This morning we visited Deception Island, an active volcano in the South Shetlands. It is an active caldera of black sands, sweeping hills and deep craters: a wild and dramatic landscape. Today a dusting of snow accentuated the subtle relief of the hills, highlighting each undulation. It feels like another planet.
The seas were choppy and winds were blowing, gusting up to 36 knots, which is quite an invigorating wind speed. We did a short hike up a hill to a ridge where we could look down into a crater and experience the thrill of almost being blown into it. Not quite, but that wind was bracing.
Getting back on the ship was an experience - the Zodiacs were rising and falling a couple of metres with the swell as we held onto the gangway and tried to time our leaping exit. It was an exciting way to finish the trip.