Merry Antarctic Christmas! On a snowy Christmas morning, guests on National Geographic Resolution were treated to their first views of Antarctica. Morning ops included a successful landing on Barrientos Island, where we were surrounded by thousands of chinstrap and gentoo penguins and a rare sighting of a macaroni penguin.

While expedition divers shared the beauty below the waves, our visiting scientists from Penguin Watch successfully completed research on the island’s penguin colony. The afternoon’s presentations included Naturalist Eva Molin Westerholm’s presentation on all things penguin.

Later in the afternoon, we boarded Zodiacs for an exploration of Edinburgh Hill. As we explored the coastline around spectacular columnar basalts, we experienced more penguins, ice, and amazing geologic formations.

Following Christmas dinner, the crew and many guests on National Geographic Resolution shared their talents and sang Christmas carols.