Western Antarctic Peninsula
Trip Start
Dec 31, 2005
1
8
20
Trip End
Jan 24, 2006
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Deception Island and Hannah Point,
Antarctica
Sunday, January 8, 2006
I misspoke in my last update, when I mentioned the curious seal that joined our group in a lecture about fossils and geology. That actually occurred here at Hannah point.
Youll notice the abundance of Gentoo and Adelie penguins here, as well as the odd Macaroni penguin, which we saw very few of.
The highlight was definately the close encounter with the young Wedell seal pup, as well as a brisk hike across the point´s black sand volcanic beaches. If it were 30 degrees warmer, this would be a great place for a tan!
After boarding Explorer oncemore, we continued south to Deception Island, an extinct volcano whose cone was breached, and flooded, forming a 3 sided lagoon. The beauty of this site is that it is sheltered from the elements. The clouds overhead that are so ubiquitous here part dramatically above Deception Island, perhaps because the volcano is still active under water, and steam constantly rises from the warm water and along the beaches within the caldera.
We did a zodiac tour on the open ocean, observing deception island from the outside, before returning to the bay. Once landed on shore, we dug a shallow hole in the volcanic beach, and after allowing it to fill with water, we proceeded to put on our swim gear and jum into the nearly 100 degree water for a steam bath! It was quite an experience, taking a hot swim in the Antarctic!!
