Home » Antarctica » Volcanoes, Whaling, and Polar Swimming, January 8, 2004

The deception of Deception Island is that, from the outside, the sheer cliffs conceal the best-protected place for ships on the Antarctic Peninsula. A ship's captain had to be persistent and continue all around to find the one small entryway into the bay. The further deception is that it isn't a real island -- it's a caldera, a collapsed volcano, which filled with water. That creates a nearly circular "island," like a donut with a small bite out of it.

Volcanoes, Whaling, and Polar Swimming, January 8, 2004

Ttrealtravels
2005-12-25 00:04:27

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unprofitable. Then it became a British military outpost, hotly disputed by Chile and Argentina.

Most of the buildings have been uninhabitable since volcanic eruptions in 1969. Today, a few ruined buildings are left, plus oil tanks and a derelict plane towards the left side of the beach.

Behind the buildings stands a lonely white cross, the sole remnant of the old whaler's cemetery. The graves were destroyed by the mudslides caused by the '69 eruption, and all but one cross was swept out to sea. It is the most desolate cemetery on Earth.

Swimming Like the Seals

Whaler's Bay is also where tourists can take an Antarctic dip. The ship's staff dug a shallow pit at the edge of the water. The geo-thermally heated sands then warmed the ocean tide to create a little hot-tub action. A dozen crazy people stripped down to their swimsuits and dunked first into the frigid ocean water and then the hot pool. I stuck my hand in, and it felt nice, like a steaming bath. But I had no intention of going in. The weather was too miserable to take my hat off, much the less my pants!

How long could you survive in the zero-degrees Antarctic waters wearing only a bathing suit? Probably not long, unless you were Lynne Cox. In December 2002, Cox swam the first Antarctic mile from the M/V Orlova, and it took her 25 minutes.

Having been the youngest person to swim the English Channel and also swimming the Bering Straight, she knew what she was doing. She trained for the polar swim and gained a little weight for insulation, rather like seals and whales do. Cox also kept her head out of the water because that's how humans loose most of their body heat.

Last Call

At the other end of Whaler's Bay was Neptune's Window, a break in the caldera wall that affords a good view. Legend has it that the whaler/explorer Nathaniel Palmer first saw the Antarctic Peninsula from Neptune's Window in 1820, but it must have been a very clear day.

We were not so lucky in the weather. Rain drizzled, hailed, and occasionally poured down on us. The rain was especially hard as we hiked up to the Window. We were the very last ones to head in that direction, but staff naturalist Delphine ok'ed our progress. We trudged up through the rain and braved the wind at the summit. It was fabulous to have the place totally to ourselves, even in the deluge -- that was more like our usual independent travel. And we were the very last passengers to get on the very last zodiac, which was kind of fun. Just as enjoyable was the rum-spiked hot cocoa that greeted us back at the ship!