Revenge of the Drake Passage

With the polar plunge completed our ship the Magellan Explorer headed towards Deception Island which is part of the South Shetland Islands. The island has this unusual name because it gives the impression of being an island but it is shaped like a horseshoe with a protected natural harbour. The island is an active volcano, as you land on the shore steam rises as the cold sea laps onto the black cinder beaches. Although the surface of the beach is warm to the touch, dig your hand a few inches under the surface and it's unbelievably hot. Due to its location and sheltered bay Deception Island has a chequered history, it was used as a shore based whaling station, where whales were brought to be processed and the oil stored in vast tanks, some of which remain to this day. After the end of the whaling industry the base was used by the British during the war and then as a scientific research station until the volcano erupted in 1967 and again in 1969 after which the base was closed. Some of the wooden buildings on the island and an aircraft hangar remain but are very dilapidated. Deception Island had quite a different look and feel to it compared to the Antarctic continent and surrounding islands but it has a fascinating history and it's not everyday you can say you've sailed into an active volcano. 

The Penguin Highway

There are many remote areas of the world, but it is hard to describe the isolation you feel in Antarctica. We had left the nearest civilisation over 2 days ago and we were now approximately 700 miles away from Ushuaia. The only people we would see over the 10 days of our trip are the 91 guests and 60 crew on the ship. There are no vapour trails in the sky, no background hum of traffic, no mobile phones ringing, no birds singing. This is a remote and harsh landscape but with stunning and simple beauty. For a lot of the trip I found it difficult to take everything in that I was seeing, it's not too strong an expression to say I felt in awe of my surroundings. People have asked me what the most memorable moment was of the trip, that's really difficult to say because every day has its own special memories, but the times when we just stopped, put the camera down and were present in the moment, the vastness and drama of the landscape and the silence and tranquillity will last with me forever. It was a real privilege to be here.