February 20 - Deception Island (Baily Head & Whalers Bay) and Hannah Point

Today was snowy and off and on windy. The wind seemed to come and go with the correct timing; we were able to do all of our planned landings and the wind seemed to pick up just as we were leaving somewhere or in between landings while we were cruising.

We started the day off at Baily Head for the third time. Baily Head, as I've mentioned, is a really difficult landing and there is always a 50-50 chance of getting there. We are lucky that we've been 3-3. The landing this time was special because everything was covered in fresh snow and I'd never seen it looking like that before. The landscape was just beautiful, as were the penguins. There were a lot of fur seals on the beach and some of the younger ones were curious about us. This would be ok if they also didn't have sharp teeth and a habit of biting. Usually, the fur seals are easy to scare off if you raise your arms at them and make some noise. Not always for the young ones, where it sometimes takes waving an orange flag at them. At the shore, we had one very curious seal that came all the way to the life jacket bag and peered at us around the corner before we eventually scared it away. I've attached a photo of this curious seal.


Curious fur seal

After Baily Head we went to Whalers' Bay for a hike and so that the passengers could take a polar plunge. It sure was polar today since there was absolutely NO geothermal activity at all. I was driving a zodiac along with Kevin and Rusty and while we were waiting for the passengers to return from their hikes, we hid out in one of the rusty old whaling structures. Kevin brought hot chocolate for us and we stayed dry and reasonably warm while we waited. I've attached a photo of the boys staying warm and toasty.



Inside whaling structure

In the afternoon we went to Hannah Point, another one of my favorite landings. This time I got to go see the Elephant seals. They are so stinky, but so cute with their big eyes. I've attached a photo. Just as we were leaving Hannah Point, the wind kicked up and we had a rocky evening on the ship.


Elephant Seal