The tour folks did a fine job entraining the group instead of flying out - bus tour of the City, etc. Carol and I took the day off to (re) pack our luggage. There is a strict 20KG limit on luggage for the flight, including carry-on ( a slight downside to flying rather than sailing). My camera gear alone was about 10KG so we were challenged. We would take one suitcase with us and leave another (for warmer climes later on) in the hotel to be collected on our return. You could tell the tour group was serious about weight because they gave each of us a handy little scale to weigh our luggage, although they didn’t check it, trusting us to do the right thing. The good news (obvious) was that we would be wearing our full cold weather gear while on the plane so this didn’t count in the total weight. After considerable juggling, and arguing with Carol about how many shoes are actually needed in Antarctica, we finally got everything packed and ready to go in anticipation of leaving later that day.
Good news and bad news. Bad news is that the flight is cancelled for today. Good news (I think) is that the flight is on for tomorrow. Early am.
January 7, up bright and early (bags out at 4:30am) and off to the airport for an 8am flight. We arrived at Frei Base on King George Island about two hours later. It’s a dirt runway so you really feel the landing. When they open the door of the plane you get your first wiff of fresh Antarctic air - cold with a slight hint of penguin.
So, we lost half a day because of weather. Not bad considering.
We hung around the plane for a while, taking pictures. We were then instructed to walk, single file, down the runway to a nearby beach where we would jump on zodiacs to get to our boat. Frei Base is a multi-national reserch station so there were odd buildings dotted around (including a Russian Orthdox church). Along the way we met up with the departing group who had the benefit of an extra half day on the boat. They all greeted us and waved enthusiatically. “You’ll love it!” It reminded me of the iconic picture of Shackleton’s crew waving to his tiny boat as it departed on its epic journey to find rescue.
The boat, The Hebridean Sky, was anchored in the nearby bay and we were shuttled out 8 at a time on Zodiacs to what would be our home for the next several days. Nice boat. A benefit of having planned this trip nearly two years in advance is that Carol & I, Kevin & Lisa and Mark & Mauree Jane had snagged the best cabins on the boat - the Presidential Suites. So, it felt like luxury.
We had lunch followed by a safety exercise where we all donned life jackets and got briefed on what to do if we had to abandon ship (into sub-freezing water) while freezing our butts off. Felt just like the Titanic (do you have enough lifeboats?)
Thanks whoever took this photo and shared it.
After this exercise the boat set sail south and would take us, overnight to our first stop. Meanwhile we spent the afternoon in briefings and introductions. The restaurant on the boat was really quite good. A major relief following our culinary experience at the Cabo de Hornas. The (Ukraininan) crew joined us at dinner and promptly got themselves lubricated before navigating the tricky passages of the Antarctic Peninsula. (who’s on the bridge?)
Thanks whoever took this photo and shared it.