Christmas morning, off Gamage Point.

We awoke to another spectacular day! The sky above was clear and the most deep blue I have seen here. In every direction, a mist was slowly burning off. From Gamage Point, we could see the neighbourhood icebergs rising through the fog: their peaks catching the sun's light and casting reflections across the waters, which were like glass. Loose pack and brash wheeled imperceptibly in Arthur Harbor. Mt. William rose beyond the Marr Ice Piedmont.

Mount William

Dawn Biddison was up early baking more treats, cinnamon rolls for everybody on Christmas morning! By ten o'clock, most of us had gathered for an exchange of presents. Station Manager, Bob Farrell, played host in what has become a Palmer Station tradition: a lottery/game of gifts. With many folks having spent Christmas down here in the past, at different times, nobody was quite sure of the rules, but it all worked out in a hilarious fashion. Numbers were drawn from a hat and we had the opportunity of selecting a present from under the tree--or, as more were opened, of "stealing" one from someone else. People had made presents: a welded penguin sculpture, a jewelry box, a pair of small balloon driven hovercrafts, a stitched hat. Some offered services: doing dishes for a week. Others had shopped at the Station store and in Punta Arenas for wine, chocolates and books. We wiled away the morning, watching presents being opened, purloined and shuffled through the group. Great fun!

Bob "Santa" Farrell.

In the afternoon, with the weather being picture perfect, numerous boating parties ventured out for the surrounding islands. People napped, read, watched movies, and called home...