I can't believe we have been in the Falkland Islands nearly two months already! Not sure where the time has gone.

I guess the first thing to say is that we are absolutely loving it here. We are both so happy and enjoying the way of life here. Both of us have settled into our jobs and are both loving them. Yesterday someone said my job was the "best job on the islands" and I can't really disagree at the moment. Everyone I work with has been amazingly friendly and supportive and the same is true for Madeleine.

When we first arrived and got out of quarantine we went into Stanley to explore. I popped into the office where I would be starting work a few days later to introduce myself. My boss said she would not be around when I started as she would be off counting penguins (as part of a seabird monitoring programme). She then asked if I would like to go along - so the first few days out of quarantine were spent counting penguins! It was a great experience, especially as it was our first time seeing penguins, and meant that we got to see parts of the islands that we might not have seen otherwise (and I say we as Madeleine also came penguin counting)

A small selection of the MANY Gentoo penguin photos I took while doing the counts:

Gentoo Penguin with Chick Gentoo Penguin with Chick Gentoo Penguin with Chick Gentoo Penguin with Chick

Close to our house (about 90 mins walk although we are often able to get a lift - no car yet) is a beach called Yorke Bay. It is absolutely magical and on sunny days looks tropical. A couple of weeks ago it felt tropical too as we had a nice sunny weekend during which we took a visit there with our cameras. Rarely for the Falkland Islands it was also nice and calm. The beach is home to loads of different penguin species and we were able to see 3 different species there (Gentoo, King and Megallanic)

So I said that I was enjoying my job. A couple of weeks into the job I was invited to take part in some fieldwork doing surveys on various deserted islands around East Falkland. Couldn't really say no to four days on a yacht travelling around visiting deserted islands. It was AMAZING!! I can't believe I get to experience things that others would pay lots money for and I get paid for it!! I do keep thinking I will wake up from a dream at some point! We saw so much wildlife I can't put all my photos here (but will upload them to website soon!) so here are just a few:

One thing that has been noticeable since we arrived is how busy we have been! We bought lots of books and things to do with us thinking we would have loads of spare time. As it is we have met lots of lovely people and always seem to be doing things. There is lots going on here and loads of different activities to get involved in. Most weekends there is something going on and we generally go out at least two evenings a week with friends we have met. Because Stanley is not that big everyone is within walking distance meaning that it is easy to arrange meeting up. Anyway I'm sure there are loads of things I have missed out and I really need to post here more often as there is so much more to say about this wonderful place! In summary we are both REALLY happy here. One last picture of a penguin - this time a rockhopper penguin. Bye for now and if you enjoyed reading (or didn't!) please do leave comments.