40 Below: An Antarctic Birthday Quest #10 (South Shetland Islands)

Tuesday March 14

Whaler’s Bay, Deception Island (Neptune’s Window and Caldera)
South Shetland Islands - Greenwich Island


The first really beautiful sunrise we had was this morning. Around 4am I woke up to very large swells so the seas had picked up in the Bransfield Strait but as soon as we turned into Deception Island and its protected bay, created by a caldera (complete with natural hot springs!) we had very calm water surrounding us and a sweeping, desolate landscape of another former whaling station.

We suited up again and shuttled over to land in the Zodiacs on a bright, sunny morning to walk up and down the seashore littered with elephant seals, male fur seals (no women, the pups and the females are all on South Georgia right now), defunct whale oil storage tanks, and whale bones.




We could walk up to a window in the basalt wall and then back along the shoreline (being wary of seals!) up to a hill to get a view of the whole bay. Cruising for this long, I knew I would miss long walks so I have really appreciated how the staff have tried to work those in whenever possible. I walked the entire time I was on the shore and took in the beautiful, lonely landscape, the sunshine, and the cold breeze. It felt wonderful.

After that visit we took a long cruise to another bay on Greenwich Island, home of a colony of Chinstrap penguins. The beach was full of beautiful, large smooth stones and when the waves crashed on them, and they rolled down a little with the wave’s retreat, they made a beautiful sound. I spent a little time walking around and listening, watching the sun get lower and lower in the sky behind the glacier. Then we went on a zodiac cruise to try and spot the leopard seal that a bunch of people had just witnessed catching and killing a penguin. We did indeed spot two leopard seals, waiting in sneaky places (they are ambush predators) for more unsuspecting happy little penguins to splash by, but we did not see a kill.



We rode back to the boat talking about lichen on the basalt towers at the end of the island, what it takes for a botanist to get so bored they would become a lichenologist, and watching the beautiful sunset that was developing.


We got back to the boats late for dinner, and I was two courses in when I had to abandon my meal and go up to the deck because the sunset was so beautiful. The whole expedition staff was up on deck 5 aft, celebrating the last successful expedition of this trip, as well as their entire Antarctic season, taking pictures, clinking their richly deserved beverages, and celebrating together.


The crew show was that evening, so all the people behind the scenes on the hotel and food and beverage side of our voyage put together some choice entertainment for us, including terrible Frank Sinatra covers sung with gusto, a G-rated coordinated strip tease from the guys who run the bar, and a Tagalog fan dance. It was a variety show to be sure, but really fun and a great chance to recognize this staff’s other talents besides making the boat run well.


Wednesday March 15

Crossing the Drake

It is sad to be beginning to turn in our gear and feel the pangs of leaving this experience start to set in. This was an enormous experience, epic on every level, and I have gone through it with a small group of people, and I know most of their names, parts of their life stories, and generally where they are from.



I wouldn’t say I have loved every single second of this experience but I would say that overall this has been one of the best trips of my entire life. Never have I been so struck with the pristine beauty of the landscapes I encountered here. And the people on the boat are the people I shared it with. We went through it all together. There are several people on board who live in the DC area and who I will hang out with again. There are plenty of people scattered between the UK, Canada and the US and Europe that I will definitely see again as well. We formed a little community because we went through this really huge thing together. We couldn’t help it. I told people before I left that one of my greatest hopes for this trip was that I would come away with a bunch of new best friends who are over age 65+. And I do have some dear new friends of retirement age in several different countries! And I was allowed to throw a shower for two nearly total strangers that 120 other nearly total strangers all participated in.

The passengers on this boat bonded in a way I know you wouldn’t, couldn’t, on a larger ship. And that aspect of the trip was not something I was hoping for, but was an unexpected gift.

What were my other greatest hopes?

1. Look at the beautiful glacial blues of ice-scapes ✅

2. See lots of whales ✅

3. Quiet space to reflect back on my life, and think the future ✅

I didn’t come in with a long shopping list. But what I received was immeasurably beyond my expectations.

The kayaking group had a little get together to look at photos and turn in all our gear and we had a great time bonding as a little subgroup, again through incomparable shared experience on an epic scale. Also, the kayaking guides were so fantastic. I loved all of them and at various points had lovely one on one conversations with all of them. I hope that at some point I will be an adventure guide of some kind.


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