blue-eyed shags

Half Moon Island, South Shetlands

This Quark Expedition is sailing back north, heading toward the Drake Passage and Ushuaia, Argentina. This is our last landing for Antarctica. Tomorrow we will be reluctant tourists, leaving this unique, beautiful place.

But for now we will enjoy Half Moon, a 1.2 mile long island  between Livingston  and Greenwich Islands in the South Shetlands.

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beautiful lichen

The Argentine Camara station is located at one end

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Argentine Camara Station

and a Chinstrap penguin nesting area at the other.

Blue-eyed Shags nest on top of orange lichen pinnacles against glaciated mountains beyond. IMG_3040 (2)

Before landing, we bounced in the zodiacs over choppy waters, checking out seals, shags, and this very cheeky skua who landed right next to me.

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not sure if he wanted to be friends

On land, amongst the rocks, broken penguin shells led to a mother skua snuggling with her chick.

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A single Adele penguin approached me with a tilt of the head and a confused look in its eyes. “How do I get back home?” The poor thing was obviously lost, speaking in penguin before wandering off in search of a more appropriate friend. IMG_3104

An old whaling craft remains on the beach, another testament of history in this part of the world. IMG_5698

Half Moon Island is the breeding site of approximately 3,300 Chinstrap Penguins. Since this is our last landing, I spent time enjoying their antics and reflecting on all I’ve seen and learned.

I must admit to wiping a tear away, thinking about how much more there is to experience in this vast land.  This little penguin expressed my emotions back at me. IMG_3074

Before I left home, my friends asked strange questions . “WHY do you want to go there?” or “Where is that place….North or South pole?”

I hope my words and pictures have explained the wonders to be found here. More important, I hope I’ve inspired YOU to experience this adventure.

Good-bye from Antarctica.

This leaves a great big question—“Where shall I go next?” —trust me, I have a long list! Stay tuned. IMG_3068 (2)

 

 

DECEPTION ISLAND

Put yourself on a ship that navigates through a narrow opening called Neptune’s Bellows,

into the sunken caldera of an active volcano. A submerged rock lies about eight feet below the surface, smack-dab in the very middle of the channel. Bite your nails. The current is wild, and a shipwreck lies just inside the entrance as a reminder how quickly life can go bad. Red ash looks like folded curtains along the cliffs and you may see wisps of steam.

This isn’t the opening of a Hollywood thriller, this is  every day drama at Deception Island, in the South Shetland chain.IMG_2965

The sea floor is rising as magma pushes up. and some water temperatures have been recorded at 158 degrees Fahrenheit. During eruptions in the 1960’s the water was so hot, paint melted off of ships.

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hike up here and you can look down and out a “window” to the sea far below

There are so many cool reasons to experience this closely monitored site. The volcano has changed the micro-climate, allowing over 18 species of moss and lichens not found ANYWHERE else in Antarctica.Check out what it’s like to dive below the surface  with the Lindbald expedition : http://www.deceptionisland.aq/flora.php

IMG_2994 (3)If you were a bird, would you want to hang out where it’s warm? Of course. The world’s largest chinstrap penguin colony with over 100,000 breeding pairs are here. We also saw blue-eyed shags (cormorants) with juveniles as big as the adults, nesting high above on the cliffs. (Thank goodness for that 600mm lens!)

Inside the caldera is the historic site at Whaler’s Bay where ruins of oil tanks, buildings and boats from the early 1900’s sit upon a black ash beach.

Two lonely graves still haunt me. This used to be the largest cemetery (35 men buried and 10 memorials to presumed drowned) in all of Antarctica before the last eruptions. I cannot let the memory go, knowing they are so far from home. IMG_2926

There’s an airplane hanger at one end. This is where the first trans-Antarctic flights began in 1928. IMG_2895

During and after WWII, the British destroyed some of the whaling remains, and set up a remote military post. There was great concern that the German’s would use Antarctica for nefarious reasons. After the war, the station returned to scientific study until 1967.

On the internet there are pictures of tourists soaking in pools dug into the warm sand. This isn’t allowed anymore (Hello? Environmental impact?) and there’s discussion about reducing the numbers of ships coming here. Count yourself l-u-c-k-y  if you can visit this unique historic and environmental site.

whalers boat from long ago sitting in ash
overhead view of caldera, showing the narrow entrance
Antarctic Tern