Half Moon Island and Deception Island

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Half Moon Island is a 2km long crescent shaped island between Greenwich and Livingston Islands. There were thousands of Chinstrap Penguins to greet us in foggy weather. The island is very rocky and muddy. We also saw a giant petrel and some fur seals. The penguins had no fear of us and because there were so many of them we didn't have to keep our distance as they walked amongst us.

Back to the ship for lunch and then we set sail for Deception Island, our last off boat stop for the trip.

Deception Island is located in the South Shetland Islands. This island is the caldera of an active volcano, which seriously damaged local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969 and is reached through the Neptune's Bellows. There is a former whaling station (Hektor station) and British scientific base on the island. We walked around and looked at the abandoned buildings, penguins and seals but the day turned windy and wet so we went back aboard the ship.



The Captain advised that the Drake Passage crossing would be a 3-4 metre swell tonight increasing to 5 metres tomorrow but no wind. This however was not to be. It turned out to be quite choppy for the next two days particularly as we passed Cape Horn. There were a number of occasions when waves crashed on our balcony.

Fortunately as we sailed towards Ushuaia the seas abated and we were able to enjoy a pleasant dinner at the Captain's table that evening.

We have had an amazing holiday and have enjoyed it all.

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[Dancing Dave]

Cruising
This pic inspired me to open a new thread in the Photography Forum...Cruising...brilliant!