The bridge of the ship is six decks above the water line. Glassed-in on four sides, it offers the best views of the surrounding environment. The frozen ocean is an abstract artwork of bergs, floes and drifts in the shapes of obelisks, pyramids, and distant mesas. Late mornings before my shift begins I like to go there and read.
By comparison, many of the rooms on the ship have no windows at all, or else small portholes offering only a tunnel-view of the outside world. My cabin, like most, has a single window, with a view obscured by stairways and parts of the superstructure. So it is surprising that, one day earlier this week, when I looked out the window in the morning I saw a group of six emperor penguins huddled on the ice near the ship.
Seeing emperors is a big deal for me because they don’t often come near the stations (I’ve seen them twice at McMurdo, from a distance, and never at Palmer). This time they were close, the day was sunny, and I had the opportunity to take some good pictures. The ship’s crew sees them frequently because penguins seem to be attracted to anything out of the ordinary. If the ship stops in the ice for several hours it’s common to have a group of emperors come close for a visit. Likewise, when the science groups started doing work out on the ice they had to negotiate around a group of curious penguins. I think they’re starved for any stimulation.
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