Deception Island - January 1, 2011

Chinstrap penguin

Happy New Year!!! What a fabulous place to ring in the new year. We were awakened very early this morning with the news that we were entering Deception Island, a volcanic caldera. Upon entering, we moored right up next to the beach. My group disembarked first and had 2 hours to walk around. It is an old whaling station that has long been abandoned. We walked towards one end of the beach for views out over the rim and then the other end to see the abandoned buildings. Unlike yesterday which was warm and comfortable, today was snowing and blowing and biting as the pellets hit your face. Otherwise, we are bundled up quite well to stay warm while outside. There were quite a few penguins milling around on the beach - chinstraps - so I got some great pictures and video. This is also the area where there are warm springs so some people did the polar plunge....not me! This afternoon we are sailing to the South Shetland Islands and hearing a talk by Peter Hillary along the way.