We cruised into Admiralty Bay just after 8 am this morning, I was up on deck by about 6:30 to enjoy the scenic cruising along the way, the weather was cloudy to begin with and as we moved in closer the skies cleared enough for a very nice experience. It is not easy to forgot the grandeur of the Antarctic, you can take all the pictures you want and yet when looking at them afterwards you say, yes they are nice but do not the place justice - I guess that is why people always return. We had penguins, penguins and more penguins today along with some calving of the glaciers and two whales - these whales were a bit of a tease as they only showed for a moment before going under for a long feed. We floated around the Bay for almost two hours, cruising past many of the different country research stations. From Admiralty Bay we headed over to Deception Island, also part of the South Shetland Island chain. This was great routing as we did not come here last year, nice. Deception Island is home to about 50,000 pairs of chinstrap penguins, it is an active volcanic island that has been in the forefront of human activities since its discovery in 1820. It played and important in the early seal and whaling industries here in the Antarctic, closing this industry in and around 1912. With its narrow opening is was originally thought to be the entrance to Antarctic Peninsula, hence the name Deception Island. We cruised up as close as we could to get a good look at the many chinstrap penguins as well as did some scenic cruising around the horseshoe shaped island. Great commentary, great first day here in the Antarctic. Our routing looks good as tomorrow we head down to the Peninsula through the Neumayer Channel over to Paradise Harbour and/or Errera Channel, weather and ice conditions will play a key role here. Fun Fast, we have been asked to conserve water during our time here over the next 4 days, there is to be no discharging or refiling while in these waters - shower with a friend is the recommendation, lol. A few pics of the day, hope you enjoy… Our entertainment tonight was Peter Cutler, Rat pact to Buble, excellent show.
Quote of the day - “Time’s glory is to calm contending kings, to unmask falsehood, and to bring truth to light” - William Shakespeare
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