We get to see our first people in Antarctica in Port Lockroy

Sunrise 02:23, sunset 00:08 (Dec 14!)

We woke up to a glorious beautiful blue bird day here in Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island. The bay is calm like glass, at 32F degrees, it was actually quite warm! Port Lockroy would be the only place on Antarctica where we would see people, and there were only 2 people here! There were a small post office where people can send mail (UK stamp no less) from the southernmost post office on earth to their friends and family. There was also a small museum showing what it was like to be an explorer living in this remote part of the world.

On shore we saw blue eyed shags, gentoo penguins panting due to the high temperature! one Weddell seal, two snowy sheathbills talking and dancing to each other. One of our fellow passengers was involved with the Antarctic Site Inventory program, Ron Naveen, and he needed volunteers to help count penguin nests. So we got to be data collectors. It was not as easy as you would think to count penguin nests. It was quite easy to miss some or count some twice, so we actually had multiple teams counting the same sites. We counted (mean of) 79.68 nests at Jougla point  where we landed on Port Lockroy.

In the afternoon, the ship went into Lemaire Channel, located between the peninsula and Booth Island it was one of the most beautiful spots in Antarctica. The channel is only about 1 mile wide by 7 miles long. Lined by snow covered island mountains, many glaciers on them. Bergie bits in the water, and we saw a few leopard seals lounging on the floating ice.

We landed on a small island called Pleneau Island, which is a granite island. We hiked to the top of the island for a view of the surroundings.

After dinner, the ship stopped at our southernmost  point of this trip called Petermann Island.  Remember that the sun sets not at all tonight! we had plenty of daylight to explore. We went ashore in Circumcision Harbor (what a name) made famous by the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot who overwintered here in 1909. We climbed the hill bearing the cairn he erected to commemorate the expedition. Penguins can be seen climbing up the hill in the soft snow, and sliding down the hill when going to the water! There was also an abandoned Argintine hut here.