Antarctica: Port Lockroy - There Are People Living Here!

Believe it or not, people actually live in Antarctica.

Well... That's not entirely true. 

They live there for short periods of time. And usually only during the late Fall/Summer/Spring. Very rarely the Winter time. And one of those places where people reside is Port Lockroy.

As the photo indicates, Port Lockroy is a British Base.  It's ran by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. When we visited, there were four people residing at Port Lockroy. Their main job was to "winterize" the historic site, as well as run the small store and museum.  They have no running water - getting their drinking water from the ships that come through. They have no Internet. And they only stay for about four months.

Along with the four people, it's the home to a Gentoo Penguin colony.

Yes. More Gentoos. They are the predominant penguin we saw on all of our stops.

Can you imagine living here?

This is one of the buildings where the four staff (currently all women) live at Port Lockroy.

On a walk along the shore, we discovered some whale bones in the snow.

And a Weddell seal...

On top of seeing all the creatures living (and dying) on the island, we got our passports stamped!

This is the coolest stamp ever to go in my passport.