After lunch on January 26, the ship moved to Mikkelson Harbor, which is located at the southern end of Trinity Island in the Gerlache Strait. This small, rocky island is surrounded by glacial ice and we heard lots of booming from cracking ice throughout the afternoon.

Disembarking on the island, we encountered many whale bones and the remains of a couple wooden whaling boats. We hiked across to the far side of the island but snow, rain and mud made it messy going.

We found Gentoo penguins resting on rocky mounds, trying to keep their eggs and chicks dry.

There was also a gentoo penguin colony established next to an abandoned Argentine station hut dating from the 1950's. The chicks were not as far along as in the north. Altogether, the Oceanites researchers counted about 3800 Gentoos on Mikkelson Island.

For more photos of Mikkelson Harbor, go to Mikkelson Harbor Photo Gallery. To read about the next location visited, go to Damoy Point.

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