Click To Go Back To The Main www.GlenStephens.com Stamps Homepage
Welcome! You are visitor
to www.GlenStephens.com
|
Click a smiley to make www.GlenStephens.com your default homepage when you open computer!
|
|
|
From Falkland Penguins . . . to a Riot In Rio!
Firstly
welcome to the ‘real’ Millennium to all my clients. Hope you and yours had a relaxed & peaceful Festive
break. This year my annual visit to
places unusual for Christmas and New Year involved many long flights, covering over 35,000 miles. ( 56,000 km)
Off on the 14 hour flight to the USA,
to LAX and then to Dallas Texas. Got
stuck there when flying to Chicago due to the massive snow dumps and chill that
hit - was 40º below freezing when I got to Chicago,
and even ‘warm’
Atlanta had a 4” snow dump. Finally
made it after changing airlines and after some rest flew to Miami,
and then the long 8½ hour flight to Santiago
Chile.
Chile
is one of the more ‘developed’ of the South American countries.
First ‘welcome’ is a flat $US30 (then $A60) cash entry fee.
We are one of 3 such ‘honored’ countries - thank you Mr. Downer.
(Canadians pay $US55.) Visited
a lovely old historic winery outside town … Cocha y Toro with a 200 year old
wine cellar to die for. The
smog in Santiago (pop 5½m) is terrible – eyes red and runny the entire time.
Had dinner there with an old client who is the USA Consul-General for
Chile. He and his wife had just
visited the previous month the same areas in Falklands I was about to fly to,
so had some great info. Then
a 2 hour Lan Chile flight to pretty Puerto Montt in the Andean Lakes region,
dominated by a large snow capped mountain.
Superb seafood ….
slabs of grilled fresh Salmon is cheaper than pizza or hamburger!
Took a day trip to Chiloe Island, the 3rd oldest settled area
in the country. Another long flight
south to Puntas Arenas in the Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego
‘tip’ of the continent region where I’d caught my icebreaker to
Antarctica a year earlier. Then the once weekly over-water flight to the remote
Falkland Islands on December 23.
I have
never visited an entire country before having NO traffic lights!
A fanatically loyal to Britain outpost of about 2,000 people … spread
over 420 islands. On the entire West Falklands group there are less than
100 residents (I heard 68!) tour lodges included.
First sighted it is surmised by Amerigo Vespucci about 500 years ago,
the Falklands is a very wild and windswept place ... even in summer.
There are NO natural trees whatever,
so is very barren looking. Why
they do not plant masses of Tasmanian Blue Gums (Euc.Globulus) is a mystery to
me … they’d thrive. I
suggested this to various locals and all gave me blank looks.
My next scheme!
Spent
first night there at charming Darwin House – once a settlement of 200 people,
now down to 4. One lands via
Lan Chile at Mount Pleasant Airport (MPA).
This is the ONLY commercial flight into the Falklands.
This was rolling farmland in 1982.
It is now a MASSIVE jungle green painted British military self contained
‘town’. MPA is understood
to have cost Maggie Thatcher’s British government about one BILLION $A.
Even now it is on full alert, and a squadron of Tornado fighters can be
scrambled and airborne in minutes. A
fleet of 747s could land here. To
this day MPA houses as many military as there are Falklanders.
A camouflaged soldier collects your baggage.
A sign tells new arrivals you are entering an area subject strictly to
the “British Official Secrets Act”.
Darwin
was occupied by the Argentine military during the infamous 1982 conflict.
The historic and bitterly fought Battle Of
Goose Green took place a 5 minute walk from where I stayed.
The tomb of Colonel H. Jones lies where he was cut down by enemy machine
gun fire. He is one of only 4
Britons to have been awarded a
Victoria
Cross
in the past 55 years.
From Darwin a wobbly flight on the tiny local airline FIGAS,
in a 6 seater, to Pebble Island to spend Christmas - the most northerly
settled of the Falklands.
Some
21,000 acres and 21 miles long, it
is home to just 4 adults. And
VAST numbers of penguins, seals and
marine birdlife … all readily visited by Land Rover. One huge Rockhopper penguin colony is 1¼ miles inland
for no good reason – nature is strange! Christmas
there with a few tourists was a fun experience.
One of the fellow guests was Mike Meade from Stanley,
who designs many Falkland stamps. His
current ‘Bridges’ set I used on postcards to friends … all autographed by
Mike! The earliest military action
of the ‘conflict’ took place on Pebble Island.
A handful of crack SAS paratroopers landed and destroyed by surprise
attack a squadron of Argentinean fighter jets based there on the peat moors.
I visited remains of shot down Argy jets that are still strewn on the
hillsides. The day I flew out,
a squad of ‘armed-to-the-teeth’
British military with huge packs boarded a massive Sikorsky
chopper from the same paddock we were to take off from minutes later. They’d camped outside overnight in the cold on a
‘routine patrol’.
From
Pebble Island, another wobbly FIGAS
flight to Sea Lion Island via Fox Bay (for a century the only other PO on the
Falklands) and Carcass Island. The
tiny planes take off and land on flattish peat
bog areas, often amid scary near
gale-force crosswinds. Pax and bags
(max 14kg) are weighed. The entire
pax list and destinations are broadcast ‘nationally’ each evening on the
radio station. No secrets possible
in THIS country! I saw no TV
of any kind for a week.
Sea Lion Island
is the most
southerly populated island … inhabited by one local and a few Chilean staff.
One of the fellow guests was one of the ‘council’ of 4 locals +
Governor etc who effectively run the islands.
He deputised as a fine tour guide!
One English/Austrian couple were married here 2 years back,
and were among the guests, as
well as 2 Norwegians, a South
African and a few Brits.
The
wildlife you see on these remote islands like Sea Lion is astounding.
Many, many 1,000s of nesting
penguins. From the wacky
Magellanic (‘Jackass’) who burrow well inland into the peat,
to the huge massed colonies of Rockhoppers and Gentoos who allow you to
walk right up to and around their funny little nests.
All were sitting on eggs or ‘chicks’… some of whom were size of the
parents. Other species accidentally
end up in these colonies, especially
the distinctive Macaroni, and the
very colouful and elegant King Penguins.
The Kings were my main reason for visiting the Falklands,
and I saw plenty of them close-up. Even
saw a crested penguin of which only 4 have even been recorded on the islands. Vast colonies of Blue Eyed Cormorants (shags)
also nest here, and also allow you to walk right up to them.
Also nesting Peregrine Falcons, Skuas,
(hiss, boo) Giant Petrels,
Red Backed Hawks, and the amazingly cunning Johnny Rooks, and of course 1,000s of Upland Geese and ducks etc.
I stood atop a huge vertical cliff watching how the Rockhoppers got their
name. Huge churning waves hurled
them violently onto the cliff face like corks.
Yes they somehow survived being crushed and leapt onto the wet totally
vertical cliffs and literally ‘hopped’ up to their nests 200 feet up.
Later waves mostly washed them off half way up,
so off it started all over again.
A few 100 yards away was the flat sandy beaches the Gentoos and
Magellanics all happily used.
Weird!
Sea
Lion Island has of course large colonies of these large creatures.
I’d seen females and pups before but never the huge males, who with
their large furry ‘manes’ indeed do resemble their African namesakes.
They guard their harems and pups … who are born each day this time of
year. Island
also has large colonies of Elephant Seals …
the large nose proboscis of the males giving them their name.
They just flop on the beaches in large groups and you can walk right up
to and through them.
From
Port Stanley, took a day tour to
Sparrow Cove by boat and Land Rover. Only
30 minutes from Stanley you can see all FIVE major penguin species that inhabit
the islands ...
the only place this is possible. The
beaches around Stanley, indeed the
entire area from the MPA airport to town was (and still is)
heavily mined by the Argentineans. For
this they mostly used small flat grey plastic mines the size of a bagel.
These blow off a foot or leg when a human steps on them.
Or a cow, as many maimed 3
legged beasts can sadly testify. No
metal parts, so conventional
‘mine-sweeping’ does not work. The
panicking Argy’s did not keep detailed records in the end.
Thus after nearly 20 years the beaches and farmland near Stanley are
often fenced strictly off limits with red skull and crossbone ‘Danger –
Mines’ signage, which is terribly
sad. In Stanley I had
breakfast with the Falkland Islands’ only stamp dealer Phil Middleton. He has a shop chock full of stamps, FDC, coins,
proofs, notes etc,
all related to the Falklands ... very impressive.
Falklands issues its own coins 1p to £1 (Gold to £150) and notes £5-£50
which circulate alongside Sterling. Both
are interchangeable.
Flew
from Port Stanley via the MPA military base via the totally chaotic hands of Lan
Chile again. Why Latin airlines
take 10 times longer to do most things than in the West I never have understood,
but they do. At Puerto Montt,
they were overbooked by 10 pax on a 737.
Half the plane had boarding passes issued for seats allocated to others.
Total chaos. I swear it took
a team of these jabbering yo-yos 60 minutes to accurately count the passengers
on board, that I could have done in
5 minutes. Oh well,
welcome back to South America! This
is my seventh visit I think, so you
get used to it. Then to Santiago
and the stupid $US20 cab ride 30 mins to downtown (each way) as these
visionaries have never built an airport hotel.
Then a Varig flight to Rio de Janeiro via Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo city has a population larger than AUSTRALIA …
about 20 million. The state of Rio
de Janeiro at about 16m is also nearly as populous as Australia. Brazil is nearly the size of the USA in area, and has a
population not far behind the USA. Big
place.
I
visited
Iguassu Falls both sides for Christmas Day last year.
The Brazilian Embassy in Sydney is THE rudest, slowest and most expensive I’ve ever come across … make
that TWO years in a row. A
‘30 day’ Visa by mail costs $A112.50 – plus return courier cost.
Cash or bank cheque only … no change given.
They got shirty with me as I did not produce 6 months of past bank
statements …. ‘how do we know you’ll not overstay your VISA’. (!!)
To leave Brazil costs $A70 so you have about $A200 in fees and MUCH agro
to visit there. Talking to other
tourists, airline staffers,
and people in other Embassies, Brazil
consuls seem to have a Gestapo like reputation worldwide,
which is a real shame, as
the country has SO much to offer tourists.
Rio De Janiero rivals Sydney and Vancouver as THE most scenically
beautiful major city on earth. Try
and fly into the downtown Santos Dumont airport (not Galileo) –
see beaches, bays,
stunning green hills, parks,
islands beautifully spread out below you … all in the central city.
RIO
for
New Year’s Eve is WORTH paying the $200 in nasty taxes to experience.
The ‘Reveillon’ experience is matched nowhere else on earth,
and this is coming from a man who has spent NYE someone different for 30
years – including Salvador (Bahia) in northern Brazil.
The place just goes NUTS! Two
million people pack Copacabana Beach … nearly all dressed in WHITE –
stunning sight. Fun and
exciting. The fireworks are not just nearby – they explode right above your head. Millions of them ... massive starbursts and cannons,
and for about 20 minutes. NOTHING
else comes close. Fun,
warm, exciting.
Watching CNN and BBC World on TV beforehand at 11pm was amazing.
First as always was Sydney (looked
great!) then the zones moved to
Japan, China,
Europe – the latter 3 all
in sub-zero weather. Then a few
hours later New York. (Same weather!)
I had a hotel room overlooking Copacabana Beach.
1000s of firecrackers going off all afternoon.
Everyone smiling and partying – wonderful. If you want to go somewhere really exciting this NYE, or ANY
NYE, … pick
Rio. Yes,
the Hotels are double/triple usual rates.
Yes, the embassy here is rude and expensive, but you still will never regret it. I may even go back next NYE.
A wonderful experience.
Rio
is fun, and very CHEAP once there,
since the currency devaluation. The
modern a/cond. bus from Galileo It’l with lovely airline seats and loo etc
costs $US2 each way, for an 80
minute trip ... a virtual city tour! All
local bus services are $A1 a ride regardless of distance. There are more buses than people in Rio - you have NO idea!
Walking along Copacabana and Ipanema beaches on NY day was an experience.
The women wear ‘Bikinis’ known locally as ‘Dental Floss’.
(So do many men!) Hot, Hot,
Hot weather. No-one swims more than 10 yards offshore on either
famous beach – bizarre for an Aussie to see.
Food and drink VERY cheap. A beer right on a waiter service beachfront Copacabana
café is $A1.50-$2. A meal
about $A10-15 or so. The two cable
cars ride up to central Sugarloaf mountain is fun, and the view of the city is stunning from there.
Better still is the 21 minute, 3.8km
funicular cog railway ride through the amazingly tropical Tijuca Forest to the
top of Corcovado statue mountain. This
huge 38 m high ‘Christ The Redeemer’ statue dominates the city,
and the view from up here is sensational. A MUST.
From
Rio, a sad farewell,
and boarded the 13½ hour flight (via Sao Paulo) to New York’s JFK.
From +100º weather to minus whatever,
plus wind and snow! 800 NYC
flights had been cancelled on Saturday. The
very cheapest ‘Day Rate’ hotel for 5 hours cost $A200.
A glass of undrinkable corked house wine was
$A20 etc. ‘Welcome To New York’!
Delayed take off NYC to LAX due to snow and wing/fuselage ‘de-icing’
so missed the LAX-SYD direct flight and RAN to just get the daily LAX-MEL, and was last on board. (This
actually is the world’s longest daily non-stop flight – 15+
hours.) Some fun arrival in
MEL with bags in SYD in customs ... the ‘joys’ of USA weather! Back to the grindstone to be faced with 600 emails and
masses of letters+faxes+phone
messages. The houseminders do NOT
action any of this for 3 weeks, so
your patience is appreciated.
My new list A-3
is just posted on website and mailed out.
Please spend recklessly … VISA card bill for the 4 minute
in-plane satellite ‘Airphone’ call to houseminders re my late arrival just
arrived - $US40, or $A80 with taxes etc!
Ouch. Happy New Year again to all.
Also finally,
a warning to all.
The same VISA card arrived with a 4 page account,
covering 100s of charges from Rio. Hairdressers,
beauty salons, gas stations, steak houses, computer
stores etc. Totalled
nearly $20,000 as my credit limit is high. Only problem is, the
charges started a week after
I LEFT the
country!! Someone had faked my
card, and had a LOVELY time with
it. NEVER let your card out of your
sight in these sort of countries. They
had a great spending spree with MY money.
Well, with my bank’s money actually,
as they have picked up the cost,
as they agree MY name is not Jose Magdeleros … the name on the bogus
card.
|
|
Instant
Currency Conversion
FREE!
Just click here...
If you would like to be
notified of updates to this website,
Click
HERE. If have any questions,
or comments regarding my site, please email me at
glen@glenstephens.com
|
Search all my 300+ web pages! Simply type in what you are looking for. "Penny Black", "Latvia", "Imprints", "Morocco", "Fungi" "Year Books", etc! Using quotes ( " ) is more accurf used with no quotes. Search is NOT case sensitive. Tip - keep the search word singular - "Machin" yields far more matches than "Machins" etc. |
I am a Dealer Member in Good
Standing Of:
Full Time Stamp Dealer in Australia for over 25 years.
Life Member - American Stamp Dealers' Association. (New York)
Also Member of: Philatelic Traders' Society. (London)
ANDA. (Melbourne) American Philatelic Society, etc
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Time and Temp in Sunny Sydney! |
 |
 |
||
|
|
|||
 |
 |
Instant Currency Conversion
![Universal Currency Converter](3http://currency.xe.net/gen/illegal2copy.gif"){kind=small}
FREE! Just click
here...
E-mail me at glen@glenstephens.com -
Every credit card shown is
accepted WITHOUT fee.
Earn Frequent Flier points while buying at bargain prices!
ALL prices are in weak Ozzie Dollars. I charge NO nasty, nasty
"Buyer's Commission" on stamps like nearly every "Auction" does.
