The plan was to leave Antarctica on January 11, returning to Punta Arenas. So, on the evening of the 10th we were getting ready to start packing and preparing to leave the next day. Wait! Change of plan. We were informed at the evening meeting that the weather was getting worse and that not only would it be hard to leave but it could remain that way for several days. As a result the decision was made to leave tonight! Ok, off we went to get everything ready, settle our account with the boat crew and generally panic. I don’t recall the exact timing but I think we left the boat around 10:30 -11:00pm (still daylight). We retraced our journey on the zodiac and the hike back down the runway to the plane which was, thankfully, sitting ready to go. We met the next group on our way and told then “you’ll love it!” and off we went.
Being in a sizeable commercial jet taking off on a short, dirt runway, is a unique experience. Lots of screaming jets and rumbling along, leaping into the air at the first opportunity.
I think we landed around 1am and went back to the Cabo de Hornas. 70-odd people and luggage arrived all at the same time and it took ages to find our bags, collect the ones we had left behind and wait for one of two elevators to arrive before we could get to ourt room. It was probably around 3:30 -4:00am befor we got to bed.
The good news is that I had contacted our travel folks and arranged to go to our next destination (Puerto Natales) on the 11th instead of the 12th. This is where we would meet up with the rest of our friends who were flying in from the US. So, we lost a few hours in Antarctica but gained them back in Patagonia. On to the next part of our journey, smelly pants packed in the bottom of lauggage.