The Antarctic wows me again!

Feb 12 2015 Deception Is: 62o59'S/060o34'W
Feb 13 2015 Port Lockroy: 64o50'S/063o31'W
Feb 13 2015 Lemaire Channel: 65o06'S/063o59'W
Feb 13 2015 Pleneau Island: 65o06'S/064o02'W

This has been two days of contrasts. Yesterday we arrived at Deception Island in the morning. This is a volcanic caldera that was flooded by the sea a long time ago. The volcano remains active, having erupted most recently in the 60’s and we're warned that seismic activity is quite frequent at the moment. It has been a whaling factory, and was used by sailors to take shelter from Antarctic storms.

We took a zodiac cruise before entering the caldera and had fabulous sightings of Chinstrap penguins – little black & white guys standing on the black volcanic sand with silvery water in front of them. We also saw Giant Petrels enjoying a “meal” of penguin.

In the afternoon we sailed into the caldera and anchored at Whaler’s Bay. The beach is black volcanic sand and has steam coming from the water near the shore – quite an eerie place, particularly on a grey day with a strong, cold wind. This is a part of the Antarctic that I’ve never enjoyed – and yesterday reinforced this, at least for me.

So it was great to leave in the evening and start sailing south, knowing that we were due to enter the Neumayer Channel at around 6:30am. And to wake up to massive snow-covered Antarctic mountains and glaciers to our left, and similar geography to our right, with smallish icebergs dotted against the deep blue sea, was simply wonderful.

The 40 knot wind blowing on our bow was not quite so pleasant. I haven’t yet viewed photos from today, but expect that the wind was moving the lens around a little beyond my control!

Our first stop this morning was at Port Lockroy (Goudier Is & Jougla Point). This historic British Antarctic Survey post has a small & very interesting museum, and a gift shop - last options for shopping in the Antarctic! The museum has the old equipment, including enormous valves, used in their research equipment – research ionosphere & climate. The 7-9 men that were once stationed here had an old record player & at least thirty 78 records – I know a few people who would have loved to hear these!

We spent time with Gentoo penguin chicks – some still fluffy with down, others moulting, and all very cute although very, very smelly.

From there we made our way to the spectacular Lemaire Channel. This is often clogged by icebergs and not navigable. But not for us! The clouds lifted, sunlight started to hit the mountains, and as the channel narrowed we had a wonderful view of the Lemaire in all its glory - with the cold Antarctic wind still blowing strongly.

At the end of the Lemaire is Pleneau Bay, also known as iceberg alley. It's a relatively shallow area where icebergs entering from the west often “ground” here – staying until they melt sufficiently to float away.

By the time we were in zodiacs the wind had dropped and the sky was totally clear. What a glorious day to be in this part of the Antarctic! Giant icebergs of all shapes, sizes & textures, Gentoo penguins going to and fro, Crabeater & Leopard seals lying on ice floes, and one Leopard seal taking strong interest in our zodiac. The trick with this was to ensure all hands were kept inside while he roamed around and under the boat – a truly magnificent animal to watch.

At one point we heard a massive crack and turned to see a part of an iceberg break off into hundreds of small pieces leaving the main part to roll and settle into a new position. The resulting “tsunami” was small this time.

All too soon, and many, many photos later, it was time to come back to the ship. Too bad – we all agreed that another 60 minutes would have been good!

Dinner this evening was a barbeque on the back area of the ship overlooking the icebergs in Pleneau Bay – a great view, one of the better meals, and good fun.

We’re now on our way south, and expect to be crossing the Antarctic Circle tomorrow morning! Sleeping out on the ice is not far away!