Phoebe’s Corner (Falkland Islands!)

Phoebe and mum went by plane to Saunders Island, which is on the North western edge of the Falkland Islands, they stayed in the lodge at The Neck (black hut photo) which is an hour off the road from the settlement on the Island and was basically a shed with bunk beds and lots of mice! In the Lodge they found a penguin suit so obviously they had to put it on to take a photo, it had feet attachments and everything!

Phoebe said there are pros and cons to living on the island, but the pros outweigh the cons, like getting to see a baby albatross, and of course all the penguins!

Phoebe said although they are very isolated on the Falkland Islands, they actually like this as they have been working on their UNI portfolio, so they are quite busy.

The downside of being so isolated is the irregularity of the ships, the next one not being due until the end of March, so they are living off frozen veg and have no bread at all. The thing they miss the most is fresh seafood as surprisingly it is all frozen seafood on the island. The reason being the harbour has E.coli so no one fishes there. The island does get lots of squid fishing boats but crazily it is all sent back to Chile! There is a lot less junk food on the Island, so Phoebe is missing a good fish & chips! The most common fish eaten on the Island is toothfish and it has the texture of lobster. However, they ain’t pretty and can live up to 50 years!

There is loads of beef and lamb on the Island, which is really cheap and fresh, you can get a whole lamb for £40. Most people on the Island are sheep farmers and you can’t drive around the island without passing a cattle grid or having to stop for sheep and geese crossing the road.

There is a lot of wool on the island, and it is super soft, so Phoebe has been doing a lot of arts and crafts including needle felting which is a bit like embroidery but using wool and you stab the fabric rather than stitch. Phoebe has stabbed themselves several times whilst doing this and as the needles are barbed it hurts more. Phoebe has been making sculptures using needle felting. The farm shop has a huge craft section full of paints and sewing stuff, so Phoebe is keeping up with their arts and crafts.

SYP. We do suggest you take a look on google maps and see how isolated Saunders Island and The Neck are, this will give you more of a feel for Phoebe's experiences!

Look out for Phoebe’s next update in next month’s Newsletter!