From Disappointment to Deception

Lat: 6259.45330872 S
Lon: 06010.95375394 W

South Shetland Islands

The day started out with a bit of a disappointment for us; the 2
scheduled shore landings were scrubbed due to a blizzard. The snow was
coming down horizontally with about 4 inches of snow on the deck. With 45
knot wind gusts, it was just too treacherous to get out on the Zodiacs. Two
Penguin rookeries including the Chinstrap (again, my favorite) and Adele
Penguins were just not gonna happen. The decision was made to head south to
escape the storm and get a head start on tomorrow's plan. So off we
went, with the seas rough and tumble, but late in the day we made it to
Deception Island, still part of the South Shetland Island archipelago.
Deception is quite amazing; it's a sunken Volcano that only has a small
opening on one side that the ship can narrowly get through. All hands were on the
Bridge to watch the Captain and Helmsman navigate their way through the
opening, dodging massive rock face cliffs on each side. It was quite the
show. Once inside the Caldera, we got into the Zodiacs and made a beach
excursion to the old whaling site (now extinct) but semi-protected from the
huge swells outside the Caldera. The ground was solid ash, and apparently
warm to the touch. Blowing snow throughout the landing, it felt like walking
in a huge snowstorm back home, but with Gentoo Penguins and Southern Polar
Skuas (the only bird that makes it to the South Pole) to greet us. The
visuals were monochrome - whites, greys, and blacks with an incredible hue
that felt again mystical and ominous. First one on, last one off. It was
fantastic.

Tomorrow we reach the Antarctic Continent itself with 2 proposed
landings. It was great to touch terra firma today, but to actually step
foot on the Antarctic Continent itself...it should be a magical Sunday
indeed!