On a wildlife sighting trip to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland islands on board the MV Hondius, the Falklands were my last stops. After the immense highlights of Antarctica and South Georgia, I continued to be rewarded with a mix of new experiences – and a bit of history about one war.
Note: The MV Hondius became notorious for a hantavirus outbreak in April / May 2026. As of this writing the passengers and crew have been flown home.
Iceberg A23a
After four days of unbelievable wildlife sightings in South Georgia, the ship headed towards the Falkland Islands. “A23a”, once the largest iceberg in the world at 4000 square km, was somewhere on our route. Guests on Hondius were woken up with an announcement at 3.30 AM to see this bit of landscape. A23a broke off from Antarctica in 1986, but was grounded not far from its place of origin for 34 years, keeping it cold and largely intact. As it moved northward into warmer waters, it had been progressively disintegrating, with an area of “only” 1182 square kilometres as of January 2026, when I saw it. After a few minutes adjusting to the darkness outside the ship, there was enough light to make out the iceberg and to see how it stretched across the horizon. Even if one were to see it in good light, it would be hard to comprehend an iceberg of this size. It could be a rectangle of roughly 30km x 40km in length and breadth. Its height, visible above the water, was greater than that of Hondius. If it rose a hundred metres above the water, the submerged portion could be another kilometre downward. All of this was challenging to appreciate while one was deprived of sleep and light in the wee hours.
As of May 2026, 40 years after it broke off the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, A23a has almost completely disintegrated.
The Falklands War (“Guerra de las Malvinas”)
The day we saw A23a, the expedition crew set up a screening of the documentary, “The Falklands War: The Untold Story”, interviewing British and Argentinian soldiers who fought in the war of 1982, presenting a critical view of the British military actions in the war. The Falkland Islands had a primarily English-speaking population governed by a British-appointed governor in 1982, with a certain level of self-government. Over the preceding four decades, the British Empire had crumbled, with the UK giving up many of its colonies, including India. When the generals ruling Argentina decided to invade the Falklands, they may have thought well of their chances. They signalled their intentions adequately for the British military to inform their prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Argentina then invaded the Falklands as well as South Georgia.
The British people and their government may or may not have cared about these distant islands prior to the Argentinian action. However, if Britain had not responded, this would have strengthened all of Argentina’s claims to remote islands and areas of Antarctica also claimed by Britain. If Britain had not responded militarily, it would have given license to anybody to have a go at the other far flung island colonies where Britain had not placed military bases. Thatcher swiftly sent a fleet of ships to retake the Falkland Islands, 13,000km away. There were casualties on both sides, but Britain won the war 74 days after the invasion began. Thatcher’s reputation as the Iron Lady was burnished and her party dominated the next election in the UK. Britain gave Falklands Islanders British citizenship thereafter.
Stanley & Gypsy Cove
For the first time since I set foot on Hondius, I disembarked wearing my own shoes rather than the Oceanwide-provided boots. Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, is permanently inhabited, with a population of 3000. Before seeing the town proper, I took a bus to Gypsy Cove, a few kilometres away. The bus company offered return trips for £10.
Doing the cliffside walk at Gypsy Cove, I saw a magellanic penguin dramatically staring out to sea at the beach down below. At the end of the normal walking route, I discovered a longer route that continued along the coast by myself. On this route I saw penguin burrows with chicks in them. There were also Falkland flightless streamer ducks, upland geese and a white-bridled finch. For the second time since I boarded the Hondius, after the graveyard in Grytviken, I was the only human around for hundreds of metres, seeing and hearing only birds in the vicinity.
I found my way to a road. As I returned to the stop where the bus had dropped me off, I encountered a number of birds that would spend some time on the ground, including Falklands thrush, correndera pipits and two-banded plovers, one of which was protecting two chicks.
Back in Stanley, it quickly became clear that the identity of the islands was strongly defined by the Falklands War that took place 44 years prior. The Anglican cathedral had a book open to a page commemorating the three Falklands Islanders who died in the War. A signboard on the window of a wooden building proclaimed that Argentinians would be welcome to the Falklands once they dropped their claims of sovereignty over the islands. The red British telephone boxes were prominently visible in tourist areas. Most important and non-performative was the fact that the locals spoke in English with English accents.
A note to Argentinians 
Remembrance to 3 local women who died in the war 
Whalebone statue at a church 
Iconic British telephone booths 
Falklands stamps – tourists like to send “end of the world” postcards 
British Antarctic Territory-stamped mail supposedly has to be stamped in a particular location; they take longer to arrive 
War memorial
The museum was supposed to be closed on Mondays, but it opened for us. It turned out that there was another Falklands Battle in 1914, between Britain and Germany. The museum did a great job of documenting British involvement in the Falklands as well as Falklanders’ connection with British culture. It was a subtle education (indoctrination, if you will) to visitors that the Falklands were British and not Argentinian. There were also more overt exhibits that covered Falklanders’ perspectives on the war, in which English-speaking Islanders bluntly stated that they did not want to deal with Argentinians or speak in Spanish. It probably did not help that the Argentinians came to the Islands and pointed guns at the locals. The local government held a referendum in 2013 about whether voters supported the continuation of the Falklands’ status as an Overseas Territory of the UK. 99.8% voted yes.
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New Island
Our last expedition stop was New Island, a privately-owned natural reserve set up by Ian Strange, a conservationist. We hiked from a sheltered beach to a cliff edge on the other side of the island. As we approached the cliff edge, we were hit by a stench so rank that some of the party decided they could only handle it for only a couple of minutes, regardless the prize.
At the edge, being sprayed by saltwater that climbs tens of metres from sea level, we encountered a tri-species breeding colony of rockhopper penguins, black-browed albatrosses and imperial shags. Beside the tiny penguins and the shags, the albatrosses were huge. Chicks of all three species are little fluffballs. The three species seemed to coexist well, but one occasionally saw something peck at another. Their bigger concerns would be the skuas and striated caracaras which would try to make a meal of their eggs and chicks.
The view from Argentina
After 19 days on board, the Hondius guests disembarked in Ushuaia, having made great memories and perhaps a few friends as well. Ushuaia is the southernmost town of Argentina and a port town, making it a good starting point for trips to Antarctica. My first visit was almost three weeks prior, as I had flown in after my trip through northern Argentina. The dramatically different climate and high, snow-covered mountains provided a strong contrast to the red rock canyons of Salta and Jujuy. Today it is clearly a tourist town, with statues of prisoners working on the local railroad prominent among its attractions. I also came across gardens with flowers in bloom all over.
One encounters plenty of monuments to Las Islas Malvinas, the Spanish name for The Falkland Islands. The name that one uses may indicate whether the writer prefers English or Spanish, but it may also indicate their view on whom the islands belong to. Ushuaia has a large statue describing itself as the capital of the Malvinas. I am not interested in assessing competing British and Argentinian claims to the Falklands. What one may understand from English language content about the Falklands War, is that that timing of the war was intended by Argentina’s military dictatorship to bolster national support for their government while their economy collapsed. After their defeat in the war, the dictatorship fell and Argentina held democratic elections. That this transition happened is a fact, but not my endorsement of one form of government over the other. Argentine history is rich with examples of what can go wrong with both forms of government and with the economic systems they have attempted over the years.
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My last adventure in the area was a hike to Laguna Esmeralda, a lake near Ushuaia. The hike was ridiculously muddy for a dry day; I can’t imagine how it would be on a wet one. Snowy mountains loomed in the background when I was not walking through trees covered in wispy parasitic grass-like growths. Eventually I got to the beautiful turquoise lake with mountains in the backdrop. I took a dip in the water. I encountered a beautiful bird called the crested caracara at the lake.
Signing off
My time in the Falklands and Ushuaia capped off a fantastic month of travel with more wildlife and history. I do not come away with insights on how we can all live together in peace – this is not a takeaway from the streets of Stanley, those of Ushuaia or the nesting colony on New Island. As I write this piece, I have landed in The Maldives. This new trip was affected by ongoing wars in Iran and Gaza, my trip itinerary and flight paths needing to be changed on their account.
The trip to Argentina and Antarctica was the best trip I have had, with many highs that, put together, will be hard to top. Highlights included my first stop in Antarctica, large-scale penguin and seal sightings and the times I spent under snowfall in Grytviken and at the New Year Party. I will try to top the trip or its highs regardless. The experiences and inspiration I got via Hondius will stay with me. People I met on the Hondius suggested The Maldives to me, the next adventure being scuba diving with tiger sharks…
Read about the rest of this trip:
I started the trip with a tour of northern Argentina’s canyons and gorges:
I then boarded MV Hondius and set foot on my seventh continent:
Then I experienced incredible biodiversity of South Georgia, while following part of Ernest Shackleton’s route on the Endurance expedition:
2 replies on “The Falkland Islands and the death of an iceberg”
Thrilling encounters and engaging narration – informative as well.
Sorry to learn that A-23 has disappeared. It makes me distraught and I am wondering if the rise in water which we observe these days around our Kochi is because of it.
Didn’t really get the reason for the horrible stench near the nesting area of the trinity of albatross, penguins and shags.
Would really love to see those birds and those flowers!
Thrilling encounters and engaging narration – informative as well.
Sorry to learn that A-23 has disappeared. It makes me distraught and I am wondering if the rise in water which we observe these days around our Kochi is because of it.
Didn’t really get the reason for the horrible stench near the nesting area of the trinity of albatross, penguins and shags.
Would really love to see those birds and those flowers!