Antarctic Peninsula and Polar Circle 2020 Feb 10 2020 -13

Our Last Day
19 Februrary 2020 – Whalers Bay , Walker Bay & Hannah
Point
The day started with a 6:20 wakeup call over the
loudspeakers. It was earlier than usual, but well
worth dragging oneself out of bed. We were
passing through the entrance of a caldera called
Deception Island. The navigation is a challenge as
in the middle of the narrow entrance there is also
a rock, thus the captain brought us very close to
the steep walls of the volcano.
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We anchored in Whalers Bay to be transported by
Zodiacs to the shore. We walked the long sandy
beach to look at relics from the whaler’s epoch
and the last remnants of the British Base that are
still standing after a mud flow from volcanic
eruptions in the 1960’s. The buildings were left
standing after clean-up effort. It is a
demonstration of the power of volcanic eruptions
and it has since been designated as a historic site
under the Antarctic Treaty. At the west end of the
beach we hiked up a moraine to take in the view
of the airstrip that one provided access to flights
over the south pole by Wilkins on November 16,
1928 .
At the end of the landing it was yet another
opportunity to Polar Plunge! For some of us this
would be our third dip into the chilly waters of
Antarctica.
© Sandra Petrowitz
In the afternoon, we visited our last and final stop
of our journey in Antarctica at Hannah Point and
Walker Bay. Again, the weather was calm as we
explored the beach. To the right from landing we
followed the narrow trail up the steep sandy slope
to view the gentoo penguin colony and the
elephant seals from a bird’s eye view. The
penguins provided endless entertainment for us
while we watched the chics chase their parents for
a scrap of food. A Leopard seal had caught a
penguin and stripped it of its skin and feathers by
flinging it around to make a quick snack before it
went hunting again. There were giant petrels on
the ridge tops and more Elephant seals and a
Chinstrap penguin colony on the horizons.
For evening entertainment we had a talk from
Sanna about her time at the Hailey Station in
Antarctica.
© Sandra Petrowitz
Another day completed with a happy tired feeling.
Our last day on land in Antarctica brings out much
contemplation. We will have 2 days now on the
rolling seas of the Drake Passage to process our
once of lifetime experience.
© Sandra Petrowitz
Fun Fact:
There are over 20000 species of lichen. Lichen is
actually a combination of a fungus and a
cyanobacteria! #thatsneat
10-22 FEB 2020
© Sandra Petrowitz
Volume 2, Issue 13