We were woken on the approach to Deception Island, a caldera with a narrow collapsed opening called Neptune’s Bellows. During the evacuation as it erupted in the 1960s, the ship refused to go through, in case it got trapped, so sent in a helicopter. A Scottish fishing boat ran aground, making it even narrower, in the early 20th century. We went ashore in heavy seas and got soaked, but investigated the whaling station and environs. It had been a British research station after the whalers left, until late 60s, but the boilers, flensing deck, dry dock, coopers’ yards, aircraft hangar, oil tanks and some living quarters - including the magistrate’s house! The smell of sulphur assaults the senses as the Zodiac approaches, and the crew had already begun to dig a pool on the beach for intrepid bathers. Needless to say, we were dressed appropriately, but I admit to bottling out. Adrian, however, stripped off and was second in, following Hartmutt, the Namibian streaker. (Don’t call him Hardnut for nothing…) Then into the sea, which was surprisingly warm. In fact, it was too hot to keep bare fingers in the sand. But it would have been hell to try to get dry in the +1°C buffeting wind, so I marched Adrian up to the notch in the caldera from which, the first young captain sighted the Atlantic. That warmed him up!
18 year old Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer was allegedly the first to sight Antarctica from Neptune’s Window on Deception Island, at 70 miles distant. This day, we could barely see one mile, because of fog.
Only five people braved the elements, and many went back to the ship after a short walk. As this became the norm, SWAB was on the last boat to return to ship. The staff know Adrian at least, by name. I am keeping a low profile, because cruises are turning out to be a funny sort of community. Most people are ossifying into the same seats at dinner, though a few deliberately cruise to engage in new conversations. We usually dine with the US/Japanese/Persian family, the Honidd family, the Namibian chaps, the Wellington or Brisbane or S. Island couples, the UK/Aus gay couple, the crew, the family from London (ex Dublin) or Christopher Dow whom I included in ‘Music & Movement’, or the two London couples – that’s nearly a third of the passengers. I’m not that keen to intrude on the three or four honeymooners who exclude all intercourse in favour of …er…snoozing? Or the widow’s convention from Australia, or the daunting gang of single women who brook no opposition, that have gravitated together from the four corners of the colonial world. It is odd, but I feel quite comfortable observing and absorbing, but ten nights is honestly long enough.
This afternoon, after sailing for four hours northeast, we came to the Aitcho Islands, named after the Hydrographic Office in London. The captain found a relatively sheltered one that conformed to Bill’s instruction to include chinstrap penguins and elephant seals. And guess what? We saw them! The Southern Giant Petrels were a bonus. There had been lobbying by the seal society and the penguin fanciers’ guild, and thanks to Bill’s thorough knowledge of the area and the captain’s knowledge of the seas, their wishes were fulfilled. Neither, sadly, was able to control the weather, and it performed acrobatic feats of invention to amuse us. We’d just dried out our clothing from Deception Island before getting it drenched on the boat transfer. Mercifully, the snow turned to rain as we headed north, but I have never experienced gusts as powerful as those that almost knocked me over or made me run down the scree as we crossed this unnamed island. This last landing was the first at which I had any serious concern about impact on the flora, because of the unregulated walking through a mud/moss area to observe two adolescent male elephant seals play – fighting in shallow water. Some estimates put recovery time at 100 years! Unfortunately, the video somehow got onto mammal focusing, so some of this rare activity was no more than shadow boxing, with added blur. Rats. We also saw a fur seal, which interestingly have forward-facing back flippers so they move differently – when they move – on land. The lectures on mammals have been fascinating, but I don’t remember all the details about numbers. Many of the passengers are engaged in science, ecology etc. so there are stimulating Q & A sessions. In a bowdlerised form, they continue in the bar until the wee hours, if not until dark.