Thursday we arrived at Deception Island. It is actually a flooded volcanic caldera, a collapsed volcano cone. Its most recent eruption was in 1967 and the island is geothermally active. It can be entered through narrow passage known as Neptune's Bellows (upper right in the map near the insert.) Neptune's Bellows is less than 700 feet wide and has a large hidden rock in the middle of the opening. If weather conditions are perfect, a ship the size of Octantis can enter.
6:45 AM and a few eager passengers are standing on the bow for a glimpse of Deception Island and Neptune's Bellows. Would the captain attempt to enter?
Yes! The conditions were favorable and we entered, but the tide would be going out at 11:00 AM making it necessary to leave by that time. Neptune's Bellows can be seen in the middle of the photo.
Once on shore we found a large fur seal population. These two seals were returning from a morning meal in the caldera and were content to watch us pass by.
Further along the shore, hundreds of seals populated the flat land between the water and the mountain. (Those little black speck are seals resting in the snow.)
Deception Island was a whale processing station from 1912 until 1931. In the foreground are tanks that stored the processed whale oil. In the middle are the remains of the boilers that rendered the blubber into oil. To the distant left is a hanger used by aircraft that flew interisland routes.
Oh Oh! A fur seal has decided to defend his territory and attack the intruders! We had been briefed that if this happens, do NOT run, because the seal is faster than you. Instead, stand your ground while flailing your arms and shouting. It worked. After a couple of minutes, the seal retreated.
As the tide receded, steam was seen rising from the lava sand on the beach. We inserted our fingers into the sand about 4" and found it too hot to touch. This indeed is an active geothermal region.
Departing Deception Island we pass Snow Island. Our next stop is the Falkland Islands on Saturday.
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