Goodbye Antarctica
Our Antarctic adventures came to a close with a visit to an ‘active’ volcano at Deception Bay where I honestly felt we could be walking on the moon. The bay itself is essentially a volcanic crater, the channel we passed through to enter known as Neptune’s Bellows. I could just picture one of the old explorer’s ships creeping through the towering cliffs, surrounded by reams of mist, not knowing what lay ahead.
For us, what lay ahead was a hike up a steep, barren slope in knock-me-down winds, surrounded by volcanic rock that really did resemble a moonscape. Once at the top, we traipsed around the rim of the volcano that last erupted in the 1970’s and still has days where steam can be seen rising from crevices, and where seals like to lay on the beach and soak up the additional warmth. It was certainly different from the glistening icebergs and picturesque scenery we’d been immersed in further south and definitely a memorable experience.
Then it was back across the Drake Passage, sailing at speed to try and avoid a storm front moving in from the west. For the entirety of the trip our expedition leader Marieke gave us daily updates on the weather and how it would impact our schedule the following day. As usual she was right—as the hours ticked away the seas got bigger, and many passengers stayed holed up-in their cabins. I managed the swell better than expected to the whizz bang ET (thank you Mr Ettingshausen) seasick tablet I ingested after breaking out in a sweat. I was even perky enough to celebrate the final night with a couple of after dinner Margharitas while watching waves crash against the windows of the bar as the ship dipped and swayed in a definite Drake Shake. The freaky video below makes it look like the water was inside the ship but I assure you all the acti0on was happening outside.
And then it was back to Puerto Williams where we spent the final FINAL night before a very long day of travel back to Santiago. I’m going to leave my final impressions of travelling to Antarctica for another post once I’ve had time to fully digest and reflect on the experience. For now, I’ll just say that it is truly the most awe inspiring, magical place I’ve ever had the privilege to visit.