Deception Island

On day five of our Antarctic cruise we awake to find we have started working our way north again and arrive at Deception Island early in the morning. This volcanic atoll features the first sign of civilization we've seen in a week, a 100-year-old abandoned Norwegian whaling station. (We also encountered our second sign of civilization in a week there in the form of an Australian sailing boat who had just been battered crossing the Drake so they were taking a rest in the atoll.) Since it was first discovered, Deception Island has suffered several dangerous eruptions but today it is calm, with the volcano warming the waters enough for them to steam slightly with the faint odour of sulphur.

This warmed water gives Whaler's Bay the nickname of the "Antarctic Hot Springs" and we are invited to swim. "Hot" in this sense means it is still cold enough that it takes a full minute after you are submerged to wish you had never been born, rather than the standard three seconds. Nobody took them up on the offer.

(Written on Dec 22.)