Falklands

The next morning we were in what felt like calm water, at West Point Island, off the northwest point of West Falkland. When the expedition staff tried to land, however, they determined that the surf conditions were too rough for a safe landing. (All our landings, except the next day at Stanley, were wet; the ship provided high rubber boots, necessary for the landings and for what they called ''mud'' - but with millions of penguins on shore we knew better.) The disappointment was palpable, as West Point is where we had hoped to see Rockhopper Penguins and nesting Black-browed Albatross. We did see some rockhoppers in the water, but it wasn't the same. To understand why, I recommend viewing the BBC/David Attenborough series from 1993, ''Life in the Freezer.'' Nothing I could say can match viewing the episode of that series that includes the rockhoppers - which we watched the previous night on the ship. As for the Black-browed Albatross, it had become a favorite of mine when I first saw one (albeit of a different population) in New Zealand.