2025_26 Oosterdam, Antarctica Day 2, Part 2...

On our journey to Deception Island, we encountered many penguins and whales…I was very excited to capture quite a few shots of the whales breaching. Deception Island is an active volcano in a horseshoe shape with a diameter of approximately 7.5 miles. In Antarctica, Deception Island, one of the few places in the world where you can sail directly into the middle of a volcano. It was named "Deception" by early sealers due to its deceptive appearance as a normal island, with an almost hidden opening to its interior. The island was discovered in 1820 and became a center for fur seal hunting. It was abandoned in the 1840’s when it came alive with volcanic eruptions. In the early 1900’s it was a popular spot for whalers, and apparently, there was a community of several hundred men, run by the British. Scientific research stations were established in the 1940’s by the Britain, Chile and Argentina. The island was abandoned again after a series of volcanic activity in the late 1960’s through 1970, when the British and Chilean stations were destroyed. Today the island remains a site for scientific research and tourism. The Oosterdam is too large to enter the inner harbor so we did scenic cruising alongside the island perimeter. We cruised close to Baily Head, a prominent headland on the outside of the island, this area is home to an enormous breeding colony of chinstrap penguins along the black volcanic sand beaches and on the tiered levels of the cliffs. Add to the magnificent scenery the terrific weather remained with us. Loving the Antarctic…