Racing to the Point

Last week, we took a walk in the sun to the lovely Gypsy Cove around the corner from Stanley. It’s our regular walk, just to cheer ourselves up and got see some penguins waddle around for a quick bit of the outdoors. It’s also quite a good indicator, in the tumultuous Falklands weather, for exactly what time of year we currently are in:

Competition time for the regulars: what kind of bird is it?

Han sunbathing…in a down jacket…

Night herons returning to nest

The return of the beautiful night herons to their nesting site at the Cove signalled that we were indeed in the Spring. Half term also helped to remind us of that so, as is so often the case with school holidays, it was time to head out to Camp to enjoy what the Falklands has to offer. We went with some friends to Race Point farm, in the far North-East of East Falkland. It takes about 2 hours to drive there, depending on the condition of the un-surfaced road, which can depend on a whole host of things.

Race Point is seen as ‘a taste of the West’, with some beautiful, hilly scenery overlooking San Carlos Water similar to that found on the West Island. Given that and the fact that the farm also hosts the other landing site of Fanning Head from 1982, the detritus of conflict is still present as with so much of the Islands:

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The one thing that this trip did allow is something I’ve only touched on over the years. Often we judge places by what they have: infrastructure, connectivity and other aspects of modern life. I could go a lot deeper and comment on how this reflects the materialism of our society, but that’s not the purpose of this particular blog. Instead, think about the ABSENCE of some things and how they could be a good thing.

Take, for example, a place LACKING in lots of things. A place LACKING large structures. A place LACKING in urban areas, infrastructure and connectivity. That also might mean a place LACKING in pollution, of the air and light. That place is somewhere that has clear, open skies and wide, uninterrupted views. That’s the kind of place a camera can be handy. I’ve been trying to capture the night here for a while now, but I’ve not always had the right gear on me to experiment (DSLR & tripod). Night time out in Camp is truly dark! It’s easy to forget what that means in some countries. Some nights, we’ve been outside and had it so pitch black that your hand in front of your face is completely invisible. Some nights, the skies offer an unbelievable view of the solar system and a star-gazing opportunity not to be missed. I’ve tried to capture the darkness (and lights) of the night over the weekend and the results from about midnight were these:I’m quite pleased with them so far, but I know there’s more scope for these photos on future trips to Camp to offer a new insight on it. Still, you can see why we like to spend nights away and in the outdoors.