Half Moon and Deception Islands

Arrived at Half Moon Island this morning. Simply gorgeous.


Took a hike up and over to the other side of the island. If you look carefully, you can see that a chinstrap penguin is leading the way.


On the other side of the island, we found this cute Antarctic fur seal. A Weddell seal and some chinstrap penguins are in the background, too.


And a shipwrecked dory, most likely from whaling days.


This was a beautiful location, but we had to move on and get to Deception Island. Deception Island is a semi-active volcano and we were actually able to sail into the collapsed caldera.


We landed at Whalers Bay, where a whaling station turned British outpost was abandoned due to volcanic eruptions and a mud flow that destroyed much of it.


Volcanic activity still exists under the surface as you can see by the steam coming off the water.


This led to some crazy behavior that I can’t even believe I’m showing you. Peer pressure is a powerful thing.


Recuperating with a hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps as I type :-)