2025_26 Oosterdam, Antarctica Day 2....

Due to the weather our agenda for today changed and we arrived at Admiralty Bay instead of Hope Bay. King George Island known as the Gateway to Antarctica is also the home to research stations belonging to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Peru, Poland. Russia, Uruguay, and the United States. Most of these stations are permanently staffed, carrying out research in areas as diverse as biology, ecology and geology. Our first stop was close to the Captain Pieter J. Lenie American Base built on Copacabana Beach and set amongst Adeline, Gentoo and Chinstrap penguin colonies. Next, we sailed past the Polish Artowski Station before making our way into Admiralty Bay. Just after entering Admiralty Bay the weather turned south, gale force winds, blowing snow and near zero visibility. The Captain decided to shelter in place in Admiralty Bay to ride out the storm. During the noon day announcement, the Captain advised he had moved to Plan D in the hope of improved weather conditions…We were now following the Bransfield Straits headed for Deception Island with an estimated arrival of 6:30 pm. The driving snow and winds were relentless all afternoon. In Antarctica, Deception Island, one of the few places in the world where you can sail directly into the middle of an active 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 Captain got pretty close to the Island at 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. The winds were brutal but I met the challenge and got some photos from a different perspective with the significant weather change from our last trip to Deception Island. This is the Antarctica where the weather changes on a dime so you make lemonade out of the lemons. Well done Captain Beirnaert! Hoping for better weather tomorrow.