Deception Island, Antarctic Peninsula, January 16, 2003
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We wake up at 4.30 AM. This morning we'll try to land at Bailey Head.
A combination of a very steep beach, exposure to the open ocean, large
waves and a strong undercurrent makes landing at Bailey Head something
not to be taken lightly. During a mandatory meeting the evening before
we were shown a video of last year's landing. Consequently the lines were
much shorter this morning. As we waited for our turn to get into a zodiac
the sea happened to be reasonably flat and the wind was almost absent
resulting in a landing much easier than expected.
The black sand of the beach clearly indicates the volcanic origin of
Deception Island. As far as we can see there are large numbers of chinstrap
penguins getting in or out of the sea. The next surprise is Penguin Highway,
a file of chinstraps walking either to or from the sea. With only a few
exceptions the penguins walking towards the sea walk on the left side of
Penguin Highway, while those returning from the sea walk on the right.
Penguin Highway follows the course of a small river, passes some impressive
rock formations and disappears in the distance.
We climb the morainic debris on our right and walk towards the interior.
Carefully we walk around and sometimes through chinstrap colonies. Beneath
us the Penguin Highway is still visible. The hills around us are literally
covered with chinstrap nests. We decide to walk towards a high mountain ridge
in front of us. Arriving at the ridge, it turns out to be a steep cliff and
far below us we see many more chinstrap penguins. The scenery is fantastic
and the morning sun adds to the relaxed atmosphere.
We sit down and enjoy life in the colonies: some chinstraps are courting,
others are chasing each other. Many are sitting on eggs or are feeding their
young. Such an abundance of penguin life also attracts the local predators.
We see skuas trying to steal chicks or eggs and witness several successful
attempts. Shattered eggs and small pink feet connected by pieces of spine
are the silent remainders of these successful attempts.
Much to soon its time to leave this idyllic place, even though we've skipped
breakfast and even though Doug has extended this landing with 90 minutes.
Our departure is an easy exercise again and we're off to our next destination,
Whaler's Bay. Soon we're approaching Neptune's Bellows, the entrance to
Deception Island's caldera. Between the remains of an old Norwegian whaler's
station and the ruins of the british research station that was left after the
1968 - 1970 eruption, we go ashore.
We first probe the amazing acoustic in one of the old whale-oil storage tanks
before we continue towards the British Antarctic Survey station. We find a
tractor almost buried in volcanic ash, a dilapidated orange plane behind an
equally dilapidated hangar and several ruined buildings. In between to
buildings a Weddell seal is watching us walking by.
At three o'clock it's time for a swim into one of Whaler's Bay's hot pools.
The thermally heated water is almost too hot to bath in. Fortunately the
inflow of water with Antarctic temperatures keeps us from overheating.
After a dip into the ocean's water I'm now a full member of the Deception
Island Iceberg Club. When everybody is on board again, the anchored is lifted
for a small cruise around the caldera. We leave the sheltered caldera again
through Neptune's Bellows and with a last glance at the beautifully formed
rock formations Deception Island slowly disappears in the distance.
To be continued...