Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
Drake Passage was unusually calm, so by late this morning, we were at the South Shetland Islands. We went ashore at Bailey Head on Deception Island, where the steep, black beach was topped with chunks of ice tossed up by waves. Dark volcanic ash, and white snow and ice come together here, along with about 40,000 nesting pairs of chinstrap penguins.
A constant stream of penguins walked to and from the beach; as hundreds of hungry chinstraps walked to water’s edge, hundreds of others emerged from the water, stomachs full of krill and fish. On shore, thousands of chinstraps stood in crowded nesting areas.
The sounds were wonderful! One could hear the pitter patter of pink penguin feet walking on snow. In the crowded colonies, the braying and honking of the birds occasionally escalated to a loud crescendo. Such abundance of life! Pairs of penguins stood at nesting sites in tight ‘neighborhoods’ or colonies, while a few birds bathed or cooled themselves in a running stream of melting snow.
Midday was warm and sunny, and as water evaporated from bare ground, thin veils fog rose from the ground. From the rim of the bowl-shaped valley, the sheer number of penguins within view was amazing.
Following a late lunch, the ship repositioned to the island’s caldera. We entered through a narrow entrance known as Neptune’s Bellows, and Captain Skog nudged the ship right into ‘fast ice,’ which is sea ice connected to shore. We stepped from the ship, onto a short ramp, and onto the fast ice! What fun to walk off the ship in an icy caldera!
Some brave souls among us took a brief, brisk dunk into very chilly water at Whaler’s Bay. Volcanic activity warms the shallows just slightly, so bathing was brief! We ended our first full day in Antarctica with Captain’s Welcome cocktails and dinner.
