Deb's Blog

Today was our first landing. We rode the zodiac to Damoy Point research station, built in 1973 for British scientific personnel. It was last occupied in 1993, and is now a Historic Monument.

Viking Expedition Team members had landed at the site long before we arrived. They had carved out stairs in the ice and marked the path to the penguin rookery—where penguins nest—with crossed poles. Even with ski poles, the icy slippery path was not easy. I slipped and fell, but bounced back up.

Several pairs of penguins were busy at the rookery, oblivious to our presence.

Other penguins were down by the shore.

Our zodiac group was one of the lucky ones, because the winds increased to an unsafe level, so all the afternoon excursions were cancelled.