Port Lockroy & Palmer Station, Antarctica
Today guests traveling on the National Geographic Endeavour explored Antarctic science, past and present. We were in the vicinity of Anvers Island, a large island separated from the Peninsula by the Gerlache Strait. Tucked into the south end of Wienke Island is a well-protected natural harbor surrounded by steep glacial faces. It was discovered by the French explorer Jean Baptiste Charcot when his expedition ship Français was in urgent need of repair in 1904. Charcot named the harbor Port Lockroy. In 1944, for objectives that may never be fully known, the British government established a super-secret wartime program that they called Operation Tabarin (named after a sleazy bar in Buenos Aires.) Their first base (hence “Base A”) was built on a very small island in Port Lockroy. After the war, the base became a center for exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula by teams of men (for in those days they were all men) traveling by dog sled (the Falkland Islands Dependency Survey.) Still later, Base A was used for studies of the upper atmosphere (the British Antarctic Survey.) Base A was abandoned in the early 1960s. It fell into ruin until it was restored as an Antarctic Museum and the farthest-south British Post Office (not coincidentally waving the Union Jack over the Antarctic Peninsula.) This morning we appreciated the protection of Port Lockroy as our ship found protection from a fierce Antarctic wind. We went ashore to visit the base, mail our post cards, and select from the array of shirts, caps, scarves, and books offered for sale – certainly a unique place to do our Christmas shopping (note to friends and family at home: do not read this, lest you know what is coming in your Christmas package.) Nesting gentoo penguins surround the Base hut and boathouse, incubating their eggs on stone nests surrounded by fresh wind-blown snow. They are always good for entertainment and a few photographs. We think that they are comical, but then, what do they think of us?
We departed Base A with the four Base personnel aboard for a respite from their tiny island home, and traveled to the United States Antarctic Research Program scientific base Palmer Station. The United States makes no territorial claim to Antarctica but we maintain three permanent research bases: Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole, McMurdo Station on the Ross Sea, and Palmer Station here on the Antarctic Peninsula. This is by far the smallest of the three. We found the station completely surrounded by dense brash ice that had fallen from the nearby glaciers. Would that deter us? Oh, no! Our Captain brought the NG Endeavour through most of the ice, and the zodiac drivers struggled mightily, with the aid of Yamaha, to push these incredible craft through the remaining ice for our landing at Palmer Station. Station personnel gave us tour of the facilities, ending in the common room for hot beverages and the justifiably famous Palmer Station brownies. We also achieved another unusual Antarctic landmark: two gift shops in the same day! We proved that there is always room (in the drawer, if not the suitcase) for another t-shirt. When we returned through the ice to our ship a number of Palmer Station personnel came with us so we could return their courtesy with cocktails and dinner aboard the ship. But they did have to “sing for their supper” at evening recap by regaling us with stories of life at Palmer Station (and at South Pole Station). Each of our visitors had a unique tale to tell, and we were pleased to learn that our tax dollars in support of the U.S. Antarctic Research program are very well spent.
Today guests traveling on the National Geographic Endeavour explored Antarctic science, past and present. We were in the vicinity of Anvers Island, a large island separated from the Peninsula by the Gerlache Strait. Tucked into the south end of Wienke Island is a well-protected natural harbor surrounded by steep glacial faces. It was discovered by the French explorer Jean Baptiste Charcot when his expedition ship Français was in urgent need of repair in 1904. Charcot named the harbor Port Lockroy. In 1944, for objectives that may never be fully known, the British government established a super-secret wartime program that they called Operation Tabarin (named after a sleazy bar in Buenos Aires.) Their first base (hence “Base A”) was built on a very small island in Port Lockroy. After the war, the base became a center for exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula by teams of men (for in those days they were all men) traveling by dog sled (the Falkland Islands Dependency Survey.) Still later, Base A was used for studies of the upper atmosphere (the British Antarctic Survey.) Base A was abandoned in the early 1960s. It fell into ruin until it was restored as an Antarctic Museum and the farthest-south British Post Office (not coincidentally waving the Union Jack over the Antarctic Peninsula.) This morning we appreciated the protection of Port Lockroy as our ship found protection from a fierce Antarctic wind. We went ashore to visit the base, mail our post cards, and select from the array of shirts, caps, scarves, and books offered for sale – certainly a unique place to do our Christmas shopping (note to friends and family at home: do not read this, lest you know what is coming in your Christmas package.) Nesting gentoo penguins surround the Base hut and boathouse, incubating their eggs on stone nests surrounded by fresh wind-blown snow. They are always good for entertainment and a few photographs. We think that they are comical, but then, what do they think of us?
We departed Base A with the four Base personnel aboard for a respite from their tiny island home, and traveled to the United States Antarctic Research Program scientific base Palmer Station. The United States makes no territorial claim to Antarctica but we maintain three permanent research bases: Amundsen-Scott Station at the South Pole, McMurdo Station on the Ross Sea, and Palmer Station here on the Antarctic Peninsula. This is by far the smallest of the three. We found the station completely surrounded by dense brash ice that had fallen from the nearby glaciers. Would that deter us? Oh, no! Our Captain brought the NG Endeavour through most of the ice, and the zodiac drivers struggled mightily, with the aid of Yamaha, to push these incredible craft through the remaining ice for our landing at Palmer Station. Station personnel gave us tour of the facilities, ending in the common room for hot beverages and the justifiably famous Palmer Station brownies. We also achieved another unusual Antarctic landmark: two gift shops in the same day! We proved that there is always room (in the drawer, if not the suitcase) for another t-shirt. When we returned through the ice to our ship a number of Palmer Station personnel came with us so we could return their courtesy with cocktails and dinner aboard the ship. But they did have to “sing for their supper” at evening recap by regaling us with stories of life at Palmer Station (and at South Pole Station). Each of our visitors had a unique tale to tell, and we were pleased to learn that our tax dollars in support of the U.S. Antarctic Research program are very well spent.
