As snow floated from the heavens we pulled into Port Lockroy, our first stop of the day. Port Lockroy is a historic safe harbor used by whalers in the 18th century and then later by Operation Tabarin as the location for the first British station in Antarctic, known as Base A. This base housed four to nine men for two-and-a-half-year stretches from 1944 to 1962. A key monitoring site during the International Geophysical Year of 1957/58, research conducted at this station included topographic surveys, geology, meteorology, botany, biology, and ionospheric studies. The original hut, Bransfield House, has been restored and has been designated a historic site under the Antarctic Treaty System.

A short Zodiac ride took us to Wiencke Island, where a whale skeleton emerged from the snow while blue-eyed shag chicks begged for regurgitated fish from their parents and skuas patrolled the mixed gentoo and shag colonies in search of a fresh meal.

Our afternoon was spent at Palmer Station, first established in 1965, and one of three year-round research stations operated in Antarctica by the United States Antarctic Program. After an informative introduction given by Dr. Polly Penhale, we disembarked for guided tours of the station followed by brownies and chat with station personnel. From the station we "Zodiac-ed" to Torgersen Island, a small island approximately a mile from Palmer Station -- the site of several long-term ecological research projects. Two members of the Palmer Station research team greeted us at this site and answered questions about their research. Another fantastic day!!