FALKLAND ISLANDS. FROM A PHOTO TO A DREAM
This journey began for me, one winter afternoon when, sitting in the living room of my house I leafed through the book GENESIS by Sebastiao Salgado. Suddenly I saw his photos of the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys), and I was detained in the time. For a long time I looked at them and then I said to myself, “I want to travel there and I want to be among everyone”. As it is not easy to get to Steeple Jason Island, where he took some of his magnificent photographs among more than 440,000 Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys), I thought of going to West Falkland Island, which also has thousands of these birds nesting on its steep cliffs. That afternoon my trip to the Falkland Islands began and after a year and a half, I was able to be there, along with other photographers who helped me to make my dream possible.
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago of South America, located in the Argentine Sea and make up of just over two hundred islands. Of all these islands, the main ones are the East Falkland Island to the east, and the West Falkland Island to the west. Northwest of West Falkland Island is Saunders Island, which is the second largest island in this archipelago and is the site of the first human settlement in the late 18th century. BirdLife International classifies it as an important area for birds. Its geographical variety and its isolated situation allow the Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus), the King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), the Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua), the Falkland Steamer Duck (Tachyeres brachypterus), the Kelp Goose (Chloephaga hybrid malvinarum), the Ruddy-headed Goose (Chloephaga rubidiceps), the White-bridled Finch (Melanodera melanodera) and many other birds settle on the wide coasts, which are sometimes also visited by photographers and cameramen. The Imperial Cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps), the Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) and thousands of Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) nest on the rocky slopes of the cliffs forming large breeding colonies. All of them besieged by their predators, the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) and Brown Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus), who daily harass parents to steal eggs and chicks. We decided that this site would be the starting point of our trip. We also wanted to photographically work with the King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus). For this, we decided that the other place where we would stay for a couple of days would be northeast of East Falklands Island, in a place called Volunteer Point.
After long preparations and inquiries, we started the trip in December 2018, Southern Hemisphere summertime, crossing Argentina from north to south from different parts of the country to Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz. From there we flew to the Mount Pleasant airport located on East Falklands Island, where a small plane from the Falkland Government Air Service (FIGAS) was waiting for us, which transported us approximately 120 kilometers from east to west towards West Falklands Island. After almost an hour of flight, the Pole-Evans family, administrators of that Saunders Island where they mainly practice sheep farming, received us. We stop by a small supply store to buy some last-minute things and continue overland for another 16 kilometers to our destination called “The Neck.” In this place there is an isthmus of sand that serves as a refuge and reproductive place for various species of seabirds.
Once we reached “The Neck,” we were taken to a place where a big rock would be our only refuge. Near the big rock, we set up our tents and arranged our food boxes away from the sight of the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis), who kept flying over us to steal food. A kilometer from the camp, there was a place where there was a radio equipment for emergency communications and an electrical supply to charge the camera batteries.
That afternoon there wasn’t much time left, so I took some photos near the camp and stayed, until the sun went down, looking at the place. I still couldn’t believe the privilege of being there, just two kilometers from the huge colonies of Black-browed Albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) that I had come to look for and where my next three days would be.
The first night the absence of common sounds was surprising, only the squawking of birds was heard; the noise of the wind that lashed our tents; the screech of the gas jug where we gently heated an empty can of pears that contained a frozen block of chicken curry; the rubbing of our clothes. Everything was immensity, darkness, and also a lot of peace.
At 4am I was awakened by the alarm clock; it was a cold and wet morning that invited me to continue sleeping, but when I opened the closing of the tent, the colors of dawn made me jump out of my sleeping bag. In a few minutes, I was walking along the coast towards the colony, with hardly a slice of bread with jam and a drink in my backpack for later. I couldn’t stop taking photos, the reflections of Blackish Oystercatcher (Haematopus ater), Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua), Falkland Steamer Duck (Tachyeres brachypterus) and Brown Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus) on the wet sand painted with the first light of dawn captivated me the first two hours.
After traveling the nearly two kilometers of white sand on the isthmus in just over two hours, I began to climb the steep northern slopes of Mount Richards. When I reached the top, my surprise was indescribable; there were hundreds of Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) in their nests, small mounds of mud, precariously balanced on the steep coastal slopes where they are built. They share the space with Imperial Cormorants (Phalacrocorax atriceps) and Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome), who at that time looked after their newborn chicks. For some time I could not take photos; just contemplate, as everything was much more beautiful than I imagined. After the stupor, I sat down to study them and gradually became one more member of the neighborhood. They stopped noticing my presence and I started taking photos as they continued with their lives, their courtships, their rhythms.
So I was able to photograph them as they floated in midair, capturing their courtship dances, their fights, their dynamics, their gaze. I was obsessed with the special design of the feathers that contoured his eyes. I had decided before traveling to take macro photos of those feathers immortalizing their eyes, for which I had to work very close to these birds, after they left me in complicity, to approach them.
The three days on the Saunders Islands were very intense. We were most of the day taking photos of the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) in its colonies; of the Kelp Goose (Chloephaga hybrid malvinarum) that grazed placidly with their young in the intertidal zone; of the Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) gracefully descending and jumping between the rocks of the steep coasts. It was also beautiful to see the Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) when feeding its chicks, attentive to the Brown Skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus antarcticus) and Striates Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) who tried to steal the chicks, and the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura falklandica) that flew over the coasts, to feed on everything they found available.
When the midday light was very bright, we stopped for a bite to eat and rest. I remember one of the times I fell asleep inside the store after lunch and woke up hours later with so much heat that I went down to the shore and took a dip in the sea. The water was crystal clear and a deep turquoise color that differed from the Caribbean Sea only by its icy temperature. When I was about to leave, a group of big fish began to swim around me. Being suddenly surrounded by these dolphins, seeing them jump and swim around me was impossible, I just regretted not having the camera at the time, I could only record in my mind what I was experiencing.
On the fourth day, we left for Stanley city. First by land and then by plane to the city, where we could bathe, collect more food for the next days of camping, and regain our strength by sleeping in a comfortable hotel bed.
Early in the morning, we were picked up by all-terrain vehicles and traveling about 80 km our next destination. The last kilometers must be done on very difficult roads, crossing streams and peat bogs, so it takes more than two hours to reach our new destination, Volunteer Point. It is a peninsula with an impressive white sand beach, which supports about 3,000 King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), 7,000 Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) and many Magellanic Penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), among other birds. It is a privately owned nature reserve that has a refuge equipped with bathrooms, dining room, and kitchen where to prepare food, charge equipment batteries, and shelter from inclement weather.
In this place where we camped for two days, we had a storm of strong winds. I was hoping that this would be able to capture different images, where the white sand would veil the figures that clean the environment of the objects, in addition to irremediably entering ears, nose, mouth, eyes and in every corner of the equipment that should be protected. We also had a night with heavy rains hitting our tents, but it stopped at first light, leaving a very freezing and wet morning, where the mist took over the landscape and allowed us to create beautiful photos. These weather complications are such when we are on vacation, but if you plan to take photos they become blessings because they create a special and unique environment.
On the afternoon of the sixth day they came looking for us, when I saw the all-terrain vehicles that would take us back, I was overwhelmed by the tremendous sadness of thinking that it was time to go back and leave this wild and wonderful place behind. I was only consoled by the idea of having thousands of photos with me, which would allow me to relive every moment.
My experience in the Falklands Island was extraordinary, it is a site that still remains with an almost unchanged, intact ecosystem, where you can take photos all day without any concern, with a geography that is very easy to walk, friendly birds and incredible landscapes.
I got there inspired by a photo that pushed me to live this experience. I hope that some of my photos inspire others to travel to this magical place to be able to smell, feel, live, and see the wonders that inhabit this archipelago.
Finally, it only remains for me to say that none of this would have been possible, without my photo-friends Darío Podestá, Dante Apaza and José Ramírez, whom I thank infinitely for joining this shared dream.
