First full day in Punta Arenas - look at the boat!

I figured I would take advantage of the high bandwidth availability - I may be able to post a video from the top of R.B. Palmer tomorrow, but thought this image was fantastic.

Our ship is enormous - the largest this Iowa native has ever seen! Who knew that a boat would have so many stairs! Standing 100 ft above sea level, looking at Punta Arenas, I realized where I would be going and had a chill. Not the kind of chill from the cold, but of amazement. I am sure the coming days will bring plenty of chill. Antarctica, the last frontier on Earth! Hopefully my cohort won't be upset I posted this image before they could post their respective first looks at Palmer. If you can follow with me - the big angled section is the bridge. The lookout above that also has railing above it so that you can look from there as well. That was one stop on today's tour guided by fearless Meng Zhou. With half a foot through the railing and hanging over the edge, Meng looked out on the ocean. After I recovered from my fear, I experienced a sense of awe. Here we are with a panoramic view of the end of the world.

More later, but I thought this would be the perfect time for the followers to glimpse our larger-than-a-football-field boat. :)