Because we were running a little ahead of schedule, our ship had time to pull into Deception Island for a quick visit at about 10:30 PM Tuesday night. Since the sun did not set until 11:45 last night (!!!), there was enough light for sightseeing, but not very much for good looking pictures. But Deception Island is a rather gloomy, foreboding place so the dark pictures seem appropriate.
Deception Island is actually the rim (caldera) of an active volcano, which last erupted in the 1980s. Sailors plied these waters for 2-3 years before they realized that the caldera had an break in it, which allowed entrance to calm protected waters, which is how the island got its name.
I guess they didn't realize the volcano was active, because a whaling station was built there in the beginning of the 19th century, but was buried in ash during an eruption, rebuilt, and then buried in ash again. So now it sits there under several feet of ash and looks for all the world like a great place to locate a horror movie.
Actually, Deception Island WAS the inspiration for a movie. In Jules Vernes' “20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Deception Island was the inspiration for Captain Nemo's home base.
We pulled in, snapped many pictures, backed out, and were on our way to tomorrow's adventures.
No comments:
Post a Comment