Day 20: The last of Antarctica: Telefon Bay, Deception Island (in the caldera of an active volcano)

Day 20: The last of Antarctica: Telefon Bay, Deception Island (in the caldera of an active volcano)

Weather: Antarctic joke…what’s the weather today? Pick one or more of the following:

1.      Overcast, below freezing

2.      Overcast, frigid

3.      Overcast, really cold

4.      Overcast with significant wind chill, really really cold

5.      Overcast, so fucking cold your hands go numb in less than 15 seconds and your brain no longer functions anywhere near normal

6.      Overcast and don’t ask anyone who works on the ship, they have anti-freeze in their veins instead of blood and will lie through their teeth rather than give one of the 5 answers above

Quote of The Day:  Are you doing the Polar Plunge?

Department of Lost and Found: During the second outing yesterday, while work his hiking pole THB managed to drop his camera on the snow. A few minutes later he realizes it is gone, retraces his steps and someone (the cruisers are swarming this small island) has picked it up and is waiting for THB to return. Another moment where THB is saved from his own foibles through the kindness of others.

Department of Product Placement: Maybe something like 1 or is it 2 years ago, THB and DB spent a night in Healdsburg at Single Thread, a small boutique hotel and very fancy restaurant, Japanese-style, using mostly ingredients grown/raised very nearby. Along with many nice “extras” was a fancy razor and shaving cream from Harry’s. THB is still using that original razor and cream whenever he travels. Damn, it’s like the same first shave oh those many months ago. THB decided to buy some more cream at $8 for a few ounces. He still hasn’t used up the original tube.

Since the ship is in a protected spot and the excursion ashore is one of three hikes (each longer than the next, walking uphill in the snow and Wellies), it is an easy choice to go on kayak #6. We’re heading out early, at 8:30, since we’ve already been out taking pics at 7am of the entrance, Neptune’s Bellows, into the caldera.

The kayaking is very easy though during the last stretch the wind comes up and it is pretty choppy. At the very beginning as we’re waiting for the other kayakers to get on the water from the Zodiac, THB notices we’ve just passed a neoprene glove floating on the water. WAIT!! That was THB’s glove…OH SHIT! We don’t wear our gloves while kayaking because we stick our bare hand into something called a poagie that is attached right to the paddle, and is made of some neoprene like material that keeps the hand warm; we only wear our gloves while going to/from the HebSky in the Zodiacs. Usually while we’re kayaking we stuff our own gloves into a dry bag (THB and DB have become so confident we’ve stopped using the dry bag and just shove our gloves inside our life jackets). Somehow THB’s glove has come loose and is floating on the surface (guess these suckers won’t sink).

We circle round and pick it up. THB starts to put it inside his life jacket…WHOA!! There are already gloves there….the floating glove is DB’s!! Finally, someone on the HebSky beside THB loses something. And, look: there’s ANOTHER GLOVE floating on the calm water. It’s not a tragedy as our kayak caretakers have extra gloves available for DB after the kayak ends.

Since this is really the last excursion of the trip and there is easy beach access to the water and we’re inside the caldera of an active volcano, the staff has organized something called the Polar Plunge. Yep, every member of the cruise is given the chance to dip in 35F water. THB and DB had already decided to pass up this golden opportunity and rather than wait another 20 minutes for the action to begin head back to the HebSky. If you look carefully at this picture, you can see some Plunger wrapped up in a towel.

Pics from this morning: 7am arriving at Neptune’s Bellow and while kayaking

A Norwegian ship nestled into Whalers Cove

DB's last rodeo

HebSky

Weddell Seal

Crabeater Seal

THB giving the dry suit a hot shower

A Polar Plunger being wrapped up

PP in a beach towel

A Chinstrap colony, the last sighting of land until Ushuaia

After lunch it is announced that the HebSky is hotfooting it to Ushuaia, our destination on the other side of Drake’s Passage. We won’t be seeing land for another 2.5 days. THB and DB start pre-medicating ourselves with seasickness antidotes.