Two other activities also took place: a glaciology/geology
tour used Polarcirkle boats to visit several locations along the inside of the
crater. After passing by the unoccupied Spanish and Argentine station they
landed and explored a fumarole site and the deformed Black Glacier. The fog at
altitude did not affect the mornings kayak trip and they were able to paddle
close to the wreck on the west side of Neptune’s Bellows. This wreck is the
whale catcher boat “Southern Hunter” which grounded on Raven Rock in the middle
of the Bellows. The sea and wind conditions were nearly flat calm and the
Kayakers ventured through the Bellows and circled Petes Pillar a free-standing
column of volcanic rock, just outside the Bellows.
Those not on one of these longer endeavors walked among the
ruins of whaling station Hector and the buildings that housed first the whalers
and later the British Antarctic researchers. Our visit closed with an
unprecedented number of swimmers, more than 60 people are now Antarctic
swimmers with the certificates to prove it.
Our afternoon landing at Half Moon Island was made in
overcast conditions. From our landing site we hiked past 100’s of Chinstrap
Penguins and over the ridge to reach the penguin colony on the south side of
the Island . Here we saw a few Macaroni
Penguins among the large Chinstrap colony.
While we were ashore some our shipmates circumnavigated Half
Moon Island by kayak, experiencing moderate swell and wind as they paddled the
last stretch to the landing site. They were able to see several weddell seals
and the beautiful glaciers on the backside of the island- As this landing our
last in Antarctic drew to a close we could not help but reflect on how
fortunate we have been on this trip to experience the Falkland Islands, South
Georgia and lastly Antarctica. The FRAM lifted its anchor and we headed for our
crossing of 
