While at Palmer we have a working day that is more similar to work in the States, (but) work on the ship is very different. At the station we wake up for breakfast, and continue to work until mealtime although sometimes we miss lunch (if for example we got delayed in the sampling). But we are usually back for dinner. There is a quota of daily exercise, either walking up the glacier or going to the gym. Sometimes there is skiing, early in the season. At night there are other social activities like watching movies, playing ping-pong, getting together with friends or developing pictures.. On weekends it is possible to visit nearby penguin rookeries, with permission.
On the ship there are no activities besides a very small gym and sauna.
There are movies but usually there is not much time (or energy) left to
watch them. So we find entertainment while we work, like listening to music
or having people (who are) not on watch visit (and sometimes help) in the
lab. The highlight of the cruise is the camaraderie that develops between
people working very hard towards a common goal. There is also beautiful
scenery, particularly when we sample in the channels. And every day is different
because we never sample in the same place.
Return to Activity A.3.
