines then walk in. Tried your normal method of invasion but the bigger boys taught you a lesson.
Humiliated in war and on the world scene the RG troll now roams the websites looking for lies to post, for a food parcel and some maximo dollar.
This story is completely and utterly false and designed to line someones pocket not tell the world the truth.
@5 Roasted argie balls!
@7 Not your concern. And there are 62,261,999 Brits that say so. I discounted BK the Faggot.
Really? I found a lot when I walked around the islands, and a few mountains as well.
No mention of the shanties in the wilds covered with masses of honeysuckle or the trees on the west, the black berried Diddle dee between the Mount Adam range and Hill Cove.
What about the Vanilla daisies sending a strong smell of chocolate into the breeze in some locations?
And the not always expected variegated (yellow and green) Elder trees by some of the remote shepherds houses?
Glad to see the stone runs were mentioned.
You say:
“Wow, she really got to the heart of the place. Amazing how you can attain complete understanding of the Falklands by spending a week in Stanley and taking a few battlefield tours.”
I say:
“And Sealed PR really got to the ”heart of the place” by using a 30 years old picture of an Argentinean canon........
Brainwash anybody?
Article says:
“The remnants of the war fought in 1982 between the British and Argentina after the latter invaded the Islands are still very much a part of the epic brooding landscape....”
“The remnants of the war ......... are still very much......”
“Are still very much.....”
“Are still.....”
I say:
The choice of the old picture, by the Sealed PR squatterettes, is quite misleading. (At best)
Besides, this is NOT the pictures appearing at the original article...:
www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Falklands-Islands-unravelled_12713878
Brainwash anybody?
no money no class
hey!.... folkloosers keep the islands you know where...
Hi Sussie - you can change your name as much as you want - but what comes out is always the same childish rubbish.
Sussie, you are the only one on here with a nonsense “rubbishy” post
Isolde is working overtime this week...poor idiot! ....living in those islands....yaaaaak!
Viva Las Vegas!
I very much enjoyed the link you posted. Thank you.
Yup, it's sussie
@18 But it's an accurate picture of argie equipment! That is to say, it's crap. What's your problem? I remember the pictures of the British artillery. That was worth seeing and having. Thing about the argie crap is that the criminal, cowardly faggots liked to site it between civilian homes in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention. Remember, Twinky? Were you cowering in one of the buildings you had painted with Red Crosses? Also in contravention of the Conventions. Because you were, and are, a cowardly faggot!
@19 Another sussie alias. The cheap, diseased whore!
@21 Did you have a problem with the big words?
@23 Back to the crap comments between turning tricks, eh, Sussie?
@25 Of course it's sussie. Bereft of intelligence, abusive, stupid. Be reasonable. She's in a studio. She has computer access for the video. She's got her legs, and probably her mouth, open and she's getting humped! At the rate of 2, or 3, per hour. Could you think of an intelligent, educated, reasonable, meaningful comment? Don't forget that she's regularly taking it up the butt as well. Three at a time? That's where the money is. Argie slags have been known to get as much as US$15 per trick. Triples are cheaper because they like it!
“The oldest? longest? suspension bridge in the world”
I say:
The southernmost, rustiest suspension bridge in the world!
www.simo.ru/la2006/pic/la060317.jpg
And the jealous ,,green with envy throws distraction to cover up their own mess
They do say this Susie impersonator, changes her name more times than a golf ball gets into the rough.
Still, with all that sand paper she uses, perhaps the roughness has now smoothed it a bit,
Perhaps she will buy toilets paper and call it adorable.
You say:
“ Thorny gorse shrub reigns supreme? I don't think so, thankfully.”
I say:
You are right.... it shares its throne with the earwigs and the sheep droppings ;-)
ugh? guess what
I'm briton
the one with the big arse
read my comments...
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?
just a thought
lol
say no more..
jejeje
and its
ge ge ge .
For instance the g wagons that were looted with intention of putting back into service unfrotunatly mercedes refused to service them because argentina hadn't paid for them.
The AA guns went back into service till the cold war ended
One of the chinooks is still flying
An argentine radar is still in use
The SAS used the agusta helicopters till they were worn out.
The armoured cars got used as target practice.
An argentine rifle that came to the uk got used extensivly till we switched over to 5.56 its now in the channel.
“earwigs”
What earwigs?
This “Earwigs”, you turnip“....:
”Earwigs cause huge damage to garden crops (turnips etc.)”
www.epd.gov.fk/wp-content/uploads/9.1%20Biological%20control%20of%20Europrean%20earwig.pdf
Chuckle chuckle©
Last I heard, sheep droppings were not counted as an invasive species.
Maybe not a species, certainly invasive......, but dangerous as hell for Pom tourists that don't know that you are supposed to wash your hands before eating;-)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3541919/More-than-160-mountain-bikers-made-sick-by-sheep-droppings.html
well said
.... oink..oink...oink ...and... your drip drip drip
on the other blog you blame others for insulting you,
and what do you go and do.
seems to me, you need a rougher dand paper and a plumber,
all those drips.
“... oink..oink...oink ”
That is how Abhorrible Sussie talks with CFK
poor argies .
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