Where do we start with the ice?  Wow!  On our zodiac cruise this morning, we witnessed both an iceberg flip and some calving.  As the icebergs move and melt, the centre of gravity changes and when they can’t stay balanced any longer, they flip.  It is quite cool to witness…and a little scary if you are too close!

This evening was capped off with a passage through what is known as the Gullet.  It is a narrow and very scenic channel that passes between Adelaide Island and the Antarctic Peninsula.  Most of the year it is completely covered in sea ice but right now it has only about 40% coverage so the expedition leader decided to take us through.  The ship handled the ice very well but you could certainly feel the bumps as we crashed through the sheets of ice.  It is midnight now and the sun is just setting.  We can still see (and feel) the chunks of ice and icebergs outside our window.

In between the morning ice show and the evening ice show, we went ashore at Stonington Island to explore an abandoned research station.  Station E was used by the Americans from 1939 to 1941 then again by the British in the 60s and 70s. It was actually a little eerie. There were a lot of provisions and supplies left behind when the station was abandoned in 1975.  With no critters to scavenge the food and such a dry climate, everything was remarkably well preserved. Canned spaghetti anyone?