Palmer Station - January 2, 2011

Petral eating penguin chick
Adelie penguin with chick

What a stupendous day - we started at Palmer Station, one of three US Antarctica Program stations and the smallest with about 45 living there. It was cold, windy, rainy and snowy and just downright nasty but we toured the facilities, bought t-shirts and pins at the gift shop and spent time speaking with the researchers there. Incredible work being done. From there, we took zodiacs to Torgersen Island to see the colonies of Adelie penguins. Their populations have dropped dramatically with the changes in the sea ice while other species are growing. Had the privilege of watching a skua get a penguin chick and eat it, competing with another bird, and watching the other penguins mourn the loss. Quite sad. Global warming is definitely visible here with the changes in the glaciers that can be seen at Palmer Station in a very short period of time.

After a delicious lunch on board and a quick massage in the spa, we were back out in the zodiacs visiting Petermann Island. On the island, we walked amongst Gentoo penguins, the ones with "lipstick" beaks. Lots of chicks being kept warm. While half the group zodiac'd around the bay, we were on the island hiking amongst the penguins. Then we switched. Saw amazing icebergs, some as tall as 20 stories high, others with multiple blow holes. You can really see how the icebergs break apart during the summer and float around in the process.

Tonight, we are heading to the Antarctic Circle - fantastic to be able to cross it. Right now it is 11 pm and still bright daylight. We've had lots of cloud cover on this trip but right now, I can see blue sky peeking out above with tons of icebergs floating nearby....a truly magnificent site!