• Active Volcano and a polar plunge.

    17. marts ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    🌡️ Temperature: Around 0°C
    🌋 Inside an active volcano!

    Today marked our final shore landing of the Antarctic expedition, and what a place to finish — Teflon Bay on Deception Island.
    Deception Island is actually the flooded caldera of an active volcano. Thousands of years ago the volcano collapsed inwards, allowing the sea to rush in and create the horseshoe-shaped harbour now known as Port Foster. Ships enter through a narrow gap called Neptune’s Bellows — an appropriately dramatic name for sailing into the centre of a volcano!
    The island has erupted several times in modern history, most recently in 1967, 1969 and 1970, forcing research stations from Chile and the UK to be abandoned. Even today you can see the evidence everywhere: black volcanic ash, pumice, and loose shale slopes that make walking feel like climbing a giant pile of coal dust.
    Teflon Bay itself has an unusual name. It was named after the Norwegian sealing vessel Teflon, which operated in these waters during the early 20th-century sealing era around the South Shetland Islands.

    🥾 The Walk
    While some people stayed near the beach, I decided to tackle the full loop walk — about 2 km.

    It was one of the more challenging walks we’ve done here. The ground was a mix of volcanic ash, loose rock and shale, and several sections were quite steep. Trekking poles definitely helped some, but i didn’t use any! But the reward at the top was spectacular: sweeping views across the volcanic crater lake and out to where our ship, Fridtjof Nansen, sat quietly in the bay.
    Standing there it was hard to believe we were inside a volcano in Antarctica.

    🥶 The Polar Plunge
    The big event of the morning though was the famous Antarctic Polar Plunge.
    I took on the important role of official cameraman.
    As the shore team likes to say:
    “Women bring the courage… men bring the camera.”
    Kim proved the point perfectly. She marched straight into the icy Antarctic water and — incredibly — stayed in for several minutes! Watching from the shore in my warm layers, I can confirm that bravery level was well above my pay grade.

    By the time we headed back to the zodiacs, the weather was calm, the wind light and the volcanic landscape around us looked almost other-worldly — dark ash slopes, pale green water pools and snow-dusted mountains beyond.
    A pretty incredible place to finish our last landing on the Antarctic Peninsula.
    What an adventure this continent has been. 🌍❄️
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