At 7:45 we were picked by Sue who drove us to the local airport. The state run FIGAS (Falkland Island Government Air Service) runs a shuttle service to several locations around the Falklands on demand depending on who wants to go where. There is no fixed schedule. After 45 minutes we landed on the airstrip in front of the lodge at Sea Lion Island. After getting some information from our host we were on our way to explore the island which is only a few kilometers across.
The first thing we noticed was a penguin colony close to the lodge, in fact, we could see them from our room. As we followed the path the were more penguins ans several species of birds. Because of the wind we decided to have our packed lunch in the lodge and then start the longer walk to the HMS Sheffield memorial. We found a sheltered spot to sit in the sun close to yet another penguin colony, this time they were rockhoppers. After a while they just walked very close to us as if they knew they had nothing to fear from us.
We walked back to the lodge, had a short rest and then hiked about 1 kilometer to a beach where we saw penguins return from the ocean. Near the beach were some seals and elephant seals. Tomorrow we will go back for a closer look.
By the time we got back dinner was almost ready.
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