Deception Island and Lindblad Cove
Deception Island. Clouds of dust and volcanic ash were picked up by the wind and swirled into earth-colored tornados that spun down the length of the beach in Whaler’s Bay. Figures in red parkas bent forward and struggling thought the gusts made their way among the ruins of the old whaling station in Deception Island. There was a real photographic lure to the rusty whale oil tanks half sunken in the sand and the dust devils sweeping past them. A hike up to the eroded gap of Neptune’s Window gave a panoramic view of the entire bay. There was National Geographic Explorer with her bow parked into the black sands of the beach.
Pale, weathered, wooden skeletons of the building remains stood stark in the pumice and ash landscape. The sweeping view of the bay, its waters several shades of blue and the cliffs every shade of bronze, brown, and black gave a real sense of being inside the round caldera of an ancient volcano. As the tide dropped, steam began rising from the water’s edge, a testament to the fact that we were indeed walking around the inside of a still quietly active volcano. A few took the challenge of a swim in the icy Antarctic water. Standing in swimsuits braced against the strong winds, many faces looked doubtful that this was really a good idea. Then, boldly, the swimmers would race forward with a sudden courage and plunge into the water. A hot chocolate with a dash of whisky made it all not seem quite so bad when they got out. And shivering the polar plungers jumped into the nearest zodiac and hurry back to the warmth of their cabin on the ship.
Our blue ship left Whaler’s Bay and passed again through the narrow gap of Neptune’s Bellows and into the waters of the Bransfield Strait. There was some rolling in the seas, built up because of the strong wind blowing all morning. This was short lived, however, and soon we were passing into the sheltered water of Charcot Bay and then into the surreal beauty of Lindblad Cove. Blue icebergs in fantastic shapes floated by. Almost immediately a leopard seal was spotted, resting tranquilly on a piece of ice. Looking down over the bow of the ship, the leopard seal looked back. Soon it resumed its nap and the ship moved on to look closely at a crabeater seal. Also resting, this seal was more blonde in color and prefers to eat krill, not crabs. Because of the beauty of this unique cove, recap was delayed until after dinner and most stayed outside to enjoy the scenic beauty. During dinner, National Geographic Explorer moved out of Lindblad Cove and on to new seas and new sights.
