Antarctica's most important holiday - the winter solstice - passed a few weeks ago. This holiday has been celebrated since the early days of the exploration of the continent. It was a very important day for even the Scott and Amundsen expeditions of 1910-1913 which were the first to reach the South Pole.

It is very dark when the moon is down, and we won't see the sun for quite a while. The newness of life at South Pole has worn off, and we are all eagerly anticipating sunrise in late September. Everyone is in good spirits and health, so things continue to go well this year!