A quick swim at Deception Island
January 31, 1994
At the beach, we took off our winter clothes and stripped to our bathing
suits. We had been preceded by a small number of people, all gasping and
shivering, and we went down to the beach, walking across the gravel which now
felt very sharp and uncomfortable under our bare feet. We were guided to an
area where the gravel was emitting a lot of heat, heating the water some, and
I waded in then dove backwards. The water was almost icy cold. There was
too much cold water for the hot spring to heat. After some sputtering and
momentary convulsion from the chill, I swam back to shore, found the hot
water, rolled there for a second or two, and got out. Dana and Grandma took my picture while I was
in the water. (Dana, of course, was the third person in the water that day,
and very proud of it! She was laughing and having a great time.)
Grandma and I taking the plunge (definitely not one of my better
pictures!)
Then Grandma made her way in briefly, with cameras flashing, and then we both
dried off slightly and got back into all of our warm cloths. When we were
finished, we went back to the nearest Zodiac and took a ride back to the
ship. After a brief visit to the bathroom to switch from bathing suit to
boxer shorts, I can now watch the last Zodiacs returning to the ship. The
ship has blown it's horn for them: three long blasts to signal it's desire to
leave the area.
Lunchtime!
Side note
I think I deserve something really special for having the bravery to
put these pictures on the Internet! Consolation gifts can be sent to my work address. ;-)
You may continue with us on our way to Half-moon Island, or return to today's table of contents.
